For those of us who have been hoping against hope that Donald Trump would embrace reality and become an elder statesman for the Republican Party, the news is in and the news is bad.
Instead of becoming an elder statesman, Trump has decided to become an elder candidate.
During an interview with New York Magazine, Trump let the candidate out of the bag and said, "Well, in my own mind, I’ve already made that decision, so nothing factors in anymore. In my own mind, I’ve already made that decision. I would say my big decision will be whether I go before or after. You understand what that means?"
We do and it’s everything we hoped would not happen.
What the quote means is that the only remaining "big decision" is when Trump officially announces his Revenge Run 2024. Will it be before the midterm elections or afterward?
Either way it’s a bad decision for the nation’s future.
When Trump ran in 2016 he gave a voice — and a loud one at that — to voters comprising the conservative base that had been previously ignored by comb-over conservatives once they got into office.
Once in office, Trump kept up the voice part but utterly failed on the performance part. The personnel he hired to staff his administration couldn’t have been much worse if he had simply asked the DNC to handle the hiring process.
Trump failed to recruit or intimidate House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. As a result, the gruesome twosome blocked or buried most of Trump’s legislative plans. Trump was reduced to issuing executive orders to implement his program and those orders were reflexively repealed by Brandon when he took office.
Many on day one!
Trump’s two main Oval Office advisers — Jared and Ivanka — were liberals who we doubt have ever darkened the door of a Walmart.
And there is every indication those two will continue to be a malignant and undermining part of any new Trump administration.
The most damning of Trump’s many failures was his total lack of preparation in 2020 to make sure the presidential election was conducted on the up-and-up.
Trump’s bark proved to be infinitely worse than his bite.
There is a role for a political leader who is a vocal tribune of the base, but lacks the necessary focus and attention span to turn words into reality. That role is that of an elder statesman who is not in office, but seeks to hold officeholders to their campaign promises.
The greatest service Trump could perform for conservatives and the country would be to identify, recruit and fund challengers to the D.C. swamp creatures who claim to be Republicans at election time, but who rule as members of the uniparty once the votes are counted.
Combine that role with endorsing candidates who deserve re-election and Trump could exert a positive influence on the GOP for years to come, and still capture the attention he craves from a hostile media, all without being bogged down in running the nation.
Alas, it is not to be. Maybe if Biden is forced out by his own party and there is no rematch in the offing, Trump might reconsider. But we aren’t holding our breath.
What is more likely to happen is we hold our nose and vote for Trump knowing his re-election is a four year rerun of a reality show that wasn’t enjoyable the first time.
Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Michael is an in-demand speaker with Premiere speaker's bureau. Read Michael Reagan's Reports — More Here.
Michael R. Shannon is a commentator, researcher for the League of American Voters, and an award-winning political and advertising consultant with nationwide and international experience. He is author of "Conservative Christian's Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now with added humor!)" Read Michael Shannon's Reports — More Here.