The real reason Donald Trump has to worry about what Ann Coulter just did to him

| 3:00 pm EDT May 24, 2020
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As a general rule I refuse to write about what Ann Coulter says, because nearly every time she opens her mouth it’s in order to purposely and calculatedly say something stupid, for the purpose of drawing attention to herself and selling more of her books. I only make an exception when Coulter occasionally says something that gives away what’s happening on Donald Trump’s side of the fence – and today is one of those days.

Coulter has feuded with Trump on Twitter before, but usually only on specific issues, and in ways that they both know can ultimately be glossed over later. But Coulter is doing something different today. She’s posted about a dozen scathing anti-Trump tweets, pointing out his crimes in the Trump-Russia scandal, explaining how he screwed up the Alabama Senate election, and apologizing for having believed that Trump was going to be remotely competent.

Coulter is clearly hoping Trump will attack her in return, and he probably will. But while this is yet another attempt at publicity, it’s not some one-off feud. Coulter is trying to clearly establish herself as an anti-Trump conservative who thinks Trump is a complete idiot across the board. So why do this? She must have calculated that the bulk of her own far-right audience is turning against (or will end up turning against) Trump, and she’s looking to very loudly get out ahead of it.

It’s easy to think of Ann Coulter as a dope because she says so many stupid things. But she’s spent years playing this game (and winning, in terms of book sales) by saying the precise kinds of stupid things that are calculated to drive sales of her books. Four years ago she correctly bet that the smart money on the far right was to be made by loudly supporting Trump. Now she’s betting that going forward, the smart money on the right is to be made by loudly slamming Trump. She deserves absolutely no credit for any of this, of course. But here’s hoping she’s betting correctly, and that Trump is going down.