The 2024 presidential election is still more than eight months away, and the candidates are not officially set. But Bob Costas has already made up his mind, and he thinks the choice should be clear to everyone. He says presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump is a “bubbling cauldron of loathsome traits” and his supporters are “in the throes of some sort of toxic delusion and in a toxic cult.”
The veteran broadcaster appeared on CNN’s Smerconish Saturday morning, and he vented with host Michael Smerconish about GOP president contender (and presumed nominee) Trump. He saved some of his harshest venom, however, for Trump’s supporters.
“He is by far the most disgraceful figure in modern presidential history,” Costas said. “He’s only become more disgraceful since 2016 and since 2020. He is a bubbling cauldron of loathsome traits, and it’s only those who are actually suffering from ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome,’ which is the way they and Fox News and all the rest of MAGA media try to brush aside all the legitimate criticisms of Trump.
“You have to be in the throes of some sort of toxic delusion and in a toxic cult, to believe that Donald Trump has ever been, in any sense, emotionally, psychologically, intellectually or ethically, fit to be president of the United States.”
Bob Costas: Trump is “by far the most the most disgraceful figure in modern presidential history” pic.twitter.com/dk3zRCurVE
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) February 24, 2024
Those are some harsh comments, but actually not that bad considering recent context. Costas called Trump “the most disgraceful figure in modern presidential history.” A recent poll of 154 presidential scholars rating the U.S. presidents ranked Trump last, by a wide margin.
Many Trump supporters agree he has some terrible character traits, but they believe he is a better alternative than President Joe Biden. Polls show Trump is more trusted on several hot button topics, including the economy, the U.S. border and crime. It’s unfair to label undecided voters who might be leaning toward Trump as members of a MAGA cult.
That’s why we have elections, so people can vote for the candidate of their choice. And how often do we hear it said in politics, sometimes the choice comes down to the lesser of two evils.
Costas reserved some criticism for Biden for seeking a second term. He even worked in a nice sports analogy, talking about how stepping down after one term would have given the Democrats a “chance to get some people up in the bullpen.”
“He had a chance to be seen as a statesman and a patriot,” Costas said. “Now, his legacy is likely to be that of a man whose hubris prevented him from seizing the moment in an appropriate way and at best he can squeeze by Trump … or he could lose to Trump and subject the nation to four more years of this kind of ongoing insanity.”
[Tom Elliott on Twitter/X]
