Note: This article may contain commentary reflecting the author's opinion.
On Friday, Reverend Al Sharpton, a prominent Democrat commentator and founder of the National Action Network, joined MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” to discuss the 2024 Republican presidential nomination contest where he explained that “we should never underestimate someone like Trump.”
Former President Trump announced his reelection bid last year after the midterm elections and has been the sole candidate announced for the Republican nomination to date. Many in the mainstream media, however, believe that Trump is already out for the count despite the fact that no other candidate has announced their candidacy for the nomination.
“We saw what Trump did to Marco Rubio. We saw what Trump did to Rand Paul. We saw what Trump did to Jeb Bush. We saw one-on-one, he just completely destroyed every one of them, right? Lindsey Graham. Every one of them,” Scarborough said on Friday. “And it’s kind of like, you know, Ali in 1977, Ali was slowing down, great boxers like Jimmy Young would push him to the edge, but he was still the champ and still figured out how to win fights.”
“Forgive me, I’m not comparing Donald Trump in any way to Muhammad Ali,” the host explained, adding, “but I am saying he’s still the champ in the GOP. He’s still the most popular member of the party. He’s still the guy that can dominate the stage like nobody else there. And I don’t know. I think we the media keep making the mistake of thinking ‘oh he can’t win the Republican nomination this year, can he?'”
“We should never underestimate someone like Trump,” Sharpton answered. “Particularly when we’ve seen what he’s done. As you and I were talking, Muhammad Ali, who I got to know pretty well toward the end of his career, he knew how to do just enough to win rounds when he couldn’t necessarily knock somebody out. And he used theatrics.”
TRUMP SLAMS BIDEN FOR CLASSIFIED DOCUMENT SCANDAL, SUGGESTS CHINA MAY HAVE HAD ACCESS
“There’s no one better in the Republican political realm that understands theatrics better than Donald Trump,” Sharpton explained. “That should not be underestimated.”
“We’ve seen DeSantis throwing a lot of punches in Florida. When he gets on that big stage, particularly against Donald Trump, let’s see if he can take a real punch,” Sharpton concluded.
As the Republican primary challengers to the former president begin to come into the picture, it is possible that there would be a repeat of the 2016 primaries when Trump was able to wipe out his competition on the debate stage and handily win the nomination for the president.
Just this week, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley said that she is seriously considering a presidential run: “Yes, we need to go in a new direction. And can I be that leader? Yes, I think I can be that leader. I was as governor, I took on a hurting state with double-digit unemployment, and we made it the beast of the southeast.”
Other Republicans will surely attempt to unseat the former president from his spot as “the champ in the GOP,” but whether they are actually successful and able to “take a real punch” from Trump is still in question.
You Can Follow Sterling on Twitter Here
On Friday, Reverend Al Sharpton, a prominent Democrat commentator and founder of the National Action Network, joined MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” to discuss the 2024 Republican presidential nomination contest where he explained that “we should never underestimate someone like Trump.”
Former President Trump announced his reelection bid last year after the midterm elections and has been the sole candidate announced for the Republican nomination to date. Many in the mainstream media, however, believe that Trump is already out for the count despite the fact that no other candidate has announced their candidacy for the nomination.
“We saw what Trump did to Marco Rubio. We saw what Trump did to Rand Paul. We saw what Trump did to Jeb Bush. We saw one-on-one, he just completely destroyed every one of them, right? Lindsey Graham. Every one of them,” Scarborough said on Friday. “And it’s kind of like, you know, Ali in 1977, Ali was slowing down, great boxers like Jimmy Young would push him to the edge, but he was still the champ and still figured out how to win fights.”
“Forgive me, I’m not comparing Donald Trump in any way to Muhammad Ali,” the host explained, adding, “but I am saying he’s still the champ in the GOP. He’s still the most popular member of the party. He’s still the guy that can dominate the stage like nobody else there. And I don’t know. I think we the media keep making the mistake of thinking ‘oh he can’t win the Republican nomination this year, can he?'”
“We should never underestimate someone like Trump,” Sharpton answered. “Particularly when we’ve seen what he’s done. As you and I were talking, Muhammad Ali, who I got to know pretty well toward the end of his career, he knew how to do just enough to win rounds when he couldn’t necessarily knock somebody out. And he used theatrics.”
TRUMP SLAMS BIDEN FOR CLASSIFIED DOCUMENT SCANDAL, SUGGESTS CHINA MAY HAVE HAD ACCESS
“There’s no one better in the Republican political realm that understands theatrics better than Donald Trump,” Sharpton explained. “That should not be underestimated.”
“We’ve seen DeSantis throwing a lot of punches in Florida. When he gets on that big stage, particularly against Donald Trump, let’s see if he can take a real punch,” Sharpton concluded.
As the Republican primary challengers to the former president begin to come into the picture, it is possible that there would be a repeat of the 2016 primaries when Trump was able to wipe out his competition on the debate stage and handily win the nomination for the president.
Just this week, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley said that she is seriously considering a presidential run: “Yes, we need to go in a new direction. And can I be that leader? Yes, I think I can be that leader. I was as governor, I took on a hurting state with double-digit unemployment, and we made it the beast of the southeast.”
Other Republicans will surely attempt to unseat the former president from his spot as “the champ in the GOP,” but whether they are actually successful and able to “take a real punch” from Trump is still in question.
You Can Follow Sterling on Twitter Here