Fox News Guest: Trump Is ‘Playing 3-D Chess With A Rubik’s Cube Behind His Back’
President Donald Trump‘s announcement of former Attorney General William Barr‘s nomination to replace ousted Attorney General Jeff Sessions drew some over-the-top praise from frequent Fox News guest and Republican strategist Ford O’Connell.
On Friday afternoon’s edition of Outnumbered Overtime, O’Connell told host Harris Faulkner that the Barr nomination is a “home run” for Trump, and added that if Democrats oppose the nomination, “it could be a case of him playing three-dimensional chess with a Rubik’s Cube behind his back.”
There is no evidence to suggest that the concealment of a Rubik’s Cube in any way improves one’s chances of winning chess games of any kind.
O’Connell went on to explain that Democrats would have a difficult time opposing Barr because “He was unanimously approved to be attorney general under Bush 41. We have just spent several days praising Bush 41 as a 20th century founding father. Well guess what? If it’s good enough for Bush 41, it’s good enough for Trump and America.”
Democratic strategist Suraj Patel pointed out that Barr has spoken publicly about the Mueller investigation, but that if Barr were to assure Democrats that he will allow the probe to continue unimpeded, or even recused himself, Barr could likely be confirmed easily.
If the only metric were easy confirmation by the Democrats, Trump could totally own them by nominating Eric Holder. But that’s not the only metric.
Setting aside the notion that a guy who can’t spell “special counsel” on the first twenty tries is a strategic genius, you could argue that the Barr nomination is an example of Trump being outmaneuvered by Democrats, the U.S. Constitution, and the universe.
Blistering and widespread opposition to the possibly illegal appointment of Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general appears to have prevented Trump from naming him permanently. And current Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta was on Trump’s short list until The Miami Herald exposed the deal Acosta gave to serial sex offender Jeffrey Epstein while a U.S. attorney in Florida.
Barr’s public comments about the Mueller probe and his defense of Trump’s repeated suggestions that the Justice Department investigate Hillary Clinton will undoubtedly be questioned by Democrats, but as Patel pointed out, those issues give Democrats fodder to extract promises from Barr.
And unlike the others on Trump’s short list, Barr has no overweening loyalty to Trump, and little reason to risk his reputation to protect him.
Democrats may not be overjoyed by an eventual Attorney General Bill Barr, but it sure beats AG Jeanine Pirro. Now, that would be some impressive strategy.
Watch the clip above, via Fox News.
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