Donald Trump Is Running Scared

Donald Trump has been running for president for nearly a decade. He has never won the popular vote because his policies are out of touch with most American voters. But throughout his permanent campaign, the scandal-plagued former president won the Republican nomination three times in a row, and in 2016 he had enough energy and calm to flip swing states and win the electorate. It showed that. 2020. And this year he’s back.

But something is very different about President Trump’s 2024 campaign. The perennial candidate, who used to seize every important opportunity to promote himself, is cowed this year.

Don’t get me wrong. Trump remains in the news as the mainstream media continues to distort itself to make the Republican re-election seem like a normal campaign. He makes authoritarian statements on Failed Truth social media platforms. He continues to appear at stage-managed campaign events even though, as Vice President Kamala Harris noted, “people are starting to leave his rallies early out of fatigue and boredom.” And he still expects to participate in friendly interviews with MAGA allies.

But this week, President Trump canceled his first interview appearance scheduled for the fall campaign. CBS 60 minutes The letter promised to pay the same compensation as Democratic candidate Harris for appearing under a tough but fair interrogation. President Trump’s absence was formally noted at the beginning of the special edition. 60 minutesaired on Monday nights. Correspondent Scott Pelley opened the show by saying that it’s a “more than half-century tradition” for candidates to appear on the nation’s top TV news shows in rapid succession, and that President Trump would be enthusiastic if he did so. I explained that I had spoken. Somewhat strangely, 60 minutes in 2016and became quite combative in 2020– Originally agreed to extended dialogue with Perry this year.

“But unfortunately, President Trump canceled it last week,” Perry revealed. why? “The narrative has changed in the campaign,” Perry said. “First, the company claimed it would fact-check the interview. We fact-check every story. Then President Trump said he needed an apology for the 2020 interview.” 60 minutes Correspondent Leslie Stahl thwarted one of the candidates’ more outrageous attempts to spread misinformation on national television.

In the end, viewers saw Harris do exactly what we expect from a presidential candidate, and a president. She gave serious interviews to journalists who asked pointed questions and demanded candid answers. Meanwhile, Trump went into hiding after it was discovered that he lied about the size of the crowd at his Sunday rally in Juneau, Wisconsin. swarm with flies.

The former president was still in hiding on Tuesday as Harris took further questions. the view, howard stern showand The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The Republican candidate’s only scheduled appearance was a stage-managed “town hall” event featuring Trump transition team members Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard.

President Trump is expected to return to the streets later in the week for more rallies, including a completely inexplicable incident at the Calhoun Ranch. Coachella, CaliforniaThe state gave him just 34 percent of the vote in 2020, and he is not expected to do much better this year. (And lest anyone imagine that the former president might be targeting his supporters in Riverside County, California. desert sun The 2020 headline shattered the illusion that “Biden won every Coachella Valley city in 2020 election.” Voting in the City of Coachella itself Biden 7,948, Trump 2,008a 4-1 Democratic margin. )