‘Sleepy Joe’ Awakens Our Tweeter-in-Chief
There’s no telling what occupies the mind of Donald J. Trump.
Last week, while there was dangerous political upheaval in Venezuela; a mass murder in North Carolina; the aftermath of an attempted mass murder at a synagogue near San Diego; a thwarted plot to carry out mass killings near Los Angeles, and growing concerns about the possibility of a nationwide measles outbreak – he spent much of last Wednesday tweeting about Joe Biden.
Biden, the last time I looked, is just one of 21 Democrats hoping to unseat Trump next year.
Yet, from 4:56 in last Wednesday morning, until 10:14 that night, the President of the United States of America tweeted (or re-tweeted) 84 times.
I’ll write that again, so you don’t think that was a typo – EIGHTY-FOUR TIMES!
Allow me to ask you a question.
Who does that?
I do know, however, why he did it.
Former Vice-President Joe Biden finally decided to get off the bench and run for the presidency.
Worse, as far as Trump is concerned, Biden kicked off his campaign at a union hall.
Well, who does he think he is?
Trump fashions himself as a man of the people.
He’s not one, by the way.
He just fashions himself as one, with that enormous silver spoon that’s been surgically implanted in his mouth.
Biden does have true middle-class roots.
He was born in Scranton and lived there while his parents struggled to make ends meet for the first 10 years of his life.
So, he seemed to be quite comfortable when he strode onto that makeshift stage at Teamsters Local 249 union hall in Pittsburgh.
The hall was full of struggling, middle-class workers.
And Biden must’ve sent shivers down Trump’s spine when he told his adoring crowd, “I make no apologies, I am a union man – period.”
Biden was merely paying (verbal) dues, for the endorsement he’d gotten from the International Association of Fire Fighters.
Using one of Biden’s notorious phrases, “That’s a big (censored) deal.”
Trump knows that.
He’s aware that he’ll be wholly dependent on middle class, middle American, rust belt votes for his reelection.
Trump could hardly be accused of holding his cards next to his chest.
If he thinks it, he tweets it.
Last Wednesday he tweeted it dozens of times.
“I’m a firefighter and I’m NOT voting for Joe,” was one of the many re-tweets that Trump published.
“24 years plus firefighter here, & there’s no chance Biden is my choice,” was another.
Biden is the Democratic frontrunner, in some polls.
But Trump just alerted the world that he thinks Biden is the one candidate who’s his chief competitor.
Or, does he really fear Biden the most?
Meanwhile, Trump’s son-in-law, and chief bottle-washer, Jared Kushner, has reportedly warned the Trump campaign to avoid attacking members of the Democratic presidential field – at least until the primary season is over.
Trump isn’t heeding that advice.
He’s too thin-skinned to allow Biden to siphon off, what he feels are his union votes, without slinging chunks of mud.
(He probably spends sleepless nights, wondering if some of those union members talk about him behind his back.)
One Trump campaign advisor went on record, telling Politico, “we’ve asked him – I’ve personally asked him – to stop. It’s not helping us. It’s helping Biden.”
It certainly looks as if Trump has tweeted Biden into accelerated prominence.
A few weeks ago, Trump gave Biden the nickname “Sleepy Joe,” which solidified him as one of his future verbal punching bags.
I’d wager Biden can take it.
He probably relishes the attention Trump is paying him after getting endorsed by a labor union.
If he can find another major union to support him, Trump might tweet himself into a coma.
You must wonder if the other 20 Democratic presidential candidates are longing for this kind of attention.
What can they do, they may ask themselves, to create a day or night long Twitter-based tirade from our petulant, temperamental president?
It might be good for those Democratic presidential aspirants, but awfully bad for the country.
Edward A. Owens is a multi-Emmy Award winner, former reporter, and anchor for Entertainment Tonight and 20-year TV news veteran. E-mail him at freedoms@bellatlantic.net.