We begin, as always now, with this: I voted for Donald Trump and will vote for him again, but that doesn’t mean I can’t criticize him. If you’re in the “THOU SHALT NOT BESMIRCH HIS MAGA-NESS LEST YE FORSAKE THE REPUBLIC” crowd, the rest of this column is going to be a bumpy ride for you.
Relevant: Conservatives Don’t Worship Politicians—That’s a Lib Thing
There are some themes that I will probably be revisiting throughout the campaign. This is the current one: I want the Trump I like back. I don’t know who this guy masquerading as Donald Trump is, but he needs to go.
I’m not on Truth Social because it was and is a dumb idea (and an even dumber name). Most of my colleagues are, however, and they continue to share Trump’s posts from the moribund platform via Slack. Trump’s posts there are increasingly taking on a tone that’s more reminiscent of Howard Hughes’s descent into crippling paranoia at the top of the hotel than a once-great president. I half expect him to show up at the next rally with long fingernails and surrounded by white-gloved Mormon manservants.
He’s going after everyone he feels has failed his loyalty litmus test: Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Fox News, The New York Post, and probably Santa Claus.
Trump’s digs at DeSantis are particularly sad. He’s still using the pathetic “DeSanctimonious” line, which makes him sound like Jeb! 2.0. He’s now also referring to the Florida governor as “DeSanctus,” which makes even less sense. “Sanctus” is Latin for “holy.” If that’s supposed to be some sort of slam on DeSantis or his supporters, it’s got about as much oomph as an Adam Schiff Russia tantrum.
I used to love the zinger names that Trump would make up for his political foes and the idiots in the media. They were more off the cuff, though, which made them fresh. As I’ve said before, his DeSantis nicknames feel as if he’s been workshopping them in front of crowds full of yes-men and women.
Truth Social may be a big part of the problem. It’s like he’s a powerful emperor who decided he wants to do stand-up, so he created an open-mic night filled with an audience that has to laugh at him or else. I’m sure everyone there thinks “DeSanctimonious” is positively brilliant.
Echo chambers are THE WORST when it comes to creativity and new ideas. I think Trump’s time spent wandering around Truth Social, surrounded only by people who slobber all over him, is making him more and more nonsensical.
When the primary season gets underway, Trump will obviously have reason to go after the other Republicans seeking the nomination. At this time, however, his lame preemptive strikes make him look weak and scared. Let’s face it, Nikki Haley isn’t really a threat. He should be ignoring her.
DeSantis isn’t even in the race yet. When Trump rants about him right now, he’s essentially admitting that he’s terrified of the governor.
Again, this is not the Trump I voted for. I know that the hardcore Escalator MAGA crowd will hate everything I’m saying here, but for Trump’s sake, I think it’s time the blinders come off. He doesn’t need slavish devotion right now. He needs a following that pushes him to get better.
All he is accomplishing at the moment is getting high-fives from the people who are already going to vote for him. Trump’s genius in 2016 was getting people who had never voted for a Republican in their lives to vote for him—in places where people don’t vote for Republicans. “DeSanctimonious” might get a “Hell yeah!” out of the faithful, but it’s not firing up those voters.
What I would love to see is Trump getting a laser-like focus on calling out the idiot who is in the Oval Office now. Over and over again. The time for battling his fellow Republicans will soon be upon us.
It’s not now, though.
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