Former President Donald Trump spoke to a reporter on Friday for the first time since he left the White House earlier this week, but he gave no clear indication as to what the future might hold for him — or the party he still commands.
Perhaps the most unusual aspect of Trump’s final two weeks in office was the almost complete radio silence from the man who has never been short of something to say. For four years, and for much longer than that, Trump has driven the national conversation through his tweets and commentary during media briefings.
Once Biden was declared the winner by the establishment media days after the election, his pulpit shrank. His news conferences were dropped by major networks and even Fox News once cut away from a White House briefing where former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany spoke of Trump’s challenges to the election results.
On Jan. 8, two days after an incursion at the U.S. Capitol Building that Trump was assigned blame for, Twitter permanently banned him.
Two weeks later, the Republican Party and conservatives are in a strange place.
Aside from Trump, who received more votes than any other Republican president ever — or any sitting president for that matter — the party seems aimless and lethargic.
The GOP is where the Democratic Party found itself after 2016, when former President Barack Obama termed out and Hillary Clinton lost the election to Trump.
There is no indication that a great plurality of conservatives intend to move away from Trump and his policies. Also, no other prominent conservatives have stood up and shown themselves yet to be the face of resistance to President Joe Biden’s big government administration.
Presumably, the GOP is Trump’s to command in any capacity, should he still want the job.
Rob Crilly of the Washington Examiner talked to Trump on Friday, and asked him about his immediate plans.
Speaking at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, Trump divulged very little about what he intends to do.
“We’ll do something, but not just yet,” Trump said from a restaurant at the golf course.
Crilly added that an aide to Trump then ended the conversation. The former president apparently offered no additional comments, at least none on the record.
“He needs a break,” a person close to Trump had said earlier in the week. “I think we all hope he just plays golf for a month, but he always has to be on the go.”
Trump arrived in West Palm Beach on Wednesday on Air Force One, flying over his Mar-a-Lago estate before touching down. Crilly shared an image on Twitter of the approach to Palm Beach International Airport.
View of Mar-A-Lago from Air Force One fly-past as Trump arrives in Palm Beach #TrumpsLastDay pic.twitter.com/iMWZ0wc5xR
— Rob Crilly (@robcrilly) January 20, 2021
He later crossed the eastbound bridge over the Lake Worth Inner Channel on the city’s Southern Boulevard and headed to his resort, which is just about five miles from the golf course.
He waved at supporters as he made his way to the resort and prepared to move on into civilian life.
Donald Trump waved to cheering supporters in West Palm Beach, Florida, as the 45th president's motorcade made its way to Mar-a-Lago.
The former president left Joint Base Andrews after delivering farewell remarks. https://t.co/P1MFEB3JVd pic.twitter.com/bHgHFPHlv5
— ABC News (@ABC) January 20, 2021
The Examiner reported Trump hit the links on Thursday — getting in some of the golf the anonymous aide had spoken of.
But Trump, despite now being the former commander-in-chief, still faces the prospect — though unlikely — of a Senate conviction next month which could arguably hinder any chance at a second White House run, if that’s what Trump indeed wants. He was impeached a week after the incursion that Democrats in the House accused him of inciting.
Exiled by the Washington political machine, the establishment media and Big Tech billionaires on the opposite side of the country, Trump is being quiet for now. But there’s little doubt he could easily re-emerge as the leader of the conservative movement at any moment.
All he needs is a decision and a platform to share it.
The rest of the GOP, meanwhile, appear to be playing a waiting game to see which direction Trump decides to go. While Biden is enjoying making a calamity of things up north in dreary Washington, Trump is soaking up the sun in South Florida and apparently making some big decisions.
He potentially still holds the keys to the direction of the Republican Party — and perhaps the country itself.
Story cited here.
