New Book Claims Trump Planned Spectacle After COVID Recovery
Love him or hate him, there's no argument to be made against the fact that Donald J. Trump is the greatest political showman of his generation. It's inarguable. At this point, the guy sells out more arenas than KISS and the Arizona Coyotes combined.
So it should come as no surprise that Trump had something up his sleeve — or more accurately under his French-cuff dress shirt — for his first appearance after a bout with COVID in the fall of 2020.
Author Maggie Haberman's new book Confidence Man — another "tell-all" on the Trump administration that promises bomb shells, but we'll all forget exists in about a week-and-a-half — claims that Trump's big plan involved a hat-tip to the Godfather of Soul and a Superman t-shirt.
According to a new book, Donald Trump had plans for one spectacular entrance in his first appearance after a bout with COVID in 2020. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/LIV Golf via Getty Images)
Trump's Big Idea
The book claims that Trump had set plans in motion for a big entrance that appears to have been scrapped at the eleventh hour.
"He came up with a plan he told associates was inspired by the singer James Brown, whom he loved watching toss off his cape while onstage, but it was in line with his love of professional
wrestling as well," Haberman writes.
Talk about getting off to a great start...
Who doesn't appreciate the showmanship of James Brown? Brown's hype-man Danny Ray — the guy who said "This man will make your liver quiver..." then yelled "James Brown! repeatedly, until Brown came out, did a split, and started playing "The Payback" — was still alive at the time.
Trump Had Another Surprise
They could've hired him to do his thing. What a nice touch that would've been.
But Trump wasn't just going to simply copy the Godfather of Soul, so says Haberman.
" Superman logo beneath it. (Trump was so serious about it that he called the campaign headquarters to instruct an aide, Mar Miller, to procure the Superman shirts; Miller was sent to a Virginia big-box store.)"
That would've been the most memorable moment in political history. Up there with the time Harry Truman held up that newspaper and when George Bush threw up on the prime minister of Japan.
A Missed Opportunity?
I'm kind of amazed that this didn't come to fruition. It would've been chiseled into our brains. We'd divide time into two eras: before and after Trump ripped his shirt open to reveal a Superman t-shirt to celebrate beating COVID. It would be that big of a deal.
If it's true, that is.
This story kind of feels funny. Sort of like the one about Trump watching a TV channel where gorillas fight each other, which was written as satire and picked up by "legit" news outlets because... well, that's what they do these days.
Trump Rarely Disappoints
I hope it's real though. I also hope there were other ideas that got rejected before Trump put in an order for some bootleg Superman shirts.
Had I been in the president's inner-circle and granted a minute or two to pitch an idea for his big post-COVID appearance, I would've streamed my phone onto one of Air Force 1's TVs (I assume it has smart TVs) and simply played this:
"There's your entrance, Mr. President," I'd say. There'll be some back and forth about the safety ramifications of having a man in his 70s somersault. Then the president would make the call and say that we're going with the James Brown/Superman idea.
I'd have to pretend to be cool with it, but deep down I'd be like, Dammit, we should've done the Wonka thing.
While this level of theatricality may have been benched in 2020, maybe Trump will pull out all the stops as he makes another bid for office in 2024.
Who knows? He may still have those Superman shirts laying around at Mar-A-Lago (unless the FBI took those too).
Follow on Twitter: @Matt_Reigle