Newly anointed and “reborn” GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump heads to a rally in Michigan on Saturday, embodying what his apostles are calling the most pivotal American political figure since Abraham Lincoln.
“Donald Trump is now recognized as the most important figure in American politics since the Civil War,” a high-ranking GOP strategist told The Daily Beast late Friday over a celebratory martini at an upscale bar across the street from the convention arena in Milwaukee.
As the former president’s most devoted foot soldiers began pouring into the bar after the staff performed a ritual of whipped cream espresso shots to dial in for the rush, the mood turned from jubilant to downright grandiose.
ADVERTISEMENT
Boozed-up Trump power players boasted that the election was locked up. They were unfazed that the acceptance speech veered off the rails for the last half hour, when the former president abandoned the teleprompter, pouncing on “illegal aliens,” among other random topics, and his political adversaries.
“We’re going to get to the bottom of it,” Trump said of finding a cure for cancer and Alzheimer’s in one of his confusing off-prompter riffs. “You remember this gentleman that I don’t want to mention, other than one time I had to, because when you say ‘the 10 worst,’ I had to do it. I didn’t want anybody to be confused.”
Just minutes after Trump’s more than 90-minute unity treatise turned full-on ramble, some of MAGA’s biggest stars gathered, including Trump’s controversial British counterpart, Nigel Farage, who ordered a Tanqueray and tonic at 11:26 p.m. (It would take several more minutes for the bartender to adjust the tonic fountain to British standards.)
Fifteen minutes later, as Farage was mobbed by adoring American fans, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) rolled up with an outfit change—having ditched her black dress for a pair of golden sequin pants and black party top.
Three minutes after that, top Trump adviser Jason Miller strolled through the security perimeter with a Cheshire cat grin on his face.
“I’m probably going to bed,” Miller told The Daily Beast. After a few drinks to celebrate.
A GOP strategist who requested anonymity to speak candidly in the company of other MAGA bigwigs, grew more confident with each sip of a martini.
“I don’t see a scenario where Trump doesn’t win by a significant margin,” the Republican said, adding that Democrats should “let him win” because of what they described as Trump’s newfound iconic status following last Saturday’s assassination attempt.
A Capitol Hill aide in attendance gushed that the convention production “showed in every way that it could’ve why President Trump is the leader of the party and why the party is unified around him.”
None were willing to entertain in the moment of their revelry the prospect of yet another shakeup in the race—with Vice President Kamala Harris potentially poised to enter the fray as the new presumptive Democratic nominee.
Earlier that night, Trump co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita told The Daily Beast the campaign’s strategy won’t change if Biden bows out, but he teased a fresh line of attack on the Democrats launching a “coup” if they follow through on convincing the president to step aside.
Trump’s running-mate pick of Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) also energized some of the most hardcore high-profile Trumpers heading into the dog days of summer.
Laura Loomer, the anti-Muslim activist and right-wing gonzo influencer who almost got hired by the Trump campaign this cycle—but for her myriad past controversies over Islamophobic and other bigoted remarks—told The Daily Beast following Vance’s speech that even seemingly little things could pad the party’s margin in November.
“J.D. lost a lot of weight,” she said as Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow” blared over the arena sound system. “That will help with suburban women.”
Seemingly nobody in either the convention hall or nearby watering holes could be convinced there’s any chance Trump will lose in November.
“Just write this one off,” the martini-swilling GOP strategist advised Democrats, adding Trump “has just gone to the next level.”
