"[A] Republican president will make a triumphant return to the White House. And I wonder who that will be? I wonder who that will be? Who, who, who will that be? I wonder."
Said Donald Trump, near the end of his CPAC speech yesterday (transcript).
There's coy cuteness in the repeated "wonder" and the repeated "who": "And I wonder who that will be? I wonder who that will be? Who, who, who will that be? I wonder." It's like the old doowop song:I wonder wonder who who who who...
It's clearly a humorous locution. Check it out:
The "who" has got to refer to himself, don't you think? There's also the idea of making "a triumphant return to the White House." He's the only one who's been there before and can return, though it could be denied by saying it only means that Republicans have been there before and the Party can return one of its own to the place.
Rewatching the clip, I think he's saying "who... who," pausing, and saying "who, who, who," because he wants the crowd to chant "You! You! You!" There might be some of that in the crowd noise, but I don't think it's distinct enough to meet his expectations.
He proceeds to the last couple sentences of his remarks:
Standing before you today, I am supremely confident that for our movement, for our party, and for our country, our brightest days are just ahead. And that together we will make America prouder, freer, stronger and greater than it ever has been before.
Should we interpret to mean that he will run again? I think he's obviously teasing the idea. He gets something he wants simply by teasing a run, and why shouldn't he play that part while it's new and interesting?
He may be looking to pass his politics on to someone new. When I listened to the speech live, I was struck that he singled out Jim Jordan — out of all the CPAC speakers. He said:
I heard Jim Jordan did a great job.... oh, there he is... Hi Jim. I heard you were great. In fact, I hated to follow you. I want to follow other people. I could name them too. I like to follow other people. I heard you were great.
He highlighted Jordan and diminished everyone else. But this morning, I'm looking at the transcript, and I see that's just an intro to something I've heard before. Jordan was "a great wrestler," a "college champion," who "likes to win." And that's a set up for how much Trump likes to win and how much Trump has won:
In last year’s congressional primaries, 120, listen to this, it’s crazy. 120 of 122 candidates I endorsed won, 120. That’s almost as good as Jim’s wrestling record. And the two that lost were beaten by people claiming to be more Trump than their opponent. So I like those two people very much also. In the Senate, I was undefeated in endorsements with a record of 21 and 0....
So I don't think he was passing the torch to Jim Jordan. Maybe some day he will, but I think he wants the excitement and influence of seeming to run and of having a torch to pass if he decides not to run. Singling out Jim Jordan — to the extent that it was anything more than a rhetorical device to ease into the topic of winning — is a way to put all the would-be Republican candidates on notice that he has a power to name his successor and he's going to make a big show of exercising that power.
And his endorsements are huge — I was undefeated in endorsements.
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53 comments:
Huh. I thought it was spelled "yuuuge".
Trump's continued popularity exceeds that of any losing candidate I can remember in my lifetime. It must be confounding to the LLRs of this world.
The boxer enters the ring.
No, I think he intends to be reinstated.
Bigger challenge, more fun when he wins.
Gaius Marius had a seventh term as consul. It didn't work out that well.
I agree he’s simply teasing a run. The idea makes the Dems go crazy.
By emphasizing the number of wins, the margins of wins, and the theaters of wins, he sets off the presidential election: With all these wins, how can he have lost the election? Rhetorical question implied.
The "I wonder who" should be good bait to get the media and the NeverTrumpers all stirred up again.
Whether he runs or not he is the only one at this stage that can hold on to the parts of the GOP that need to be united for 2022. And, no, those parts of the GOP do not include "Lincoln Party" refugees, rinos or anyone named Chuck. He has already built the necessary coalition to succeed again, but now he needs to keep it together long enough for the voters to excise the cancer that still threatens that coalition from within. That has to be the goal for 2022 and, although he can't do it alone, he can count on a number of solid GOP pols who still need his endorsement. Biden will also help enormously by killing the economy, driving unemployment through the roof and escalating the cultural outrages. I think the future is bright for him so long as his health holds up.
He backed Jim Jordan because Jordan is one of the few who have come out and said he should run again and would win in 2024. Early in his speech, Trump said he may decide to run again. "I may even decide to beat them a 3rd time."
Classic Trump.
