Quitters gonna quit
A potential endgame for America's worst president
The first time I saw this, I recoiled in disgust:
I recoiled because, deep down inside, a humiliating re-election defeat this November is almost certainly the only significant consequence Donald Trump is likely to face for his murderous, corrupt maladministration. I have no faith at all that he’ll face legal consequences for his actions — not after the way he’s packed the courts with hacks and lackeys who are routinely judged as “unqualified” by the American Bar Association.
Anyway.
I mostly dismissed this. Then I read this…analysis, I guess you’d call it by Charles Gasparino at FOX News (I won’t link to it, you can look for it yourself) relying on Republican leaks to him:
A stretch of lackluster polling for President Trump has some Republican operatives nervous about the president’s reelection prospects in November – with some even floating the possibility for the first time that Trump could drop out if his poll numbers don’t rebound.
“It’s too early, but if the polls continue to worsen, you can see a scenario where he drops out,” one GOP operative who asked to remain anonymous told Fox News.
“I’ve heard the talk but I doubt it’s true,” another said. “My bet is, he drops if he believes there’s no way to win.”
Suddenly, Sean’s scenario didn’t seem so farfetched. Here’s the thing about Trump: he’s a stone loser and a born quitter who’s run away from every single fight he’s ever faced, like the feckless coward he is. The minute things start going sideways for him, Trump walks away. Don’t take it from me, here’s some history from five years ago:
But, like many successful businessmen, the real estate developer and GOP pack leader—who often espouses his disdain for “losers”—does not see every venture and contest through to the bitter end. Throughout his career, Trump has demonstrated wild enthusiasm at the start of big projects, and ruthlessly pursued a profit agenda that, in many cases, has led him to ditch the deal when the risks, whether financial or reputational, start to outweigh the prospective reward.
From a casino in French Lick, Indiana, to a dispute with condo owners in Panama and even in renewing “The Apprentice” reality show on NBC, Trump has time and again spotted the point of diminishing returns and quit.
Remember The Apprentice — the show that turned him from a laughingstock into a reality-TV star, and did more than anything else to reify the notion that he was a tough business mogul? He quit, rather than be canceled:
Donald Trump, whose low-rated reality show “The Apprentice” was left off the new prime-time schedule unveiled this week by NBC, says the network can’t fire him — he quits.
The real estate mogul issued a statement on Friday saying he has informed the U.S. television network he is “moving on from ‘The Apprentice’ to a major new TV venture,” though he declined to elaborate.
Funny how that TV venture never happened.
The point is: Trump is a quitter. It’s the essence of who he is. And if he’s true to form, he’s going to do it at the point where it does the most damage to everyone who’s lined up behind him. If Republicans are now leaking word about this, you better believe there’s a non-trivial possibility it’s going to happen.
Thanks, I hate it.
Speaking of Trump: McSweeney’s catalog of Trump’s worst cruelties, collusions, corruptions, and crimes — a categorized collection of this president's lowlights, 759 and counting.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine rewriting new season from scratch — nobody's really in the mood for a wacky show about the NYPD right now. I’m here for this; it’s really the only procedural I liked, and it’s a good idea to rethink it.
Polygon’s investigation into Cards Against Humanity and cofounder Max Temkin — can you say shocked but not surprised? Nicole Carpenter spoke to 21 former employees and contractors, along with many others with ties to the company and Max, who stepped down after these allegations. I really, really dislike the game; I’ve never enjoyed playing it.
The Return of the 90s Web — Kicks Condor chimed in with thoughts on modern personal directories.
I am so goddamn in awe of Wesley Lowery on the reckoning over objectivity in newsrooms led by Black journalists — the illusion of fairness vs. telling hard truths. I can’t believe he and I were in class together.
The Dixie Chicks rename, dropping the “Dixie” — learning from Lady Antebellum's mistake, the Chicks cleared the new name with an existing band first.
"The person who types “lol” is never actually laughing; the person who types I’M SCREAMING is silently dabbing at a screen. In the same way, the person who is perpetually shocked and outraged and brimming with righteous fury is almost always lying to themselves. They’re as affectless as the rest of us: play-acting, downloading synthetic emotions, and then passing them on. Welcome to the age of bad faith."
This Independence Week is going to be rough; doleful — full of tragedy. You should take a moment to watch something joyful. I give you Alicia Keys in a Tiny Desk Concert.
I love all of you. I hope you’re all doing as well as can be managed in these circumstances. Let’s hold each other in love and compassion and kindness.