Former President Donald Trump’s blog, a rudimentary webpage that was roundly mocked for presenting itself on its launch less than a month ago as a brand-new type of “communications platform,” is no longer.
The now-defunct corner of Trump’s broader site, which was branded, “From the Desk of Donald J. Trump,” has been scuttled and “will not be returning,” senior Trump aide Jason Miller, who was accused of hiding his $500,000 income in 2019 to avoid paying child support, told CNBC. “It was just auxiliary to the broader efforts we have and are working on.”
In response to an email seeking further details, Miller said, “I don’t speak with The Daily Beast anymore.” He declined to elaborate.
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Trump launched the poorly performing feature to a collective shrug from the public, racking up a small fraction of the massive engagement he once enjoyed on Twitter and Facebook, both of which have barred him from their platforms for inciting violence and spreading disinformation about the 2020 election.
Trump’s “desk” was a safe space of sorts for him to take potshots at his opponents—and rail against the endless list of wrongs he believes others have perpetrated against him.
In a heartwarming post from May 3, the day Trump’s blog launched, he wrote, “So nice to see RINO Mitt Romney booed off the stage at the Utah Republican State Convention. They are among the earliest to have figured this guy out, a stone cold loser!”
Trump also made sure to keep fans who were struggling to put food on the table during the COVID pandemic up-to-date on his personal transport fleet.
“Many people have asked about the beautiful Boeing 757 that became so iconic during the Trump rallies,” he wrote on May 21. “It was effectively kept in storage in Upstate New York in that I was not allowed to use it during my presidency. It is now being fully restored and updated and will be put back into service sometime prior to the end of the year. It will soon be brought to a Louisiana service facility for the completion of work, inspection and updating of Rolls-Royce engines, and a brand new paint job. When completed, it will be better than ever, and again used at upcoming rallies!”
The missive followed a May 19 plea from Trump to his supporters: “Stick with Kirstie Alley! She is a great actress, loved by so many people, and a true original. She is also strong and smart. Many millions of people greatly appreciate her support of our Country. Thank you Kirstie, you are truly appreciated!”
Trump’s lone remaining online soapbox also gave the deposed chief executive plenty of opportunity to remind everyone of the fact that he was the first U.S. president not to peacefully cede power to his replacement.
“As our Country is being destroyed, both inside and out, the Presidential Election of 2020 will go down as THE CRIME OF THE CENTURY!” he wrote last month.Apparently sore over not getting enough credit for now-President Joe Biden’s responsible handling of the national vaccination plan, Trump lashed out: “Isn’t it incredible that because of the vaccines, which I and my Administration came up with years ahead of schedule (despite the fact that everybody, including Fauci, said would never happen), that we no longer need masks, and yet our names are not even mentioned in what everybody is calling the modern day miracle of the vaccines? Without the vaccines, this world would have been in for another 1917 Spanish Flu, where up to 100 million people died. Because of the vaccines we pushed and developed in record time, nothing like that will be even close to happening. Just a mention please! The Biden Administration had zero to do with it. All they did was continue our plan of distribution, which was working well right from the beginning!”
Other times, Trump used his so-called platform to denigrate former staffers who had the nerve to publicly disagree with him. On May 12, he posted, “A guy named Miles Taylor, who I have no idea who he is, don’t remember ever meeting him or having a conversation with, gets more publicity pretending he was in the inner circle of our Administration when he was definitely not. Some people refer to him as ‘absolutely nothing.’ I hear he is on CNN and MSDNC all the time, but he had nothing to do with any of my decisions, and I wouldn’t even know what he looks like. He is the guy who fraudulently wrote a make-believe book and statement to the failing New York Times calling himself ‘Anonymous.’ That’s right, he, a lowlife that I didn’t know, was Anonymous.”
There were half-hearted and barely coherent Mother’s Day wishes (“Happy Mother’s Day to all. It will all come back BIGGER and BETTER and STRONGER than ever before. Do not worry!”); dribs and drabs of horse racing commentary (“So now even our Kentucky Derby winner, Medina Spirit, is a junky. This is emblematic of what is happening to our Country. The whole world is laughing at us as we go to hell on our Borders, our fake Presidential Election, and everywhere else!”); and the old hits (“Now everybody is agreeing that I was right when I very early on called Wuhan as the source of COVID-19, sometimes referred to as the China Virus. To me it was obvious from the beginning but I was badly criticized, as usual. Now they are all saying ‘He was right.’ Thank you!”)
Trump also picked the scab off old grudges, taking aim at cable news pundits:
“Crazy Joe Scarborough and his blood-curdling, psycho wife (?), Mika, are going crazy because their ratings have absolutely TANKED,” he bellowed on May 12. “They are wrong too often and always predictable. They were right about me in 2016, but I did better in the 2020 Election with 12 million more votes. Stay tuned!”
He even made national holidays about himself: “With Memorial Day Weekend coming up, tomorrow people start driving in the biggest automobile days of the year. I’m sorry to say the gasoline prices that you will be confronted with are far higher than they were just a short number of months ago where we had gasoline under $2 a gallon. Remember as you’re watching the meter tick, and your dollars pile up, how great of a job Donald Trump did as President. Soon Russia and the Middle East will be making a fortune on oil, and you will be saying how good it was to have me as your President. Wasn’t it great to be energy independent, but we are energy independent no more. Shame, shame, shame. Other than that, have a great Memorial Day Weekend!”
And, as always, believed deeply in polling numbers—but only when they benefited him: “A new Ipsos/Reuters poll ‘Beliefs Among Republicans’ shows 53% believe Donald Trump is the true President (I always knew America was smart!). 2020 Election was tainted 56%. The Election was stolen (and Rigged!) 61%.”
Trump’s last post from the “desk” focused on one of his most favorite pro-Trump events: the boat parade.
“Wow! I hear they have thousands and thousands of boats parading in Jupiter, despite the fact that they tried to cancel us,” he wrote on May 31. “Everyone is having an incredible time. On this day, we especially appreciate everyone who served and fought for our great Country. I love you all!”
But while Trump’s short-lived blog may now be shuttered, his “Save America” online store is still open for business, offering Trump hats, flags, straws, pint glasses, and doormats.
