The Most Powerful Man In Politics
On This Piece
At a Mar-a-Lago gathering, Donald Trump described his social media director Dan Scavino as the most powerful man in politics — capable of ending his career with a single bad post. The observation is offered here without much elaboration. It doesn't need any. Nearly a decade of public statements that should have ended careers, and Trump is worried about what Dan Scavino might say.
[Caption: "Mar-a-Lago, April 2024. Donald Trump joked about his longtime aide, Dan Scavino."]
[B-roll: Trump at podium, handheld phone footage]
"I call him the most powerful man in politics because he's the only one that has my number. Dan's the only one who could do that. He could say, 'I don't like you, voters. I don't like you at all. I'm fed up with you. I can't stand you.' And that's the end of my political career."
[Camera pans to Dan Scavino in room]
[Caption: "Dan Scavino — White House Deputy Chief of Staff, Director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office."]
[Caption: "He is also the person who manages and controls Trump's social media accounts."]
"Where are you, Dan? The most powerful man in politics, I'd say."
[Camera returns to Trump at podium]
"He's the only one that can do it. He's got the number. Even Linda doesn't have it. Although I trust you implicitly. I give it to you. But Dan could say something horrible. He could say something very sexually oriented — and that would end it. You know that would end it. But he hasn't done that, and he won't do it."
Okay. You heard that. Right? Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Like — literally nothing he has said or posted over the last nearly ten years has ended his political career. Like, seriously, bro. Whatever.
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