Who’s Leaning on Donald Trump?

Back in 1983, I was press officer for the New York State Assembly leadership when Mario Cuomo began his first term as Governor. And at some point, I remarked to my boss, Assembly Speaker Stanley Fink, that Mario was getting very good notices in the press, which I found interesting since nobody thought he was all that good coming on the heels of Governor Carey.

To which Speaker Fink said to me, “Any politician looks good when nobody’s leaning on ‘em.”

I thought of this prescient remark today when I saw several polls which gave Trump double-digit leads over DeSantis and just about anyone else who might be considering a GOP Presidential run in 2024.

And when I say that Trump has a double-digit lead, I’m not talking ten points. The gap between Trump and the other 2024 GOP wannabees is like thirty(!) points. That’s not chopped liver, even in my book.

You would think that as candidate Trump instead of President Trump, that Trump would be fair game for every other GOP politician who is considering a 2024 run, but I can’t get over how Trump continues to get a blank check from both the media and his political contemporaries no matter how stupid, foolish, racist, and nasty he is.

In point of fact, the degree to which Trump has been handled with kid gloves from his initial campaign announcement back…