David Von Drehle notes a potential multiplication of President Trump’s woes:
… it is intriguing that Fox News added a veteran politician to its rather compact board of directors earlier this year and placed him in charge of nominating future board members. Paul D. Ryan, former House speaker, has as much reason as any conservative Republican in America to nurse a gigantic grudge against the president. To have him advising the new Fox News leadership on strategy and future directions cannot bode well for the aging star of the Donald Trump Show. …
Arguably, Ryan was the face of the GOP’s future, but after just two years of carrying water for Trump, the budget-busting boor shredded Ryan’s credibility as a fiscal hawk and dented his reputation for decency. In 2018, he declined to run for reelection.
So Ryan has clear eyes regarding the fates of any who linger too long in the Trump embrace. Vanity Fair magazine’s resident Fox News-watcher, Gabriel Sherman, quoted an unnamed executive at the channel as saying: “Paul is embarrassed about Trump, and now he has the power to do something about it.” [WaPo]
If Ryan was the face of the GOP’s future, it would have been a bust based on his performance as Speaker, but I take Von Drehle’s point. If Trump’s primary propaganda horn is suddenly turned against him, he’ll be badly hobbled. Would his base cling to him if their favorite news media was suddenly documenting his mendacity, his incompetence, and even his damned laziness (an important point in the Midwest, and if he thinks he can win Minnesota, I’m predicting he’ll lose it by at least 10 points, and more likely 20 – Minnesota farmers are not a happy lot, and the Minnesota Republicans are well known for big talk, but no matching walk)? I’m guessing an even split.
This should be quite interesting. If Fox News turns against him and suggests he’s incompetent and unworthy, it’ll be an echo of one of Trump’s biggest motivations – to be accepted as one of the elite of New York City. He may cling to the Presidency just out of spite, rather than resign and flee the country.
