When Donald Trump announced his 2024 comeback attempt at Mar-a-Lago, he complained about being a victim, but that same description in The New York Times appeared to enrage the former president.
Columnist Maureen Dowd wrote about the victimization claim under the headline, "Trump, Macho Macho Victim."
"In a Maryland suburb I covered long ago, a fire chief and his deputy were accused of arson. 'Firefighter arson' is actually a term, with its own Wikipedia entry, because it happens more often than you might think," Dowd wrote. "That's what Trump sounded like, in his announcement speech, when he said he would 'bring back honesty, confidence, and trust in our elections.' The arsonist seeking a job as a firefighter. He is the liar and con man who undermined confidence in our elections. All that baloney about rigged voting has only hurt Republican participation and swung independents and even some Republicans who were sick of Trump to Democrats. But he doesn't care, so long as he can deflect the blame for his loss. 'As I have said before, the gravest threats to our civilization are not from abroad, but from within,' Trump said at his flaccid, whiny announcement Tuesday night at Mar-a-Lago."
Dowd mentioned the gay anthem "Macho Man" by the Village People that Trump plays to warm up the crowds at his rallies.
"Trump flaunts his faux Macho Macho Man rhetoric, Dowd wrote. "For decades, Republicans have lectured Americans to quit embracing victimhood and stand on their own two feet, and here's their leader announcing his presidency on a platform of Woe is me! Quit picking on me! Elect me because I'm a fall guy! 'I will tell you I'm a victim,' Trump said to a less-than-festive gathering where Melania seemed like a hostage and Ivanka was a no-show."
Dowd found it absurd for Trump to claim that he's the victim.
"Trump is no victim. He creates victims. Trump is the first former president subjected to a special counsel investigation into whether he masterminded a coup attempt," Dowd wrote. "That's mind-blowing, especially since he's running for president again."
On Saturday, Trump took to his Truth Social website for his first post since Elon Musk restored his Twitter account.
"Maureen Dowd, the super whacko who constantly writes so nastily about me, saying things that if ever said about another person, trouble would ensue," Trump wrote.
"This has been going on for years, even before The Times became a financially failing enterprise. Maureen always wants to be so 'juicy,' so why doesn't she write of her Trump escapes, where she bombed sooo badly - over and over again. 'Have you no shame?' I once asked her," Trump wrote.
"She's a sick and angry person, perhaps mentally disturbed. Give it up, Maureen!" he begged.
