In case you missed it — and it’s likely you did — former President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday night that he is running for president a third time.
Maybe you were watching “Shark Tank,” “Bachelor in Paradise” or the premiere of “The Curse of Oak Island.” But even if you were watching network and cable news, chances are you only saw some of it.
That’s because none of the networks even took the speech in full, perhaps symbolic of how the country will approach the pitchman’s latest attempt at hoodwinking voters into a second term.
He comically sold the speech as “one of the most important ones in the history of our country,” but — yawn — it ended up being more hype than history.
All three cable networks, including Trump’s erstwhile favorite Fox News, dipped in and out of the hour-plus-long speech. So did the broadcast streaming networks. Elsewhere, reaction to the speech was downright scathing, even in once-friendly corners.
The Rupert Murdoch-owned New York Post ran a full-page cover on gang violence, with a one-inch banner underneath saying “Florida Man Makes Announcement” — with the final gut punch, “Page 26.”
Conservative outlet National Review made an, erm, interesting comparison, writing, “To paraphrase Voltaire after he attended an orgy, once was an experiment, twice would be perverse.”
Even Trump’s own daughter Ivanka, who once worked in the White House with him, apparently had better things to do. She skipped the speech and released a statement saying in part, “I do not plan to be involved in politics” this time around.
It’s a far cry from the media’s wall-to-wall coverage and undeniable obsession in 2016, with many a blue-check Twitter handle calling this speech “low energy.”
While he obviously still has a very loyal and sizable fanbase, it’s pretty clear that Trump is no longer fascinating to much of America, or even all that titillating. After six-plus years of his non-stop antics, we’ve all seen the “wizard” reveal himself to be nothing more than a huckster and a serial narcissist.
“Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain,” he may as well have said in his speech. Which is exactly what many of us did.
In fact, Trump may have finally entered into the scariest realm of all for the former reality television star — boring.
After all, what more is there to see? Over four years we were treated to a never-ending, 24/7 Trump show that took the country on a nausea-inducing roller coaster ride of chaos, confusion, and international embarrassment.
During that time, the Republicans’ cowardly surrender to Trump’s basest impulses managed to lose everything for the party he claimed to prefer, handing Democrats the House, the Senate and the White House, and making the so-called “experiment” an unequivocal failure for the party.
Furthermore, his single term didn’t end with a season-ending cliffhanger — it jumped the shark completely, finishing with a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and a new president.
Since leaving office, he’s faced several investigations and is looking at potential indictments for myriad crimes. His post-presidential ventures have faced considerable challenges and scrutiny, with his social media site lagging and facing fraud allegations, his brand suffering and Trump Organization on trial for tax shenanigans.
As investments go, Trump is more than a risky one, and it seems like the country is bearish on his future, at least if the midterm elections are any indication.
There does, however, appear to be one group that’s very much looking forward to his campaign: Democrats, who are evidently suffering from, at best, some form of collective amnesia or, at worst, utter insanity.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a former presidential candidate himself who should definitely know better, called a second Trump campaign “an absolute horror show,” but nonetheless said, “On the other hand, I got to say that as a politician who wants to see that no Republican is elected to the White House in 2024…his candidacy is probably a good thing.” Former Virginia governor and DNC chairman Terry McAuliffe was speaking for none of us when he said “I think we would all like Donald Trump to run again.”
Even Biden himself welcomed the prospect: “I would not be disappointed,” he said.
Good grief, we’re here again? While Trump’s appeal does seem to be waning, Democrats who make the mistake — again — of underestimating his base’s loyalty and overestimating the appeal of their candidates are begging for trouble.
Instead of champing at the bit for a rematch, Democrats should join the rest of us, including many Republicans and conservatives, in being glad that awful chapter is over, resisting the pull of the Trump Show 2.0, and tuning the biggest loser out for good.
S.E. Cupp is the host of “S.E. Cupp Unfiltered” on CNN.
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