Speaking during the Monday, December 23 broadcast of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” MSNBC contributor Sam Stein commented on President-elect Donald Trump’s shocking ability to survive difficult political situations that would likely be the disastrous end of other American political figures. Stein said it was an ability that separates Trump from pretty much everyone else.
Making that point, Stein noted that President-elect Trump dodged being taken down by the lawfare he faced, saying, “In terms of what we’re talking about, we were also thinking a year ago this would be the courtroom campaign. How would he wage his run for the office from the courthouse? Ended up being that he leveraged it, frankly.”
Continuing, Stein noted that Trump’s differentiating factor is his immense capacity for perseverence, something no one else in American politics seems to have. He said, “I think the real lesson from all this is that, you know, say what you will about Donald Trump, but he has one attribute that distinguishes him from anyone else in politics, which is an insatiable perseverance.”
Still not done, Stein added that Trump can claw out of situations that would destroy other people, saying, “He will just grind through stuff that, more often than not, other politicians will succumb to. And he can figure it out, he will just claw his way back in and he will fight it. And then he’ll turn it into his advantage. And he did martyr himself by the trials.”
Adding to that point, Stein further noted that Trump was able to rally the party around him at a time when others looked able to overtake him, saying, “He did get the rest of the Republican Party to rally around him. And I think if you talk to people in his universe, look, there was a time when the primary itself was uncertain, right? [Republican Florida Gov.] Ron DeSantis looked ascendant, it was unclear if he could win but it certainly seemed possible.”
Then, building on that, Stein noted that Trump used the leverage of his enemies attacking him to win over people, rather than letting it weaken him. He said, “And then what happened was the indictment came down, and everyone, including DeSantis, rushed to Trump’s side. I think that ultimately Trump managed to use that and leverage that to the nomination. That changed the course of history.” Watch him here:
For reference, in Stein is correct about the DeSantis point, as DeSantis admitted at the time, saying that the indictment hurt him in the primary. He said, commenting on the DA Bragg aspect of the Republican primary, “I would say, if I would have one thing changed, I wish Trump hadn’t been indicted on any of this stuff.”
He added, “I mean, honestly, I think from [Democratic Manhattan District Attorney] Alvin Bragg on, I’ve criticized the cases, I think someone like Bragg would not have brought that case if it was anyone other than Donald Trump, and so someone like that is distorting justice, which is bad. But I also think it distorted the primary, and I think those have been the main issues that have happened.”
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