CNN’s Jim Acosta is assessing former President Donald Trump’s recent remarks about the 2020 presidential election and is suggesting “every day is kind of a grievance groundhog day” for him.
Acosta said on Sunday, “It seems he gets up every day, gripes about the election, then wakes up the next day still a loser.”
Mentioning reported remarks made by Trump at a Republican National Committee donor dinner at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Saturday, Acosta said, “He called the results B.S., slammed his own vice president for certifying them and said, this is a direct quote … ‘If that were Schumer instead of that dumb son of a b**** Mitch McConnell they would never have allowed it to happen.’ That is the former President of the United States.”
He added, “The comments, by the way, were met with applause. What a retreat, indeed.”
Pivoting to ask Margaret Hoover for her take, Acosta suggested Trump is who Republicans are “flocking to” right now.
Hoover explained she is not sure Republicans are really flocking to Trump and noted Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is not as he is focused on 2022.
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“Notice, that was a Republican National Committee retreat and they all had to go to him? He’s not working to call and keep activated the Republican base. I mean … he thinks it’s in his interest to have taken his visage away from their ability to fundraise,” Hoover said.
She continued, “He’s going to find that if you are a president out of power, your power wanes pretty quickly, and we’re seeing that with Donald Trump. So I am not so sure this is his formula for coming back or, frankly, regaining power.”
Acosta moved on to ask John Avlon for his thoughts.
“First all, I think you get points for coming up with grievance groundhog day,” Avlon said.
Acosta responded, “Bill Murray references are always welcome on this program.”
Avlon argued the former president’s “schtick” is “wearing thin even among donors.” He acknowledged Trump reportedly did receive applause for his remarks but stressed it is “starting to fall flat” because it is “more narcissism, and more grievance, and more negative partisanship.”
He explained the real question is “whether people like Mitch McConnell will stop playing footsie with this Stockholm syndrome and come out and say, ‘No, he should not be the nominee in 2024,’ just draw a clear line in the sand. It’s not like they’ve got any rational excuse other than fear.”
Hoover jumped in and suggested McConnell should do what Liz Cheney did “which is explicitly say, he shouldn’t be doing that, by calling the election a fraud and continuing to propagate the big lie, he’s not for the Constitution.”
She went on to argue, “He is undermining the constitution… the rule of law and our judicial system, and that is against the premise of the founding of this country, and we need to be for the Constitution.”