Spoiler: Argue among yourselves in the comment section but please don’t break the furniture.
Fox News host Laura Ingraham, who claims she’s been friends with Donald Trump for 25 years, might not be friends with The Donald much longer. During an appearance on Fox News contributor Lisa Boothe’s “The Truth with Lisa Boothe,” Ingraham said the quiet part out loud. (I loathe that trite, overused phrase; I really do — but it sure is applicable, here):
The country, I think, is so exhausted. They’re exhausted by the battle, the constant battle, that they may believe that, well, maybe it’s time to turn the page if we can get someone who has all Trump’s policies, who’s not Trump.
The episode was aptly titled, Crossing the Rubicon with Laura Ingraham.
If you’re among those already gnashing their teeth over the mere suggestion, in part because you’re pretty convinced that the raid on Mar-a-Lago made Trump even more invincible than you already thought he was, my apologies. My goal here is not to change anyone’s mind on either side of this contentious issue, but to simply report the facts — mostly, anyway.
Ingraham explained her take:
People conflate Trump with people’s overall sense of happiness in the country. Donald Trump’s been a friend of mine for 25 years, and I’m always very open about this on my show. But, you know we’ll see whether that’s what the country wants
With more than two years before the 2024 presidential election — a lifetime or two in politics — there’s a whole lot of time left to “see whether [Trump’s] what the country wants” — or not.
There’s no doubt that the FBI’s unprecedented raid on the home of the former president fired up not only Trump loyalists but also the Republican Party, as a whole, as Merrick Garland’s Justice Department laid bare its unbridled double standard with all things Trump, as opposed to doing its damnedest to look the other way in the case of Joe Biden’s crackhead son Hunter Biden and controversial business dealings in China, Ukraine, and elsewhere — where his singular “qualification” is he’s Joe Biden’s son.
Toss in the recent development that began with Trump posting on Truth Social that the FBI “stole” his passports during the raid, about which NBC News anchor Norah O’Donnell promptly lied — until Trump proved his case, leading the FBI to admit the passports were indeed seized, and something incredible happened: Trump became a victim with whom even non-Trump diehards began to sympathize — rightly so.
The point? Trump is riding a wave — deservedly so — while the Democrat Party, Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Justice Department, and FBI head Christopher Wray and his out-of-control agency are left with double-standard egg all over their faces.
The question is, will it last? The answer is, I don’t know, and neither does anyone else. Again, two years is an eternity in politics. Time will tell, in large part based on how this episode and others play out.
Will Trump’s base be able to carry the day in 2024? Or will those who believe as Laura Ingraham believes — that a majority of Republican voters will be exhausted by the never-ending drama surrounding Donald Trump — and decide it’s time for new blood?
Again, nobody knows — with more than two years before we find out.