The faithful are assembled at the Confederate Performance Art Convention, whose letters used to stand for something else entirely, but in 2021, the GOP’s public persona has come to match its darkest shadow and unspeakable id. The hours are counting down until Donald Trump’s big moment and one person who is overcome with anticipation — not to mention dread — is Kevin McCarthy. His circumstances may alter considerably between now and Monday morning, depending upon the mood of the Marmalade Messiah. Trump’s going to announce that he’s back in charge and who knows, he might even offer Kimberly Guilfoyle McCarthy’s head on a platter if she dances for him. Politico:
With each speech, we approach the real reason everyone’s here: former President DONALD TRUMP’S Sunday appearance, in which he will formally pronounce himself party kingmaker and take aim at his enemies.
Advisers to Trump say his hit list changes daily. But typically what he says privately, he says on stage. And he’s not just griping about the usual suspects (MITCH MCCONNELL, LIZ CHENEY and NIKKI HALEY).
Three people close to Trump tell me that he’s stewing anew over KEVIN MCCARTHY. It’s become so frequent that his advisers think the House minority leader may be in for a public reprimand. That’s even after the powwow at Mar-a-Lago where McCarthy tried to patch things up after he denounced Trump for the violence on Jan. 6.
The reason for Trump’s displeasure: an emboldened Cheney.
Each time Cheney criticizes Trump from her leadership post as the No. 3 House Republican, he’s reminded that it was McCarthy who pleaded with his conference to keep her on as chair — despite her vote to impeach Trump. The latest trigger came Wednesday, when Cheney said at a press conference that Trump should not lead the party going forward while McCarthy awkwardly stood by.
We’ll see whether McCarthy can get to Trump before his speech Sunday. He seems to already be trying to work his way back into Trump’s good graces. On Thursday, McCarthy took a swipe at Cheney on Fox News, suggesting that she supports cancel culture.
The problem here is that McCarthy is trying to have it both ways and he can’t. He can either be a voice for the old school GOP, or he can be a full bore Trumper. He can’t be both. Mitch McConnell has announced that he will look for electable candidates over the fringe ones that Trump may suggest. McCarthy needs to do the same thing, but he doesn’t have the guts and Trump knows it, and McCarthy knows that he knows it. That’s where things stand early Saturday afternoon. Trump is putting the psychological thumb screws to McCarthy.
Trump signaled Friday that he’s ready to tangle in McCarthy’s conference, endorsing Rep. ANTHONY GONZALEZ’S (R-Ohio) primary challenger, MAX MILLER, a former aide to the president. Gonzalez voted for impeachment.
Despite the tensions, a Trump aide said he plans to downplay the extent of the rift in his CPAC speech by dismissing the GOP establishment altogether. “The only divide in the Republican Party is between the grassroots and a half a dozen Beltway insiders,” he’s expected to say.
It’s not going to be that simple, or that mundane. That’s wishful thinking. Trump has been out of the spotlight for way too long for his taste and with a captive audience of sycophants at CPAC sending the love over the footlights, he’s going to capitalize on it and go all out, unless I miss my guess. He will take aim at his enemies and you can expect Liz Cheney and Mitch McConnell to be front and center.
Matt Gaetz didn’t make his pilgrimage to Wyoming to confront and belittle Liz Cheney for nothing. Junior didn’t make a crack about Dick Cheney’s quail hunting yesterday for nothing. Cheney is in Trump’s crosshairs, and so is the rest of the old school GOP. Joe Biden may be talking about unity, Trump emphatically is not.
The beating heart of Trumpism is expected to renew at CPAC this weekend and tomorrow will be the coronation of the Mango Monarch. The Trump party is alive and well, gyrating and bleating in Orlando as we speak. The key question is, how representative of the entire Republican party, or of America as a whole, is Trumpism? We’re going to find out. And Kevin McCarthy is either going to have a baptism of fire into the cult, or be cast out into the political wilderness. Wait and see.
He’s been deprived of his beloved spotlight for so long now, I imagine he will go whole hog and let it all hang out. Please excuse my getting carried away, but I expect an orgy of tRump mania.
As you are anything but getting carried away, Cherl, you are excused. Discount Evita Peron as your warmup act portends no less.
It will be batshit. Trump is well known to go wild at his rallies, where he’s getting the adulation. That’s what this is going to be.
