Ex-Trump White House Lawyer: RNC was ‘executed well’ but Donald is an ‘empty soul’

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy To attorney Ty Cobb, who served as Donald Trump’s White House counsel during the ex-president’s first year in office, this week’s four-day GOP nominating pageant was, for the party’s purposes, “executed well.” Republicans have never appeared more unified, and their messaging is clear, Cobb said Friday morning. Five days after he was grazed in the ear by a gunman’s bullet, the twice-impeached former commander-in-chief promised an arena’s worth of GOP delegates and millions of people watching at home that if he were to return to power, he would serve as “president for all of America, not half of America.” But after a frenzied appearance by pro wrestler and noted union-buster Hulk Hogan, who ripped off his shirt mid-speech to emphasize his MAGA bona fides, and an apparently lip-synched performance by Kid Rock, the crowd clearly wanted to hear the hits. So, after less than a half-hour of the “new” Trump, he reverted to form for the rest of his rambling 93-minute address, veering wildly off-script for, in the words of one commentator, “one of the truly awful and self-indulgent political performances of our time.” The newly minted felon spent the next 90-plus minutes tossing MAGA fans the hunks of the red meat they craved: “Crazy Nancy Pelosi” is a scourge on the nation, Joe Biden is the “worst” president in U.S. history, Democrats rigged the 2020 election, the “Russia, Russia, Russia” investigation into Trump’s alleged Kremlin ties was a “hoax,” and undocumented immigrants are “stealing” jobs from Black Americans, among incendiary but wholly untrue proclamations. “Regrettably, the current state of the party requires the few remaining serious leaders like Ambassador Haley and Secretary Pompeo to kiss the orange ring just to retain some ability to play a part later.” At the same time, Cobb said it will be up to Haley, Pompeo, and other “adults” within the conference to spearhead “the MAGA retreat that must take place if our culture and form of government are to survive long-term.” open image in gallery Former White House lawyer Ty Cobb sees Donald Trump‘s RNC performance as further proof the twice-impeached ex-president is little more than “an empty soul.” Cobb, who represented Trump during Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, was on the former president’s good side—until he wasn’t.