Who's the cranky old geezer now?

Well, it seemed likely that Donald Trump might be a bit annoyed that Joe Biden finally pulled out of the presidential race. But it's still a bit of a surprise that his reaction was quite so ... well, unhinged, is really the only appropriate word.

In an extended rant on his own Truth Social platform, which was created mainly to accommodate his own lies and libels, Trump raged, "It's not over! Tomorrow Crooked Joe Biden's going to wake up and forget that he dropped out of the race today!"

Trump is now the old geezer in the race, the one with the mental health challenges, the one saying things that don't make much sense: "Who is running our Country now? It's not Crooked Joe, he has no idea where he is. If he can't run for office, he can't run our Country!!!"

(Incidentally, I've often wondered why these kinds of statements don't quality as slander or libel or defamation. I'm sure they would in other walks of life. Well, apparently there are different categories of individuals in law - public figures, limited public figures, and private citizens - and there is a significantly higher burden of proof for public figures, including politicians, than there is for regular private citizens. For a public figure, the defamation must also amount to "actual malice", which history tells us is very hard to prove in a court of law. And which, rightly or wrongly, is why the tenor of our political discourse is so poor, and why ad hominem attacks and outright lies of this kind are considered legal.)

And then, the kicker from Trump: "He is the threat to democracy!" Another pro-Trump Republican added on X, and also apparently without an ounce of irony: "The coup is complete."

To say that Trump and his lackeys are rattled would would an understatement. There is hope yet.