Day of Hell Gate

For some reason, sports-talk radio host Colin Cowherd occasionally veers into non-sports conversations. That's okay by me - I'm not one of those "shut up and dribble" folks who think people can have opinions on only one topic - but I generally disagree with Cowherd's views. In 2022, he predicted a “red wave” in the midterm elections and he once accused Democrats of maliciously keeping children out of school during the pandemic. I disagree wit h him, but the civil libertarian in me defends his right to say it.

Interestingly, the other day, on the subject of Trump's 43 felony convictions, he told listeners, “If everybody in your circle is a felon, maybe it’s not rigged. Maybe the world isn’t against you.” 

“Donald Trump is now a felon,” Cowherd said. “His campaign chairman (Paul Manafort) was a felon. So is his deputy campaign manager (Rick Gates), his personal lawyer (Michael Cohen), his chief strategist (Steve Bannon), his National Security Adviser (Michael Flynn), his Trade Advisor (Peter Navarro), his Foreign Policy Adviser (George Papadopoulos), his campaign fixer (Cohen, again), and his company CFO (Allen Weisselberg). They’re all felons. Judged by the company you keep. It’s a cabal of convicts.”

“Stop trying to sell me on ‘everything’s rigged, the country’s falling into the sea, the economy’s terrible,’” he continued. “The America that I live in is imperfect. But compared to the rest of the world, I think we’re doing okay.” Cowherd argued that the picture of “skyrocketing” crime rates Trump often evokes on the campaign trail is nonexistent and that violent crimes rates have “plummeted coast to coast” since 2023. “I live in a nice neighborhood in L.A. and it’s not … one of those swanky neighborhoods, but I don’t see crime. I’m not stumbling over homeless people.” 

“Dodger Stadium’s full, leads Major League Baseball in attendance,” he continued. “Laker games are full. People have money in their pocket.”

Cowherd concluded that Trump is "trying to sell me an America that doesn’t exist."