President Donald Trump hates being thought of as a loser, but maybe he wouldn’t mind being known as a quitter.
That’s what “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough wondered on Friday in light of the president’s recent racially charged rallies and his administration’s latest attempt to overturn the Affordable Care Act.
It left Scarborough wondering: “Does this guy want to be elected president of the United States? Does he really want to be there?”
Scarborough pointed out that Trump had a better instinct for when to keep his mouth shut in 2016 when he won the White House, but “he’s not acting that way now” as he seeks a second term.
He added that the president is not only “acting like he doesn’t want to get re-elected, he’s acting like he really wants to lose badly and take the Republican Party down with him.”
Scarborough, who Trump earlier this year sought to smear with a baseless conspiracy theory, conceded his “far-fetched” theory didn’t make conventional sense, but it was the only way to explain the president’s current campaign efforts.
“You look at every single move he’s making,” Scarborough said. “And it keeps happening every day.”
The TV host added, “This looks like a deliberate attempt to drive his campaign into the ground every day. He knows what he’s doing is going to lower the poll numbers, and they are. They are collapsing every day.”
A series of polls released Thursday contained especially bad news for Trump, showing him running behind Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, in several of the most politically competitive states.
Scarborough’s co-host and wife, Mika Brzenzinski, amplified his hot take.
“He doesn’t want four more years,” she said. “That’s clear. You can tell by his behavior. His attitude towards the health of the American people, he doesn’t want to be there.”
Brzezinski also noted that Trump doesn’t like to lose, which led Scarborough to suggest that the president might consider pulling out of the race before the election ― especially if it looks like Biden will win big.
“This is not a guy who is acting like he expects to be around on January 21st, 2021, in the White House. And he’s acting like he’s setting everything on fire before he leaves,” Scarborough said.
He added, “He’s known when to leave the stage before. … I would not be surprised if he left the stage again.”
A little later, he riffed on what Trump might say to the American people in his resignation speech ― “You don’t deserve me” was one key phrase.
Scarborough then suggested Trump would rather leave the presidency and be remembered for scoring one of the biggest political upsets of all time than an incumbent who suffered an especially humiliating loss.
However, he took great pains to remind viewers that it was just a theory and wasn’t based on any insider knowledge.
“He’s known when to leave the stage before — again, I’m the only one saying this — I would not be surprised if he left the stage again,” Scarborough said, reiterating, “And again, I’m the only person saying it. Don’t think it’ll happen, but it’s a possibility.”
You can watch the complete segment below.
(h/t: RawStory)
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