![]() I am old enough to remember The Rumble In The Jungle. The famous 1974 boxing match was staged in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then known as Zaire), pitting George Foreman, the undefeated and undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World, against Muhammad Ali, who was the 4-1 underdog. Foreman was 25, in his prime, and known to have a devastating punch. Ali was looking slow and less powerful and was beaten up by previous bouts with Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, Oscar Bonavena and Jerry Quarry. Taking on the bigger, stronger Foreman who was seven years younger, seemed futile and desperate. The Rumble In The Jungle only happened because the promoter, Don King was able to get the two fighters to sign separate contracts, guaranteeing each at least $5M. King also had to enlist Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi to underwrite some of the financing. King and his promotional team garnered the largest viewing audience in history at that time. Some estimated that over a billion people were able to watch the fight. Eventually it generated over $100 million in revenue. All quite amazing, but the more astounding part of the story was how Ali outwitted the bigger, stronger and younger Foreman. Ali was always good at trolling his opponents, exploiting emotional sensitivities using silly poems to belittle them during interviews and pre fight publicity events, so it wasn't hard to get them roiled up once the fight began. Knowing this, Ali planned to use the ropes to bring Foreman in close. He whispered in his ear, "Is that all you got?" to lure him into a frenzy of punches, to wear him out. He would move around the ring, laying on the ropes, absorbing the punishment, while preserving his own energy. By the eighth round, Foreman was exhausted and Ali came out swinging, quickly landing devastating headshots and eventually knocking Foreman out. The tactic, later known as Rope-A-Dope has been used many times since. Floyd Mayweather famously employed it in his 2017 fight with UFC star Conor McGregor. As I think about the tactics used in the fight, I wonder, is this a tactic being used today in the race for the 2024 Presidential election? Donald Trump's ego was deflated by his loss in 2016. He looked beaten and pouty when he proclaimed the election was stolen. His advisors told him to just sit down and be quiet. For a few months, he did. But as the time has passed, he is returning to the public eye, hosting massive rallies across the country. He has built his own media platform called TruthSocial, dodging the restrictions placed on his Twitter and Facebook activities. He has embarked on a campaign of highly visible candidate endorsements, putting his brand of Americanism behind candidates in the important and influential battleground states, and having great success! Meanwhile, President Biden has stumbled into one serious gaffe after another. His messy Afghanistan withdrawal, energy and economic policy miscalculations, are causing massive inflation and now the unfocused war in Ukraine is bleeding out our economy. The stock market is floundering and everybody is feeling the huge increases in gasoline prices. Republicans characterize Joe Biden as a dope. But Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said this: “Our country could not be better served, than with this most experienced, capable hands than yours, President Biden. He‘s just perfect!" Trump isn't getting any complimentary coverage from the Mainstream Press, presumably because he labeled them as The Fake News. Nevertheless, he remains one of the most trending persons on social media. The Democrats are allowing him to live in their heads while they use the power of the government to harass, intimidate and disqualify the former President from running again. But something doesn't add up…if Joe Biden won over 80 million legitimate votes in 2019, and he is the incumbent, and he has done everything he promised to do during his COVID-era basement campaign, then why would the Democrats have anything to worry about? If Biden is so popular and effective, wouldn't he be the George Foreman in a Presidential rematch? Is it possible Donald Trump is roping a dope? |
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