To the surprise of absolutely no one, Donald Trump is running for president for the third time. He gave a somewhat subdued speech at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday evening, on the heels of a disappointing mid-term election for the Republican party. It’s obvious the former president had planned his kick-off event before the election believing he’d be able to take credit for a red wave.
It wasn’t meant to be, though, and Trump’s big announcement was a mixed bag. Some will love it, others will hate it, and yet more will feel indifferent. But that’s a discussion for another piece because I’m here to talk about the absolutely hilarious reaction of the media.
True to form, our stalwart truth-tellers let out a collective wail via their headlines, attempting to jam every hysterical insult they could into relatively few characters. Here are some of the best ones.
For better or worse, we are doomed to relive the period surrounding the 2020 election for all of eternity. The press believes they can continue to make Trump toxic to Americans outside of the base of the Republican party, and whether they are right or wrong in that calculation, they are going to keep trying. So we all might as well get ready for a full relitigation of January 6th again.
You can also expect the DOJ to indict Trump at some point in the near future. His extremely early declaration for the presidency is not going to deter the Biden administration from wielding the levers of federal power against its political opponents. All the chaos of early 2021 is back, and it’s going to be more overwrought than ever. That’s not a reason to not support Trump if you believe he’s the best man for the job, something honest people can absolutely do, but it is something to be prepared for nonetheless.
Returning to the media, no one should be fooled by their hand-wringing. There is not a group of people on this earth who are more excited that Trump is running again than the executives and “journalists” who make up America’s press establishment. CNN might even manage to pull itself away from the ledge now (there’s a reason they aired Trump’s full speech while Fox News cut away). These people want Trump because Trump equals ratings and outrage.
Unfortunately, while we all enjoy watching the show, it remains a turnoff to many people, and that will make Trump’s climb back to the presidency especially difficult. Still, as I’ve said before, I’m all for a vigorous primary. Voters will decide who they want representing them, and that’s how it should be. Whoever the nominee is set to be, we’ll figure it out together.