Trump associates fear his gloating about Ginsburg replacement will blow up in his face: report
According to interviews in Politico with former associates of Donald Trump, the president is reveling in the fact he may very well be able to make a third lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court before the November election but it is only a matter of time before he goes overboard and causes another controversy.
With the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the president is riding high because it has knocked reports of a poor economy and over 200,000 dead from the coronavirus pandemic off the front pages giving Trump a reprieve as the election nears.
Trailing in the polls, the presidentâs opportunity to make waves with Republicans with his high court pick could help invigorate his campaign but it also comes with a downside according to some who know Trump all too well.
According to the report, âClose observers of Trumpâs career know that such moments are fraught with risk for him,â with Politicoâs Michael Kruse adding, âSo many questions, of course, roil this tumultuous moment in American politics, but the most operative for Trump might be this: Can he, at 74 years old, continue to do for days or weeks what he did Friday nightâarguably for the first time in his whole lifeâand just hold himself in check, say the diplomatic thing rather than the nakedly partisan one, and let the possible or even probable spoils of this development wash over him?â
One Trump associate admits itâs not likely.
âHe might be a little reserved for a day or two,â explained former Trump casino executive Jack OâDonnell, âbut then look out.â
Trump biographer David Cay Johnston agreed.
âDonald can act for a time,â Johnston said, âbut he canât sustain it.â
Former Trump Organization Executive Vice President Barbara Res couldnât even put it into words, telling Politico, âIâm sure his staff will try to get him to hold back, butâĤâ
According to another Trump biographer, Tim OâBrien, the president canât help himself when he thinks heâs on a roll.
âNo. Absolutely not. Does Trump ever lay low? And this is a major event. Itâs like red meat for him. Heâs not going to be, you know, a wallflower while people are debating Ginsburg and the future of the court,â he explained. âHeâs first and foremost, because heâs so insecure, an attention addictâso any event that he can participate in, in which he gets attention, he does, no matter how grotesque or crass it is.â
Casino exec OâDonnell went so far as to make a prediction, telling Politico, âIt will not be long before he says she [Ginsburg] was actually a very bad judge.â
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