Despite rejection after rejection, the twice-impeached former president just doesn’t know when to walk away from the fight. I must confess, I didn’t watch Donald Trump’s speech from Mar-a-Lago Tuesday night. Quite frankly, I’m bitter about how much of my life one awful conman has consumed.
Besides, over on ESPN, two epic battles were raging in back-to-back basketball games: Michigan State vs. Kentucky and Kansas vs. Duke. Both games ended in furious comeback wins that were instant classics. Who doesn’t love a good comeback, right? Oh, wait ...
In between hoops action, I did keep an eye on social media; while Michigan State and Kansas pulled off epic comeback wins, it seems Donald Trump’s big comeback failed to get off the ground.
As the former president droned on and on, many attendees began heading toward the exits. In fact, so many attendees started to leave during the speech that, according to reporters on the ground, resort staff began blocking people from leaving so the hall wouldn’t empty out during the speech—something that surely would’ve embarrassed and infuriated the most fragile man in the world.
Some attendees didn’t just look bored, they were downright distressed listening to the same old speech.
Even as attendees tried to abandon ship, others never boarded. Trump’s favorite child, Ivanka, who served in Trump’s White House, was nowhere to be found. Tuesday night, Ivanka released a statement on Instagram that made it clear she wasn’t going to be a part of any attempted political comeback by her father.
I love my father very much.
This time around I’m choosing to prioritize my young children and the private life we are creating as a family.
I do not plan to be involved in politics. While I will always love and support my father, going forward I will do so outside the political arena.
I’m grateful to have had the honor of serving the American people and I will always be proud of many of our Administration’s accomplishments.
Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, one of Trump’s strongest defenders in Congress, changed his plans last minute and backed out of attending the announcement, saying the "weather is not looking good" and noting that he would be there “in spirit.”
Ivanka, Gaetz, and the Mar-a-Lago attendees weren’t the only ones trying to back away from the flop announcement. Fox News pulled the plug and ended their live coverage around 40 minutes into the speech. Over at once-supportive Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post Wednesday, Trump’s announcement was buried on Page 26, brutally describing the insurrection fomenter as “a Florida retiree.”
And even before the announcement, in the days after midterm prospects fizzled for Republicans, The Washington Post reported that Republican donors are tired of Trump and looking to back other 2024 contenders.
How can a team mount a comeback if its key players won’t even suit up? It can’t. It won’t.
I’m reminded of ABC sports commentator Al Michaels’ story about being in Kansas City with Howard Cosell. Michaels said they were on the way to a well-known restaurant after a game, and the driver took them through a rough neighborhood. They saw a street fight, and one participant was clearly getting the worst of it. Cosell yelled at the driver to stop the car, and despite Michaels’ pleas, Cosell got out, with a cigar in his mouth and still wearing his yellow ABC blazer, and stopped the fight, telling the gathered crowd that “It’s quite apparent to this trained observer that the young southpaw does not have a jab requisite for the continuation of this fray. Furthermore, his opponent is a man of inferior and diminishing skills. This confrontation is halted posthaste!”
Folks, where is Howard Cosell when you need him now? Because it is clear to most observers that this fight needs to be stopped. Even for those like me, who only glanced at the train wreck on social media.
Trump 2024 is one comeback story the American people just don’t want or need. But Democrats can’t keep defeating Donald Trump alone. It’s time for more Republicans to stand up, intervene, and stop this fight.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Jared Kushner did not attend the announcement at Mar-a-Lago. Many reports and photographs show that Kushner was present at the event.
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