Trump may have been wrong about Bloomberg and the box, but there are other ways
On Sunday, Trump said that Mini Mikey Bloomberg would stand on a box during the debates, something Bloomberg denied. However, Mikey may have other plans….
During the 2016 election, Trump demonstrated a unique knack for finding nicknames that forever define his opponent. Remember “Low Energy” Jeb!, “Crooked Hillary,” and “Little Marco”? None of these nicknames used clever wordplay, such as rhymes or sound-alikes, but all of them stuck like glue, defining down people who have run against him.
In this election season, Trump started calling Joe Biden “Sleepy Joe.” Again, it’s not clever wordplay, but it’s good. A lot of people have been calling Joe Biden “creepy,” because of his habits around girls and women. Trump, however, knew that if the President of the United States called Joe “creepy,” many people would find it offensive. Instead, he labeled Joe “sleepy,” which did two things. First, it inevitably reminded people that Joe is creepy. Second, it forced 77-year-old Joe, who is clearly feeling the weight of his years on the campaign trail, to be endlessly wired, even manic. Trump got into Joe’s head.
Trump is at it again with Mike Bloomberg. Because Democrats have realized there’s a downside to having a presidential candidate who openly calls for the socialism they all desire, they’re hoping that the uber-capitalist Mike Bloomberg will assuage voters’ concerns about a communist Democrat party. It doesn’t matter that Bloomberg is every bit as totalitarian as his socialist opponents in the Democrat primary. It’s enough that he’s not wearing Che images on his tie.
With Bloomberg on the rise, Trump has taken the measure of the man and found him wanting. There’s a lot of psychology going on here. First, Mike is a little guy. He claims to be 5’8″, but is probably closer to 5’6″. Speaking as a petite person myself, there’s nothing wrong with being short, although the taller candidate in a media age usually wins. However, Trump is also clearly saying that Bloomberg is a little person in other ways: there’s no there there. He’s a nothing. He has no decency or moral compass. He’s not a mensch. He has no stature.
On Sunday, Trump doubled down on Bloomberg’s lack of stature. He started with three tweets and, in each one, focused more on how a little person Mike is:
Mini Mike is part of the Fake News. They are all working together. In fact, Bloomberg isn’t covering himself (too boring to do), or other Dems. Only Trump. That sounds fair! It’s all the Fake News Media, and that’s why nobody believes in them any more.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 2, 2020
Many of the ads you are watching were paid for by Mini Mike Bloomberg. He is going nowhere, just wasting his money, but he is getting the DNC to rig the election against Crazy Bernie, something they wouldn’t do for @CoryBooker and others. They are doing it to Bernie again, 2016.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 2, 2020
Mini Mike is now negotiating both to get on the Democrat Primary debate stage, and to have the right to stand on boxes, or a lift, during the debates. This is sometimes done, but really not fair!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 2, 2020
Trump repeated the point about Mini’s height later in the day on Sean Hannity’s show:
Bloomberg’s campaign couldn’t resist taking the bait:
Bloomberg’s National Press Secretary Julie Wood fired back after the eight-minute footage aired.
She said: “The president is lying. He is a pathological liar who lies about everything: his fake hair, his obesity, and his spray-on tan.”
That was a very foolish response. Trump’s looks are old news. Moreover, calling someone fat or bewigged doesn’t go to his leadership qualities. Calling someone “little,” though, speaks not just to height but to moral stature and Bloomberg’s campaign just made it news. If Bloomberg ever debates Trump, all that people will notice is how Trump towers over mini-Mike.
CNN, of course, also got very excited when it came to rebutting Trump’s statement that Mini Mikey would be standing on a box:
This apparently is real. pic.twitter.com/HoKdxOpwyj
— Brit Hume (@brithume) February 2, 2020
I’m going to accept as true that Trump was incorrect when he said that Mini Mike needed a box — that’s not where this issue ends. Instead, I have big, big, tall, tall news.
According to my own reliable source (my dog has never lied to me), Bloomberg is in negotiations with Jon Stewart to buy the exact same lift that Stewart used during his debate with Bill O’Reilly in 2012 (if the video doesn’t queue up correct, go to 6:10, which is where it should start):
Just remember, folks, that you heard it here first.