Trump's Pence speech was all about how great Trump is
by digby
I'm sure most of you missed the Trump-Pence extravaganza this morning. Why would anyone go out of their way to watch it if they didn't have to? But some of us did watch it and it was .... something.
Ezra Klein at Vox wrote it up:
I can tell you that he rambled, but that doesn’t do it justice. He spoke about Hillary Clinton, about himself, about his victories. He talked about crushing the Republican establishment in the primaries and talking to a buddy building plants in Mexico. He bragged about the beautiful hotel he is building in Washington, DC, and patted himself on the back for his foreign policy foresight over the years.
Every five minutes or so, he seemed to remember, just for a moment, like a man trying and failing to wake from a dream, that he was there to introduce Mike Pence, and so he would say something like, "now back to Mike Pence," but then he would slip back again, and tell another anecdote about himself.
Even when he did mention Pence, he often managed to say exactly the wrong thing. "One of the big reasons I chose Mike is party unity, I have to be honest," Trump admitted midway through his speech, at the moment another candidate would have said "I chose Mike because he’ll be a great president." Trump then segued into a riff on how thoroughly he had humiliated the Republican establishment in state after state. Thus he managed to turn Pence from a peace offering into a head on a pike, a warning to all who might come after.
When Trump finally stuck to Pence, at the end of his lengthy speech, he seemed robotic, bored, restless. He recited Pence’s accomplishment like he was reading his Wikipedia page for the first time, inserting little snippets of meta-commentary and quick jabs as if to keep himself interested.
The final humiliation was yet to come: Trump introduced Pence and then immediately, unusually, walked off the stage, leaving Pence alone at the podium.
Trump is a great entertainer. But he’s not running for host of America: The Show
As with all things Trump, the speech was funny and magnetic. The guy is great TV. But it was also wrong. It was a blue stand-up set delivered at a board of directors meeting, a cruel roast offered at a child’s birthday party. Selecting and introducing a vice president is a heavy duty in American politics; it is the most power one person will ever have to potentially choose the leader of the free world. But Trump couldn’t see past himself to match the moment. The cameras turned on and he did the thing he always does, perhaps the only thing he can do: he put on a show, and made himself the star.
As I said earlier, Pence is perfect for him. There is no chance in hell he will ever overshadow the guy and I suspect, in the end, that was the deciding factor.
Here's the speech:
Update:
What the hell? This little tid-bit from Crooks and Liars is amazing:
Tur explained that the room at The Hilton was not filled with the customary Trump supporters, but local GOP operatives and lookie loos ..."and then just tourists who came in literally off the street, Brian. They heard about it, they asked if they could get in, the Secret Service swept them and they sat down, a little bit gobsmacked that they were able to get in so easily and that this wasn't an event that had more invitees here. "
Host Brian Williams was very surprised by this an later in the segment came back to it and asked, "Katy, back up one quick second to something you said at the top. it was possible to be in NYC on summer vacation today on Avenue of the Americas and come in to this event as a tourist from the street?"
Tur replied, "Absolutely, only in New York, Brian."
You just have to laugh ...
