I never doubted last night would come. I have suggested for months that the assorted
efforts to deny Donald J. Trump the Republican nomination for President, some
by Party heavy-weights, others by Party mavens from GOP Christmas’ past, and
most by the 15 other men and one woman who challenged him for the mantel of
Party Leadership would all in time come to naught. Last night was zero hour of D-Day for the obliteration
of the Never Trump Movement, the bewitching hour for what in effect amounted to
the Lose with Cruz Circus, and most importantly, the dawn of the age of Trump
as the quintessential Leader and mouthpiece of the modern day Republican Party. To Quote Drake (a Canadian, in honor of Ted
Cruz) and Future, “What a Time to be Alive!”
Mr. Trump spent fourteen years as the executive producer and host of the NBC reality
show The Apprentice. He has spent the last eleven months honing
and aligning his business and entertainment-centered shtick to politics. Today marks the first day of the rest of his
political life. Welcome the Twilight Zone
of American politics.
Despite my certainty that today would arrive, I was not necessarily
looking for it just yet. I gave some
thought as I sat down to write about focusing on #WHCD, better known as the
White House Correspondents Dinner.
President Obama did his usual superlative job as he put his cool,
refined, and well-timed comedic chops on display in that annual format one last
time. Most frequent watchers of the
event conceded, of his eight cuts at the mic, Saturday night was not at the top
of the list, and yet, at least from my point of view, he still slayed.
Of course if POTUS’s comedic barbs were more pointed, potent, and
targeted than those of the featured comedian, Larry Wilmore, host of The
Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, Mr. Wilmore still managed to create
the evening’s seminal moment…that thing which viewers were talking about the
next day, and the next, and the day after that.
In wrapping up his commentary, he recalled a time when he was growing up
and the poignant question was “Could a black quarterback lead an NFL Football
Team?” Then he pivoted to today, when a
black man is the leader of the free world.
Well-played.
The duality captured in those two very personal memories, juxtaposed
against one another might have made for the perfect ending. In fact, a lot of Mr. Wilmore’s critics wish
he had done exactly that and stopped right there. Instead he made a fleeting reference to
“keeping it 100” (AKA the current vernacular for “keeping in real”), and then
declared speaking directly to POTUS, “You did it my…followed by a variation of
the N-word…you did it!”
The Twitterverse lost its collective mind. Immediately!
Many people whose opinions I respect skewered Wilmore. In general, they contended it was
disrespectful of the man and of the office.
They argued that and much more. I
should add all the folks to whom I am referring were black. As is customary, when the N-word pops up on
the radar, particularly when uttered by a person of color, black folks tend to
dutifully police our own. That is not to
suggest white folks did not weigh in; they did.
Rather, for the purpose of formulating, reviewing, and assessing “my”
opinion, I choose to address the various centers of black thought on the
subject.
The topic is rife with possibilities, but there are really only two or
three key points from Saturday night.
First, to borrow a phrase from the political discourse, there is the
Never N-word contingent. This group
believes the word should be buried (the NAACP actually did that years ago, but
the term had its own Easter and folks resurrected it…probably in three minutes
in stead of three days), and never used again.
Alternately, the Term of Endearment crew is the group that most
frequently challenges the Never N-word contingent. Folks in this set believe the N-word can and
possibly even should be used…in its proper context, which of course is to
convey affection…or endearment. Finally,
as it relates to Saturday night, the President, White House correspondents, and
a national TV audience, there are those who believe, even as a term of
affection and/or endearment, the high profile nature of the event certainly
precluded referring to the President of the United States in that way.
My take on this is fairly simple and direct. The #WHCD features a comedian in the cleanup
spot. Comedians who get the opportunity
to land that gig endeavor to touch a lot of bases, but no matter who is
President, of what Party he (so far) is affiliated with, they make every effort
to be edgy. If you saw the show you know
at the end of his remarks, President Obama dropped the mic. It was a fitting gesture for his last
go-round after eight years. Well,
whether you like it or not, Wilmore, in what amounted to his benediction,
closed out the evening with an affectionate tribute to the President, while
simultaneously ensuring that parishioners (attendees and the TV audience) would
be discussing his message long after the service (show) ended. Was it a hokey (or should I say Trump-like) grab
for ratings via controversy?
Probably. Did it minimize or
otherwise divest the Leader of the Free World of any power, prestige, or cash
in hand? I certainly don’t think
so. Did President Obama handle it just
as nimbly as he did his own witty remarks?
Yes he did. That’s enough for
me. As they say in gymnastics, Mr.
Wilmore “stuck the landing.”
Back to GOP politics, the suspense ended early last night. By 7:30 p.m. CNN had declared Donald Trump
the winner in Indiana, yesterday’s sole contest. Before 9:00 p.m. Senator Ted Cruz raised the
white flag of capitulation using these words:
“We left it all on the field in Indiana. We gave it
everything we've got but the voters chose another path. So with a heavy heart but with boundless
optimism for the long-term future of our nation, we are suspending our
campaign."
The dominoes continued falling after that…quickly. By 9:05 p.m. Republican National Committee
Chairman Reince Priebus tweeted that Trump would be deemed the presumptive
nominee:
@realDonaldTrump will be
presumptive @GOP nominee, we all need
to unite and focus on defeating @HillaryClinton
#NeverClinton
Shortly after that it was Trump time.
He admitted that he did no expect the turn of events to happen last
night. Nevertheless, he managed to get
through, what amounted for him, a short victory speech. In it he attempted to make his first effort
to unite the Party, praising Cruz as, “one tough competitor, a smart tough
guy.” That might even be viewed as an
opening to invite an endorsement from the Texas Senator. Of course given Trump’s scurrilous attacks on
Cruz’s wife, and as late as yesterday, his father, the question of a Cruz
endorsement of Trump may remain an open one, indefinitely.
The man of the hour wasted no time in pivoting to Hillary Clinton,
however. He said she would be a “poor
President,” doesn’t understand trade, and he lamented the “deep carnage”
wrought by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), ratified during the
Bill Clinton presidency.
The anti-Trump movement, despite the sentiment expressed in Chairman
Priebus’ tweet, served notice that it was still alive, even if on life
support. Katie Packer of Our Principles
PAC had this to say:
"There is still time for Trump to continue to disqualify
himself in the eyes of voters. We
continue to give voice to the belief of so many Republicans that Trump is not a
conservative, does not represent the values of the Republican Party, cannot
beat Hillary Clinton, and is simply unfit to be President of the United
States.”
Down the Primary ballot,
Governor Kasich said he’s not leaving the race.
John Weaver, his chief strategist, said:
"Tonight's results are not going to alter Gov. Kasich's
campaign plans. Our strategy has been
and continues to be one that involves winning the nomination at an open
convention."
With the
already ineffective resistance softening even more, it is all but a certainty
that Donald Trump will obtain the requisite 1,237 Delegates. By 9:30 p.m. (Eastern) last night, Trump had
been assured of 51 of Indiana’s 57 Delegates.
With 97% of the votes counted, Trump led with 53.3%, followed by Cruz at
36.7%, and Kasich with 7.5%. That pushes
Trump’s total to 1053. With only Kasich
and token opposition from anti-Trump groups, and with the RNC finally solidly
in his corner, Trump is all but home free.
No surprise here. “The People (of the GOP) Have Spoken: Donald Trumps The Field!”
I’m done; holla
back!
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