Despite his ridiculous behavior on 9/11 and insistence that all elections not won by Republicans are fraudulent, millions remain transfixed by Trump, which means he could win in 2024.
* This article appeared in the New York Irish newspaper, The Irish Voice, as the Editorial on Wed, Sept 15, 2021.
On September 11 this year Presidents Joe Biden, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Bill Clinton attended dignified commemoration events for the victims of that horrific day. Bush went to the site in Pennsylvania where the hijackers’ plane, United Flight 93, en route to destroying the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., crash-landed thanks to the bravery of passengers and crew, while the other three presidents went to Ground Zero.
President Donald J. Trump, meanwhile, went to a fake boxing match in Florida for three hours and got paid for his services.
What a former president of the United States was doing at a ridiculous fight on the anniversary of 9/11 beggars belief. It was a shameless scam, designed to wring money out of pay-per-view customers who are just as delusional as their former president.
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According to Kevin Draper in The New York Times, the fight was “between a 58-year-old Evander Holyfield (who hasn’t fought in a decade) and a 44-year-old mixed martial artist, Vitor Belfort — and (organizers) paid former President Donald J. Trump and Donald Trump Jr. to serve as live commentators, all on the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.”
The notion of a former president rattling a tin cup at a shyster event and giving it credibility is hard to take.
Beforehand Trump revealed his wish to fight Biden in the boxing ring and assured the media he would knock him out in a single round. He also announced the recall election for California Governor Gavin Newsom was rigged, making plain yet again that when it comes to his version of democracy, the only legitimate elections are those that Republicans win.
Donald Trump photographed while giving a briefing from hospital having contracted Covid.
The lack of respect and adherence to normal behavior by the former president was stunning. The guy is becoming a cartoon character, lacking all good sense and common decency, yet millions still love him.
He has now made it clear he is going to run for president again. Without doubt he will cheat, lie, cajole and do whatever is necessary to win.
January 6, 2021 and the assault on the Capitol will be a bunfight compared to what he will threaten to do.
The saddest part is that Trump could very well win.
Biden will be 82 in 2024, and inevitably his health and longevity will become an issue. If he doesn’t run the torch may be passed to Vice President Kamala Harris who, frankly, has not impressed so far and could provide easy pickings for Trump if he faces her. She has an unfortunate habit of laughing nervously when asked a tough question which completely undermines her capability.
On paper she seems eminently qualified, a former district attorney, former California attorney general, former U.S. senator, but somehow she has failed to impress and seems to have lost her bearings to date. Hopefully, that will change in the future.
Surveying the potential Democratic field if Biden or Harris don’t run is a very tricky business, but two names -- Newsom, who is a lot more qualified than the tabloids would have you believe, and Terry McAuliffe, running for a second term as governor of Virginia -- obviously come to mind.
With millions of Americans now permanently infatuated with Trump it is clearly conceivable that he could win another presidential election. There is every good reason to fear for America if he does.
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