Trump—who led his party to midterm losses in 2018, lost the White House in 2020 to the oldest man ever to hold the job, incited a riotous mob to attack the U.S. Capitol, was impeached twice and contributed to another GOP midterm failure last week — jeered and grimaced at his announcement. He would slowly read prepared remarks in monotones, digressing to tease out whatever non sequitur came to mind. Perhaps Trump’s spirits were low because he read the terrible press coverage leading up to his announcement and could see the faces in the crowd, which were nowhere near the elite GOP convention he commanded at previous rallies. The biggest bold-faced names spotted in the crowd were an array of deplorables and existents: Roger Stone, Madison Cawthorne, Mike Lindell and Dick Morris. Bored, people tried to leave before Trump’s speech was even over. Others simply turned their backs on him and talked through his remarks. Note that these attendees were apparently among his most dedicated and connected aides and supporters. A crowd has formed by the exit of the ballroom as some try to leave Trump’s announcement 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 out-suck 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 fear him less politically, or because they are legitimately afraid of his politics, or both. Regardless, the figure who appeared at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday night was Trump’s interim go-between who resorts to soft, low-key tones when trying to do good. For example, instead of going on about how the 2020 election was supposedly stolen from him, Trump talked about the need for paper ballots and counting all the votes on Election Day. It was a flashback to the post-Access to Hollywood version of Trump, who was backed into a corner and had to prove to his benefactors that he was not going to embarrass them anymore. Somehow he ended up making this hasty announcement that no one, not even his closest advisers, really wanted in the first place. Another sign that his team isn’t entirely hot on the idea? Minutes after Donald Trump announced another run for the White House, Ivanka Trump released a statement to CNN saying in part, “I don’t intend to get involved in politics.” According to @KateBennett_DC — Paul LeBlanc (@CNNPaul) November 16, 2022 Trump’s announcement was exactly what it sounded like: a desperate, low-energy effort to fend off 2024 GOP primary challengers. possibly to fend off ongoing investigations into the Jan. 6 seizure of classified documents and efforts to overturn the election results of 2020 in Georgia; and consolidate its undivided support. He is too weak not to run. His lesser political assets are still worth too much to give up. If Trump understands anything, it’s how to bully the Republican Party into falling in line behind him. He did it after Charlottesville, Helsinki, Impeachment 1.0 and Impeachment 2.0. He was here before. Making bold, inappropriate, destabilizing moves in the midst of personal turmoil is part of his standard operating procedure. By declaring his candidacy so early, Trump is once again daring Republicans to oppose him. The question is whether one chooses to participate. St. Ron DeSantis seems to think he can stay out of the ring, “watch Trump go out” and somehow miraculously be anointed the Republican nominee. Wishful thinking. Because as weak as Trump is right now, he sure isn’t pulling himself off.
