For years we’ve been treated to warnings about how former President Donald Trump is an existential threat to the country.
And many in the media have insisted they really, really do not want him to win the 2024 Republican presidential nomination — even though some of those same people have taken opportunities to talk Trump up as an “alpha” compared to his “beta” competitors.
On Monday, MSNBC’s Katie Phang joined the ranks of those who said the quiet part out loud about who they want to be the nominee.
“I’m going to beat this drum until the cows come home,” she said, adding, “I still don’t want a Ron DeSantis. I’ll take a Donald Trump over Ron DeSantis any day.”
She continued, “Ron DeSantis is a leaner, meaner Donald Trump. And I will go to the grave on that one.”
Watch the video below:
MSNBC’s @KatiePhang: “I’ll take a Donald Trump over a Ron DeSantis any day … and I’ll go to the grave on that one.” pic.twitter.com/q2Lijjw2H7
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) July 11, 2023
Of course, this is not true.
Phang left out what she said just a month ago: that voting for the former president would be an “endorsement of political violence.”
She did not mention Jan. 6 or MSNBC’s favorite, “The Big Lie,” or anything about Trump’s views on immigration, or Russian President Vladimir Putin, or NATO. She also left out his promise to be voters’ “retribution” and his explicit promise to appoint a special counsel to prosecute Biden for unknown alleged crimes.
All that was left out because the media has to make Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) look scarier and crazier than Trump because they think the governor would be a more formidable challenger to Biden.
Yes, DeSantis has his own policy issues the Left can drum up fear about. But it is kind of unknown how he would actually govern as president. And that ambiguity could work to his advantage to fend of attacks from the Left.
For his part, Trump has just been broadcasting exactly the kind of presidency he would have if he won re-election again. And there is no reason to think we would see a softer, gentler, more appealing version of him that would win over the disaffected voters in 2024.
If he plans to pivot to that version, it will have to be a radical shift from his current behavior.
It is clear the media believes Trump is the weaker candidate and that is why they are trying to pump him up, despite spending years caterwauling about him being a secret Russian agent in the White House and basically Hitler.
But those who are secretly rooting for him to win the nomination better start getting ready to be crying on election night 2024.
Because as it stands now according to the polls, it is nowhere near clear Biden has the election locked down. And it might just take a couple more falls or gaffes, or inflation and gas prices ticking up a bit, or another supply chain crisis at just the wrong time to tip the election to Trump.