Political pundit David Frum said Monday the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent economic collapse are a “reckoning” for President Donald Trump and “the apocalypse is here” for his presidency.
The walls are closing in on Trump — even as he insists the Republican Party convention will occur as it always has and not in a virtual environment, Frum told MSBNC’s “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell.”
“Well, I’m guessing he pushes in that direction only to have it blow up in his face at the last minute. The reckoning really is here and for three years, people have wondered whether there is some master scheme, some brilliant plan: the apocalypse is here.” (RELATED: Scarborough: Former Conservatives Now In ‘This Cult’ Of Trump That Can ‘Even Kill’ Seniors)
The two discussed Frum’s new book, “Trumpocalypse: Restoring American Democracy,” in which the Atlantic staff writer takes on the president and conservative politics in the new millennium.
Frum, who has criticized Trump not only for his politics but for his weight and alleged “father” issues, told MSNBC that the president has exceeded his expectations for a political flame-out.
“When I wrote the book, I thought the Apocalypse would take the form of a recession because of the trade war, perhaps a shooting war with Iran,” Frum told O’Donnell.
“Instead we got a neglected pandemic and this administration is careening toward electoral disaster and it will take Republicans in the Senate with it. The question we’re all going to face is what then?” The former speechwriter for President George W. Bush asked, suggesting that won’t sit well with “an important minority in this country who is not reconciled to the basic rules of the democratic state.” (RELATED: Trump Is ‘Yapping Like An Authoritarian Wannabe’ When He Says He Will Decide When Economy Reopens)
Frum predicted Trump will lose the 2020 presidential election and then look for an “escape plan.”
“Well, I’m guessing that six or seven months from today, this show and shows like it will be consumed with the question: ‘Is the president legally entitled to pardon himself?’ Because should he lose, as he probably will, he’s going to be looking for the exit, he’s gong to be looking for an escape plan.”
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to make a statement to reporters about reopening places of worship across the United States by declaring them “essential” during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., May 22, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis
National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow predicted May 10 that after the economy is completely reopened, “we’re going to see a very strong second half of the year: probably 20% economic growth.” The economic adviser noted that Trump administration policies that have lowered taxes and reduced regulations “are still in place” and “we may expand on those policies.”
Frum insisted the “American system of government is built to treat some people as more important political actors than other people,” while adding, “We need a new Voting Rights Act … to correct the mistake the Supreme Court made in 2013 when it basically retired from the job of policing racial discrimination and voting.”