'The emperor has no clothes': N.Y. Post sticks a knife in Trump's re-election hopes
Reflecting on Donald Trump's last seven days which have been filled with rage and threats of coming "death and destruction," the editorial board of the normally Trump-friendly New York Post stated they don't see any way that he can win re-election in 2024.
Under a headline that bluntly declared, "Trump won't change, and that shows he can't win," the editors expressed dismay that, despite losing in 2020, he still "can’t stop himself from nursing piddling grudges and throwing out childish insults."
With the Post running the picture of Trump wielding a baseball bat that he posted as part of a meme hinting at violently assaulting Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on the front page next to a headline that blared "BAT HIT CRAZY," the opinion page editors began with, "This guy. As some of his allies are trying to rewrite January 6 as an afternoon stroll, Donald Trump is having none of it. In the face of a possible criminal case in New York, he screamed that “death and destruction” would follow any indictment."
Writing that "he hasn't changed in the slightest," they made the case that everything he does, he does for himself.
"Time and time again, Trump’s responses have been unhinged, indicative, and self-defeating. And don’t buy for a second when he says he’s 'fighting for you.' If you actually 'rose up' and were arrested, Trump would abandon you, just as he has every ally who wasn’t useful to him anymore. What did he do for those locked up for months over Jan. 6? What cash did he hand over for the candidates he endorsed in the recent midterm elections he torpedoed for Republicans?"
Going beyond lecturing Trump's fans that they are being played, the editors stated that his inability to dial it back means there is no way he will be able to bring moderate Republicans and independents back into the fold, making a third bid for the Oval Office a waste of time and money.
Writing, "He’s not offering anyone apart from himself a better future. He’s out for revenge," they continued, "When Trump ran in 2016, he was an unknown entity. Independents took a chance, wanting to break from the stagnant political machines that sought to anoint Hillary Clinton. But he’s not a mystery anymore ... The emperor has no clothes. Perhaps you don’t mind. But there are plenty of middle-of-the-road voters who do."
"You want a leader who will fight for you? Then you have to pick someone who can actually get elected. Republicans can’t throw away their shot in 2024," the editorial concluded.
You can read the entire piece here.