Donald Trump can be defeated.
He was in 2020, although he’ll never admit it. He was defeated by E. Jean Carroll in court when a New York jury in a civil case found him liable for sexual abuse. He was defeated in a Manhattan criminal court earlier this year and found guilty of 34 felony counts. And I defeated him in federal court three times when his administration tried to take away my White House press pass.
Donald Trump is a stone cold loser.
He knows it, and his minions know it. So they are, like they did four years ago, trying to manipulate the political machinery in the United States in the very likely event he loses again. These machinations include but are not limited to, trying to steal, suppress, discount, and refuse votes, as well as potentially encouraging armed resistance to congressional certification of the election.
January 6, 2021, in many ways, is just past prologue. With Trump, there remains the threat of violence. Fortunately, the country is run by Joe Biden this time. The Chief of the Capitol Police, Tom Manger, is a veteran who knows how to handle riots. A repeat of the seditious activities of Jan. 6, at least, does not appear in the offing, no matter how much Trump would like it to be so.
Other than a private plane trip to Russia or Venezuela, after another election loss, Donald Trump knows he’s basically, as Martha and the Vandellas sang, left with; “nowhere to run to baby, nowhere to hide.”
To be blunt, under no circumstances will Donald Trump accept a defeat because to do so means that he will ultimately have to go to prison – and that’s the one thing Trump simply can’t accept. As one former Trump associate explains, Trump would rather go out in a blaze of inglorious violence.
“But he’s got to face that fact,” Michael Cohen, his ex-fixer who served time in federal prison for tax fraud and perjury in a separate Trump election interference case, reminded me Wednesday. “He’s still looking at prison.”
On MSNBC on Wednesday, Cohen admitted he’s also considering leaving the country should Trump win. “I’m working on a foreign passport with a different name,” he told host Nicole Wallace and recommended she and other journalists (including myself) who are on “the list” do the same. “How many people has he turned around and said ‘these are people I intend to go after?’” Cohen asked. As he noted, the Supreme Court recently gave Trump a get-out-of-jail-free card so that any “official” action he takes is protected by immunity. “This is serious,” Cohen reminded me.
He doesn’t have to remind me. But, it is worth noting that Cohen believes Trump’s chances for winning the election are fading. “The Vice President is right,” Cohen reminded me. “One of the things we’ve seen is that his rallies aren’t like they used to be. He’s demented and it’s showing more often. Somehow he tries to keep the narrative going about how he’s a better candidate, but come on. It’s Donald. He’s a loser.” And, it appears that “Trump fatigue,” is a very real condition.
And at the end of the day, Cohen has an increasing amount of hope for what happens after the election as well. While the threat of violence is real, and some of the voting guidelines have changed in some of the swing states, Cohen believes Trump will lose by such a wide margin, that it won’t matter. “I really don’t see him being able to do anything about it,” Cohen said.
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I am left wondering how anyone could be undecided in the current presidential election. It’s like being offered a shelter in a blizzard and hesitating because you want to know how many bathrooms the shelter has. It isn’t a fight between Harris and Trump. It remains a fight to restore our democracy; not save it – but restore it. The Supreme Court has already destroyed it.
Recently I found a few people who understand that point. Interestingly enough it was among a group of comedians. Tom Arnold introduced me to David Rosenberg, a fellow native Louisvillian who is part of the creative force behind “Comics for Kamala.” Arnold performed Friday night at the famous Los Angeles Comedy Store along with Mark Maron, Caroline Rhea and several other comedians who donated their time to tell jokes – some of them political, and some of them – like a story Arnold told about Peter Criss of “Kiss” fame – not so political, but very funny.
Rosenberg said his wife came up with the line “Comics for Kamala” but it was California Congressman Eric Swalwell who inspired the effort. “He just wanted us to do something. So we debuted at the Democratic National Convention and now we’re out on the road with it.”
The event is unique among all of the political events I’ve covered in the last 40 years. Comics are notorious for poking fun at politicians, but rarely joining hands to support a cause, much less a politician. “It’s been interesting,” Rosenberg explained. “Unique forum. We have local politicians coming out to venues they wouldn’t normally visit.” No kidding. Politicians are usually fuel for the comic fire – and still are. It just appears Trump is the fuel of the moment. “In Boise,” Rosenberg said, “We had the mayor come out. It’s cool to rally around joy. We’re bringing some levity to this and politicians – especially local politicians – are getting a chance to meet people they normally don’t see.”
The next time Donald Trump talks about how he needs to “protect” women would certainly be more interesting if Catherine Rhea, Kathy Griffin, or a host of other female comics were present to push back.
Who knows, maybe it’s the beginning of a trend. Open mic night with local politicians vying for the opportunity to serve based on whether they can sell their B.S. and get an audience at a comedy club. There are worse ways to go.
Rosenberg said the “Comics for Kamala” tour has stops planned in Phoenix, Michigan, Boston, Cleveland, Atlanta, New Hampshire, Austin TX, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Baltimore, Portland and Dallas in October. “It’s a unique experience,” he added.
Of that, there is no doubt. Watching Maron do a 15-minute set lambasting Trump, followed by Arnold telling us how he saved Peter Criss’ life (You have to watch the bit to understand) made for a unique night covering politics. I was left wondering if comics should cover all politics, and whether or not we should have comics moderate presidential debates. I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing Arnold, Maron or perhaps Jerry Seinfeld moderating a debate between presidential candidates. Admit it; part of you would like that too.
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The next time Donald Trump talks about how he needs to “protect” women would certainly be more interesting if Catherine Rhea, Kathy Griffin, or a host of other female comics were present to push back. Certainly anyone could do better than the reporters I’ve seen moderating the current debates.
What we’ve seen during nearly a decade of Trump in politics, is that Harris is right – he is an unserious man and he is bringing about serious results. Why are we taking him seriously? He only managed to win one election in his entire life – and that was a fluke brought about because of a convergence of strange events; The Bernie Bros left Philadelphia angry and ready to either not vote or to vote for Trump because Bernie Sanders didn’t get the nod over Hillary Clinton. Clinton didn’t campaign well in the swing states. And, yes, the Comey surprise hurt her too.
Despite the scatological intentions of Trump’s people in 2020, their fecal responses to Joe Biden didn’t work. Trump had so angered the public because of his response to COVID, his continuous lying about rebuilding infrastructure, his horrible economic decisions, tax breaks to the rich and a host of other real concerns, that he could not overcome his negative press. He lost.
Four years later he’s hoping that people have forgotten and will give him another “Get out of Jail Free” card by electing him to another term.
It ain’t looking good for him.
The other side is having too much fun. At a recent Trump rally, I saw, people left angry, bitter and bored. A Harris event resulted in cheers. The Harris team has an army of former Republicans, union officials and now comics on her side.
I don’t see how Trump overcomes it. The Trump faithful may be saying, “I know you’re not good for me, but you’ve become a part of me,” as Martha and the Vandellas sang. But truth be told, at this point I think Trump’s tired old tropes are too tired to hustle a majority of Americans into voting for him – and more importantly, I don’t think his demented disinformation can effectively win the electoral college.
Still, Cohen is hedging his bets talking about getting a new passport and a new name.
Me, I’m tempted, but I’m too damn stubborn. I’ll stay and fight because I firmly believe that this time next year, I’ll see Trump in orange, behind bars and screaming like a toddler before they shove him into solitary confinement.
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