At the very moment Trump was getting impeached for the record-setting 2nd time, Trump turned a blind eye to pesky talk of insurrection, and held a very, very important closed door event... to award BBs collaborator Toby Keith with this prestigious honor.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/jan/13/trump-awards-medals-singers-toby-keith-and-ricky-s/I can't imagine a scenario where Mike isn't annoyed that it wasn't *him* receiving this award over Toby - after all of the Trump brownnosing that Mike has done with this transactional, twice-impeached president.
But there's still another week though, so maybe Mike is next in line. I think Mike is legit going to feel pretty cheated if his buddy leaves him hanging. Does anyone disagree? I am totally serious in thinking this.
I mean Mike's been in the music business twice as long as Keith, and has brownnosed at least 2.5 times as hard.
- 2017 inauguration-adjacent show
- 2018 White House press conference with Kid Rock, etc.
- 2020 Trump Jr.-related trophy hunting gig
- 2020 Trump fundraiser show in the middle of a pandemic
- 2021 NYE Mar-a-Lago show in the middle of a pandemic
+ probably more stuff I'm overlooking.
That unwavering loyalty has got to count for *something*.
And it makes Mike's unthinkably bad choice to proceed with even the indefensible trophy hunting gig make all the more sense in hindsight. There is *no way* Mike hasn't been purposefully angling for an award like this, gaining "own the libs" points with multiple generations of Trump family members. Of course Mike has all along known that Trump is transactional, and of course an award has been on his radar.
If Trump somehow leaves Mike hanging, Mike is most *definitely* going to have to speak to the manager.