Earlier this week, the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman told her Twitter followers that Donald Trump has been telling people he’ll be reinstated as president by August:
Trump has been telling a number of people he’s in contact with that he expects he will get reinstated by August (no that isn’t how it works but simply sharing the information). https://t.co/kaXSXKnpF0
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) June 1, 2021
Given Haberman’s vagueness when it came to who Trump was talking to as well as her once again citing nebulous alleged sources, many conservatives were reluctant to put much stock in Haberman’s claim. We at Twitchy can count ourselves among those people.
But in light of new information from Charles C.W. Cooke, we may need to reconsider our initial skepticism:
Maggie Haberman is right. Donald Trump really does believe that he is going to be "reinstated" as president, alongside former senators Perdue and McSally. This isn't "fake news" or the product of a garbled telegram. I can attest to it myself. https://t.co/brcfjUnT46
— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) June 3, 2021
Say what you will about Maggie Haberman, but Charles C.W. Cooke is not one to make baseless assertions. He’s got a reputation for having receipts to back himself up, and he’s earned that reputation.
.@charlescwcooke confirms Maggie Haberman's reporting that Donald Trump is convinced he will be restored to the presidency later this summer and adds new details, such as that Trump believes Martha McSally and David Perdue will be joining him. https://t.co/UC0ULd5jU0
— Varad Mehta (@varadmehta) June 3, 2021
Cooke writes:
It will be tempting for weary conservatives to dismiss this information as “old news” or as “an irrelevance.” It will be tempting, too, to downplay the enormity of what is being claimed, or to change the subject, or to attack the messengers by implying that they must “hate” Trump and his voters. But such temptations should be assiduously avoided. We are not talking here about a fringe figure within the Republican tent, but about a man who hopes to make support for his outlandish claims “a litmus test of sorts as he decides whom to endorse for state and federal contests in 2022 and 2024.” Conservatives understand why it mattered that the press lost its collective mind over Russia after Trump’s fair-and-square victory in 2016. They understand why it mattered that Hillary Clinton publicly described Trump as an “illegitimate president” who had “stolen” the election. And they understand why it mattered that Jimmy Carter insisted that Trump had “lost the election” and been “put into office because the Russians interfered.” They should understand why this matters, too.
The scale of Trump’s delusion is quite startling. This is not merely an eccentric interpretation of the facts or an interesting foible, nor is it an irrelevant example of anguished post-presidency chatter. It is a rejection of reality, a rejection of law, and, ultimately, a rejection of the entire system of American government. There is no Reinstatement Clause within the United States Constitution. Hell, there is nothing even approximating a Reinstatement Clause within the United States Constitution. The election has been certified, Joe Biden is the president, and, until 2024, that is all there is to it. It does not matter what one’s view of Trump is. It does not matter whether one voted for or against Trump. It does not matter whether one views Trump’s role within the Republican Party favorably or unfavorably. We are talking here about cold, hard, neutral facts that obtain irrespective of one’s preferences; it is not too much to ask that the former head of the executive branch should understand them.
charles cooke confirms maggie haberman’s reporting: trump is off the deep end https://t.co/GWudlaJRBP pic.twitter.com/mjp1Oh9S7N
— Allahpundit (@allahpundit) June 3, 2021
This is off the charts bonkers. He's a madman and catering to his mania in pursuit of some near-term political gain is an act of irresponsibility with few parallels. https://t.co/OGKwQcYaLf
— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) June 3, 2021
"I can attest, too, that Trump is trying hard to recruit journalists, politicians, and other influential figures to promulgate this belief — not as a fundraising tool or an infantile bit of trolling or a trial balloon, but as a fact."
He's insane if so. https://t.co/UC0ULd5jU0
— Varad Mehta (@varadmehta) June 3, 2021
Read it and weep.
I mean that literally. You weep, I weep, Jesus fucking wept. https://t.co/ZCplnOi6ME
— Jeff B. tried to do his best, but he could not (@EsotericCD) June 3, 2021
Charles C.W. Cooke is not a “Bulwark conservative.” He’s not a Resistance loon. If what he reports is correct, then we have cause for concern.
And we will owe Maggie Haberman an apology.
Stay tuned.
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