It’s not altogether easy to describe a “ReAwaken America Tour” event, though a recent NPR summary is as good as any: “Each stop of the ReAwaken America Tour is part conservative Christian revival, part QAnon expo, and part political rally. … There are meet and greets, a buffet and, lately, baptisms and the casting out of demons.”
Complicating matters is the guest list at these radical events, which feature remarks from high-profile MAGA figures such as MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and Trump adviser Roger Stone, as well as lesser-known extremists.
With this in mind, Rachel noted that the latest stop on the ReAwaken America Tour was an event last week at Donald Trump’s hotel in Miami, where members of the former president’s inner circle — including Eric Trump and Lara Trump — were scheduled to appear at the same gathering as some radical bigots, including Hitler-promoting antisemites.
After the segment aired, the guest list was quickly altered.
Nevertheless, the ReAwaken America Tour event happened, and Rolling Stone reported, it featured a call-in appearance from the former president himself — who had an announcement of sorts he was eager to share with the right-wing audience in attendance.
Although he canceled his outdoor rally in Iowa due to tornado warnings, Donald Trump did not let his Saturday night end without addressing a crowd. The former president called in to a pro-MAGA event featuring disgraced former national security advisor Michael Flynn and signaled he would make Flynn part of his next administration, confirming Rolling Stone’s reporting.
Trump’s comments came on the heels of a Rolling Stone piece that said the Republican was eyeing roles for Flynn and Jeffrey Clark in a possible second term. And while the former president didn’t reference the highly controversial former Justice Department attorney during his telephoned message to the ReAwaken America Tour event, he seemed only too pleased to offer assurances about Flynn’s future.
After he canceled his Iowa rally, Trump calls in to the ‘Reawaken America’ QAnon rally tonight and tells Michael Flynn that he will be bringing him back in his next Administration. pic.twitter.com/rTY33ac7yX
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) May 14, 2023
As Flynn held a microphone to his cellphone, Trump began by twice referring to his own hotel as “wonderful,” before adding that attendees were there for an “important purpose.”
The Republican then turned his attention to the man holding the phone.
“I will say, General Flynn, he’s some general. He’s some man,” Trump added. “He took abuse like nobody could have handled, and he came out bigger, better, stronger than ever before.”
The former president concluded, in reference to Flynn, “We love him. He’s a leader, and you just stay wealthy and healthy and well, and everything. I want you to have great lives in general. You just have to stay healthy because we’re bringing you back. We’re gonna bring you back.”
At that point, Flynn told Trump that his wife was “going crazy.”
As regular readers might recall, in 2020, Trump told reporters that he was open to re-hiring Flynn. Asked specifically if he might invite Flynn back into the executive branch, the then-president replied, “I would certainly consider it, yeah. I would.” Evidently, he’s since made up his mind. Part of what made all of this so jarring was the former president’s willingness to play a role at the radical event. But the idea that the Republican also envisions an official role for Flynn in a second Trump administration is also deeply unsettling. Flynn, of course, was fired early in Trump’s presidency after getting caught lying to the FBI about his covert communications with Russian officials. More recently, as regular readers might recall, Flynn plotted with the outgoing president in the Oval Office, exploring ways to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The retired general reportedly raised the prospect of seizing voting machines, deploying U.S. troops, and declaring martial law as part of the anti-election scheme. Flynn’s relationship with reality did not improve. Two years ago, for example, he appeared to endorse a military coup. In the late summer, Flynn suggested people may be exposed to Covid-19 vaccines by way of salad dressing. He soon after made the case that the United States should have a single religion — presumably, Flynn’s faith tradition would be the one receiving special recognition — while taking on a leading role in promoting ideas associated with the QAnon mass delusion. While Trump has surrounded himself with far too many fringe figures with radical beliefs, by most measures, Flynn approached the extremist edge of American politics — and enthusiastically jumped off. The fact that Trump is eager to give him a governmental role tells Americans quite a bit about what to expect from his hypothetical second term.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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