MSNBC co-host Joe Scarborough drew parallels Wednesday between President Trump’s reelection rally the night before and a performance by Elvis Presley shortly prior to his passing.
“I mean no disrespect to the king of rock and roll, but this is Elvis in ’77,” Mr. Scarborough said during his “Morning Joe” program. “Just kind of lumbering across the stage, sweating.”
Mr. Scarborough made the comparison as the program’s hosts discussed Mr. Trump’s rally Tuesday night in Orlando, Florida, where the president officially launched his 2020 campaign with a speech rife with attacks targeting the “fake new” and former Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, among others.
“Seriously, it’s Elvis in ’77, sweating, trying to sing the old hits, but his heart’s just not really in it,” said Mr. Scarborough. “They know what he’s going to sing before he sings it. They know all the words. And the guy who was once so exciting now is just dull.”
“He’s still attacking Hillary Clinton and doing ’lock her up’ things,” said Mr. Scarborough.
Presley died on Aug. 16, 1977 of cardiac arrhythmia following years of prescription drug abuse. He was 42.
Peter Guralnick, a writer who attended one of Presley’s final concerts, previously described watching “sweat sheets” drip down the singer’s “pale, swollen cheeks,” comparing him to a “creature out of a Hollywood monster film” and calling his performance a “grotesque transcendence.”
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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