I don't see him running in 4 years simply because of age and...who needs it at that age? I'd say ask Joe Biden, but Joe doesn't have a clue where he is. Trump still has more energy than any other players out there. And after another few months of Biden, then a couple of years of overwhelmingly insufferable Kamala, people just may be ready for more Trump.
Either way, he'll be holding that out for three years to keep people off balance.
I don’t think he has the power to name his successor, but I do think that the Liz Cheney and the Pedophiles wing of the Republican party has almost zero power to do so.
Trump calls for sanctions against Big Tech for censoring conservatives. Then praises Jim Jordan, who scuttled the hearings on Big Tech for censoring conservatives, due to the fact Big Tech is a major donor to Jim Jordan.
This is what I mean--Trump has a HUGE blind spot for whatever reason. It's inexplicable.
It's funny that many here seem to believe that if Trump does run in 2024 he has a chance of winning. Hasn't anyone been paying attention to what happened in 2020? The only chance is to gain control of congress and rein in the election laws in a way that can limit the manipulation of the vote count.
Trump referred to this in his speech and the interesting part is his take on his coattails...candidates he supported received many fewer votes collectively than he did and won almost overwhelmingly. He was making the inference to the fact that the Dems only paid attention to manipulating the count in his (and a select few Senate races). You can be sure they won't make that same mistake in 2022.
He is running. IMHO.
He was far more teleprompter contained in that speech. If he were not going to run, he would have given a speech that was all bluster and extemporaneous. The would not have been any nuance about Joe being "not malicious". He did venture off the teleprompter speech at times but they were quick forays into a verbal flourish and then back again.
Also, he did not campaign on the idea of biological men competing in women's sport (presumably at the behest of Ivanka and Jared) but he brought it up in this speech. And when he did he got a standing ovation. Now I do not care what anyione else's opinion is on the topic, what I want to point out is that Trump added to his policy positions, and spoke about them. He would not have done that if he were not going to run.
In last year’s congressional primaries, 120, listen to this, it’s crazy. 120 of 122 candidates I endorsed won, 120.
Isn't he saying that if he would have worked harder to help other republicans, the GOP would control the House? You needed 218 votes so you endorsed 120 candidates. Heck of a job, Don!
Amazing leadership.
Masscon said...
It's funny that many here seem to believe that if Trump does run in 2024 he has a chance of winning. Hasn't anyone been paying attention to what happened in 2020? The only chance is to gain control of congress and rein in the election laws in a way that can limit the manipulation of the vote count.
Trump referred to this in his speech and the interesting part is his take on his coattails...candidates he supported received many fewer votes collectively than he did and won almost overwhelmingly. He was making the inference to the fact that the Dems only paid attention to manipulating the count in his (and a select few Senate races). You can be sure they won't make that same mistake in 2022.
AMEN
Pretty insane that Trump wins the 2020 election, and we have to speculate whether or not he'll run in 2024.
I don't think he's going to run again. And unless the GOP SERIOUSLY goes after election integrity, a lot of supporters like me will stay home. Only I'm allowed to jerk my own chain.
Madison, Wisconsin will coordinate fraud now and forever. Ron Johnson's Senate seat will be the next focus of Wisconsin voter fraud.
Voting in Wisconsin is now a waste of time. If someone can send in absentee ballot with just a name, no address....nothing...our voting franchise in Wisconsin is over. If Madison can ballot harvest and erase any ballot chain of custody, it's over. Piece of shit liberal corrupt community.
It should be noted that HR-1, the very first Bill Nancy Pelosi introduced in the new Congress, seeks to federalize and institutionalize the very same voter fruad executed in select democrat cities in swing States to steal the Presidential election.
Democratic voting bill would make biggest changes in decades
The Associated Press ^ | March 1, 2021 | By BRIAN SLODYSKO
WASHINGTON - As Congress begins debate this week on sweeping voting and ethics legislation, Democrats and Republicans can agree on one thing: If signed into law, it would usher in the biggest overhaul of U.S. elections law in at least a generation.
House Resolution 1, Democrats’ 791-page bill, would touch virtually every aspect of the electoral process.
Republicans see those very measures as threats that would both limit the power of states to conduct elections and ultimately benefit Democrats, notably with higher turnout among minority voters.
“This goes above partisan interests. The vote is at the heart of our democratic system of government,” said Fred Wertheimer, president of the nonpartisan good government organization Democracy 21. “That’s the battleground. And everyone knows it.”
