Usually, when politicians announce their candidacy for office, they seem happy about it. Or at least they do I’m trying to give the impression of eagerness to take on the challenges ahead. But when Donald Trump announced Tuesday night that he was running for president for the third time in three consecutive election cycles, he looked downright disgusted.
Trump — who led his party to midterm losses in 2018, lost the White House in 2020 to the oldest person to ever hold the job, incited a riotous mob to attack the U.S. Capitol, was impeached twice and contributed to more a GOP midterm failure last week — laughed and grimaced in his announcement. He slowly read prepared remarks in a monotone, digressing to riff on whatever non sequitur popped into his mind. Maybe Trump was in a bad mood because he read terrible Press coverage ran to his announcement and could see the faces in the crowd that were nothing close to the gathering of GOP elite he had commanded at rallies earlier. The biggest bold-faced names spotted in the crowd were a number of swindlers of unfortunates and exes: Roger Stone, Madison Cawthorne, Mike Lindell and Dick Morris.
Bored, people tried to leave before Trump even finished speaking. Others simply turned their backs on him and talked over his remarks. Note that these attendees were seemingly among his most dedicated and connected aides and supporters.
A crowd has formed at the exit of the ballroom as some try to leave Trump’s speech before it ends… But security won’t let them. pic.twitter.com/O7C6QJfYgK
— Olivia Rubin (@OliviaRubinABC) November 16, 2022
If Trump were president today and the national media were still trying to make fun of him, they would probably praise him after this speech for adopting a “new tone.” But just as it was not true then, it is not true now. People are simply less afraid to talk about Trump’s obvious flaws, either because they are less politically afraid of him, legitimately afraid of his politics, or both.
Regardless, the figure who appeared on the podium at Mar-a-Lago Tuesday night was Trump’s makeshift teleprompter, who resorts to soft, low tones when trying to make a good point. For example, instead of talking about how the 2020 election was allegedly stolen from him, Trump talked about the need for paper ballots and counting of all votes on Election Day. This was a flashback to post-Access to Hollywood version of Trump, who was backed into a corner and had to prove to his benefactors that he would not embarrass them any longer. This is how he ended up making this hasty announcement that no one, even his closest advisersreally wanted in the first place.
Another sign that his team isn’t entirely keen on the idea?
Minutes after Donald Trump announced yet another bid for the White House, Ivanka Trump released a statement to CNN that said in part, “I don’t plan on going into politics.”
per @KateBennett_DC
— Paul LeBlanc (@CNNPaul) November 16, 2022
Trump’s announcement was exactly what it appeared to be: a desperate, low-energy attempt to fend off the 2024 GOP primary challengers; possibly prevent ongoing investigations in his seizure of classified documents, Jan. 6, and attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 vote in Georgia; and to consolidate its wavering support. He is too weak not to run; his dwindling political assets are still worth too much to abandon.
If Trump understands anything, it’s how to get Republicans to rally behind him. He did it after Charlottesville, Helsinki, Impeachment 1.0 and Impeachment 2.0. He’s been here before; making bold, ill-advised, destabilizing moves amid personal turmoil is part of his standard operating procedure.
By announcing his candidacy so early, Trump is once again challenging Republicans to oppose him. The question is whether anyone will decide to commit. Saint Ron DeSantis seems to think he can stay out of the ring,”watch Trump talk himself out,” and somehow miraculously be anointed the Republican nominee. Wishful thinking. Because as weak as Trump is right now, he’s definitely not going to get away.
#Trump #weak #run