Would you say, Ursula, that we have gone from Fat Elvis to Psycho Elvis with this stuff?
The Traitor Prince of Mar-A-Lago had better not have ever entrusted any sensitive info to McCarthy. Otherwise, the latter may well be handed excellent incentive to hand it over to the relevant Fed prosecutors after Sunday.
The final descent into madness. The completion of the hostile takeover, Republicanism being replaced by Trumpism.
Trumpism, whose simple, only credo is ‘Do what he says.’
Leaving everyone else an easy target, roll on the courts and begin.
The real show down will be when Trump tries to get some loony bird nominated and McConnell blocks it and goes for an “electable” Republican. That’s when we’re going to see what’s what.
Assuming he lasts that long. Maybe Mcconnell’s hand turned black because he cut a deal with the devil to make Trump die before then.
The RNC is so stupid , this is their chance to get rid of trump, his followers will move on by four more years and trump will fade out .
Not stupid…complicit and compromised. The RNC has no recourse but to go down with him.
Wow! I wonder, will the Orange Menace rant and rave, thus whipping his frothing-at-the-mouth adoring followers into a mindless frenzy? In an act of political worship, will they leap on Kevin McCarthy and rip him into little Republican shreds?
Stay tuned!
I doubt that result since CPAC is not really well-known for having the same type of masses that invaded the Capitol (or usually attend Trump’s rallies). It rarely invites or attracts that “grassroots” folks mentioned in the quote about what Trump’s expected to say. I’m sure many of that “grassroots” group would love to go but most of them aren’t likely to afford the cost of the trip to the convention or being able to be away from work for that long (not to mention many of them probably blew their savings on the trip to DC back in January–or in the weeks since trying to find attorneys to keep them from long jail sentences).
Face it: It’s easier for Trump to talk about the “grassroots” but he has NEVER put himself down with the “common folks,” preferring to fleece them for all the money he can.
Now, IF that “grassroots” batch who were represented in DC on January 6 were able to get inside the vaunted CPAC conference, then McCarthy’s life could be in danger if Trump proverbially tears him to shred (the “grassroots” would likely turn the metaphor into reality). But McCarthy’s going to be safe, relatively speaking.
President Trump has certainly put me in an awkward position. The man lies more than Ralph and isnt a smooth operator like Ralph either. I want to support him but I cant. I would vote for Ralph if it didnt mean my end. The whole thing is so unfair and confusing to me since Ralph denies the existence of any of this.
PS. Gallagher is from Fatal Attraction or Earth Day?
As was said to us four years ago, eff your feelings. It’s the end for you either way. How you choose to face it is the only meaningful choice you got left. Choose wisely.
It won’t be bleating, but rather blowharding. Or maybe blow-mouth farting would be a more apt description. One thing we can be sure of is that the entire room will be toxic.
The immoral of this story is: your nose must be so over up the Trumpian ahole that no clear clean air must ever be allowed to show. Otherwise, you are just on Trump’s doo doo list.
More than likely trump is going to jail , and I wonder how all his followers from the riots feel about him now? He just threw them to the wolves , many may have lost their jobs and now they have lawyers to pay . The RNC has gone to the dogs ….
This trash Donald Trump need to be in jail
Hahaha, you actually believe your twisted sick minded democratic leaders? “TrUmP wIlL bE iN jAiL!! Durrr!!” You are an absolute sheep. Trump will be back in office by November. Mark my words.
Oh and if you want to concrete prophetic evidence check this out https://youtu.be/zAOuh0Adl8w
Nothing like concrete prophecy, I always say.
If the Trumpador was anything close to a real-life failed gang boss, the only concrete thing would be his new overshoes
I keep marking your words, you keep striking out. Funny how that works.
President Trump sure has put me in an awkward position. I feel he is my party but what happens if I get a bad vibe from that side of the party? Its like I really dont have a party. The Messiah thing is a bunch of BS and I refuse to fake something I dont believe in. Same goes for the opponent, thats a huge lie as well.
Why did I choose the red pill?
You’re on your own. The only options you got left is either ride off the cliff with him or jump out and spend a few years–or decades, as the case may be–in exile. Some choice, huh? Wish I could find some pity for you because either way, you’re in for a rough ride.
The only thing that is puzzling me about the whole three ring circus is – how come it wasn’t at Mar a Lago?