Barriers to voting are as old as the country, but in more recent history they have come in the form of voter ID laws and other restrictions that are up for debate in statehouses across the country.
Rep. John Sarbanes, a Maryland Democrat who sponsored the bill, said that outside of Congress “these aren’t controversial reforms.” Much of it, he noted, was derived from recommendations of a bipartisan commission.
Yet to many Republicans, it amounts to an unwarranted federal intrusion into a process that states should control.
Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Ill., excoriated the measure during a House hearing last week as “800 pages of election mandates and free speech regulations” that poses a “threat to democracy” and would “weaken voter confidence” in elections.
Citing Congress’ constitutional authority over federal elections, Democrats say national rules are needed to make voting more uniform, accessible and fair. The bill would mandate early voting, same-day registration and other long-sought changes that Republicans reject.
Republicans can't find a hill to die on.
Democrats spend all their time creating hills to die on.
Pretty insane that Trump wins the 2020 election,
Exactly. Definitely insane. Delusional even.
If Trump runs, are the chi com democratics working swiftly on a new deadly virus in the lab? funded by the US tax payer.
If election laws are not reformed it doesn't matter who runs in 2024.
It's funny that many here seem to believe that if Trump does run in 2024 he has a chance of winning. Hasn't anyone been paying attention to what happened in 2020? The only chance is to gain control of congress and rein in the election laws in a way that can limit the manipulation of the vote count.
Trump referred to this in his speech and the interesting part is his take on his coattails...candidates he supported received many fewer votes collectively than he did and won almost overwhelmingly. He was making the inference to the fact that the Dems only paid attention to manipulating the count in his (and a select few Senate races). You can be sure they won't make that same mistake in 2022.
Agreed.
Please stay on topic.
If you have things to say that don't fit the post, you should go back to the last open thread ("café") or wait for the next one.
I had to do some deletions for this reason.
the 2005 commission, explicitly warned against mail ballots, frontline and hbo pointed out the flaws in dominion software,
Trump is leaving his options open on another term.
Establishing his own pac is a way to intervene in primaries.
This is where the real action is, and the GOPe uses effectively.
A favorite tactic is run multiple candidates to dilute votes away from GOPe challengers, so the eGOP candidate can win.
the dems won by four seats at least three of those came by fraud, the tie in the senate is due to fraud as well,
I agree with Temujin. He won't run again but will keep dangling that to goad the Democrats. I think he'll stay in politics keeping the pot stirred.
I'm happy for that. The last thing I'd like is boring. Like when the Republicans and Democrats agree to appear they are fighting for their constituents while doing whatever keeps them in their premier stations. Boring and self-serving.
Blogger Winnie said...
"I agree with Temujin. He won't run again but will keep dangling that to goad the Democrats. I think he'll stay in politics keeping the pot stirred."
He's messing with them, but he's the king maker now in the republican party. All the LLRs in congress up for re-election in 2022 are in for a rude awakening. Locally TEA party types and Trump loyalists are running for office.
I also like this one: "In the Senate, I was undefeated in endorsements with a record of 21 and 0...."
Right. And Al Gore invented the internet and Joe Biden invented the COVID vaccine.
When it mattered most for the country, Trump bricked two freetrows in Georgia at the end of regulation and then cried about the refs. Trump is a loser. Literally. He lost. He turned the entire GOP into a bunch of crybaby victims and they love him for it. Sad!
Even if he wants to run, there's a decent chance his health won't cooperate (not that it stopped Biden). I'd rather he not endorse one candidate, just say he's happy with any of several, while un-endorsing any squishes like Sasse or Romney who make the mistake of trying to run.
I don't KNOW if Trump will run again, but the FEAR that he WILL is just laying the ground to mess with Dem's minds, what little they have, for the next four years, is YUUUUUUUGE. Hahahahahahahahahahhahahahahhahhahahahhahahahhahahahhahhahahha...(evil laugh).
Oh I wonder wonder umpa doowah who... who wrote teh Book of Love?
There's no reason for Trump AT THIS TIME to either declare his candidacy OR close the door. He needs to keep everyone guessing till 2023. I hope he spends his energy setting up an alternate media platform. we need one. He also needs to go after Lisa Murky and Liz Cheney in 2022. And go after them HARD.
