Donald Trump just blew it

Donald Trump is in a comparatively large eight point hole in his reelection bid, with just 46 days remaining until the election. He’s running out of time. Moreover, his campaign is running out of cash, to the point that he’s had to cancel his TV ad buys in some must-win swing states. So you’d think that, when handed an opportunity for some free positive publicity and media exposure, Trump would take it.

That’s why it’s surprising that, given the opportunity to speak at the dedication of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial on Thursday night, Donald Trump reportedly took a pass. This would seemingly have been the perfect opportunity for Trump to garner a rare positive story about himself in the press. Eisenhower was a U.S. military hero, and a Republican President. Trump should have been jumping all over this. Instead his people hid him at an event in Wisconsin on Thursday that wasn’t going to get any real coverage.

It feels like Trump isn’t even trying anymore. He’s passing up easy opportunities to help his reelection bid, either because he’s too lazy to be bothered, or because his cognitive decline was so evident during his town hall this week that his handlers were afraid to put him out there again. With Trump mailing it in, this is a great opportunity for us to run up the score by investing time in volunteering, phone banking, and the like.