THE NEW REPUBLIC – OPINION: Last Thursday, while his henchmen were busy selling out Ukraine and Elon Musk was hoisting that chain saw at CPAC, Donald Trump spoke to the Republican Governors’ Association. He bragged about how much money he’d raised. He talked about helping other candidates. Then he got to the point: “So we’ve got that money, and I got to spend it somewhere, and they tell me I’m not allowed to run,” Trump said. “I’m not sure. Is that true? I’m not sure.”
This was at least the fourth time Trump has “joked” about running again since he returned to the White House—that is, in the last month or so. He did it at the National Prayer Breakfast on February 6. Also at an event in Las Vegas in late January. And during a speech in Mar-a-Lago. On top of these, there was the “joke” the White House posted on social media, apropos of Trump’s attempt to kill congestion pricing in New York, that showed him wearing a crown with the all-caps message “LONG LIVE THE KING!”
When this comes up on cable news, the host typically asks the guests whether Trump is just trolling the libs or should be taken seriously. It’s a silly question, because the answer is obviously both. He’s always trolling. But if you’ve watched these first four weeks and think he’s not capable of finding a way to suspend the Constitution and stay in office, well, you’re not watching the same show I am. » | Michael Tomasky | Monday, February 24, 2025