Hawley was great. Jordon was great. He could have selected Jordan because he's still trying to convince Jordan to run for the Senate. OR maybe he thinks Jordan could replace Dull, worthless, Kevin McCarthy.
Trump said about Immigration and electoral reform. The two most important issues. EVERY Republican should be talking about this. But of course they aren't. CPAC said almost nothing about it. Losers.
Trump gives many of these sad NeverTrumpers a B12 shot in the ass. They feel re-energized, that all their inept flailing can make a difference.
They has a sad and they’re not going to take it!
He's working on building support for his program and himself by boosting other Republicans who support his program. We're four years out. Whatever happens, this is the right move for now. And making a tease of his intention messes with Dem heads even more than an open declaration would, so that's good, too.
I remember seeing Liz Cheney and the Pedophiles when they were a garage band playing for tips do their song “Stabbing Sarah Palin in the Back.”
I read a brief story that Trump was setting up his own PAC.
Apparently the Republican party won't fund challengers to incumbent republicans.
Trump will have no problem funding whoever he wishes.
It will change the dynamic considerably in the primaries.
Say what you will, the man's not boring.
Blogger tim in vermont said...
I remember seeing Liz Cheney and the Pedophiles when they were a garage band playing for tips do their song “Stabbing Sarah Palin in the Back.”
You've really upped your game this morning...
I would say it's a shot somewhere else, but there is no evidence of that,
Whatever happens, it's going to involve ring-kissing.
I thought Trump followed Jordan on the podium - that was the connection with giving him attention.
Mr. Trump may have power in GOP primaries but his endorsement of the two GOP Senate candidates in Georgia apparently didn’t do them much good.
The fact is that Mr. Trump lost an election he could have won if had restrained his worst impulses. He was a pretty good president on policy but at the end of the day he was a loser. It’s time to move on.
I think the Liz Cheney leadership vote, following hard upon his agreement to meet with McCarthy, has focused his attention for the next two years. He's going to primary as many establishment republican members as he can. And this will instill some discipline in the caucus in the interim.
Any explanation for why he was so late? Seems like indication of incompetence for a TV performer.
Any explanation for why he was so late? Seems like indication of incompetence for a TV performer.
Bigger than expected crowd on his route to the venue slowed him down.
Richard Aubrey said...
By emphasizing the number of wins, the margins of wins, and the theaters of wins, he sets off the presidential election: With all these wins, how can he have lost the election? Rhetorical question implied.
--------------==============
Trump Q more legitimate than : Hillary Clinton asked why she "isn't 50 points ahead" of Donald Trump in presidential election polling
I hope there are a lot of people like me: Liked him up to the last two months of his term, now just want him to go away. I certainly would not support him in a primary.
Of course, that was true last time too and it didn't work then either.
When will the ossified and corrupt Parties let go. Never. It's a good gig.
The News Media has convinced everyone(?) that politics is a 'Team sport'. It's clever. The people who pay no attention to Governance are guided to a team. Mascots: Elephant/Donkey. Colors: Red/Blue. Support your team. Be loyal to your team.
Half of Democrat voters hate the Democrat Party. But...they will not go over to the other team. Loyalty to the team their grandfathers clung to. 2/3rds of Republicans hate the Republican Party, but they bitterly cling to the conventional wisdom that says a 2nd Party can't win. Republican consultants spend all their time pushing that discredited idea.
This is all academic now, anyway. The Democrats learned that they no longer need voters. They need ballots, and they learned the National News Media will cover their tracks.
Attend to your States, and get a State AG that will press the 10th Amendment before a cowardly US Supreme Court. It won't work, but it is righteous. Build your Militias.
It’s amusing to see all the comments about how “it will mess with Democrats and liberals minds” if Trump runs again. This seems SO important to you people. Guess what? No one I know really cares. We laugh at him and those who continue to take him as a serious person. He is a clown and he will never run again, much less ever win again.
Normally I scroll past Inga. But she peels back the envelope every now and again:
"it will mess with Democrats and liberals minds” if Trump runs again"
She makes a good point. Is that what this is? Our Team, yay? Is it governance we support, or is it 'my team'... yay.
We know what works. Invite immigrants, don't open borders to everyone. Don't strangle business. Make peace with the overwhelming force available to...us. Make peace.
.
Ann Althouse has the patience that I do not have. This Progressive chick has a forum that Free Rangers flock to. When all is said and done, she abides.
He's got my vote.
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