By Jane Bokun
It’s 3 a.m and I am anxiously looking at my newish phone every hour on the hour. Sleep is eluding me, but I’m in here in my 60s giving it the old college try. The old joke is how to sleep when you’re old? Sit in a chair.
Yesterday, I got a call from a good friend asking if I wanted to cover the recent Donald J. Trump talk with Bloomberg News for her beautiful magazine called “Felix.” The show’s at the Fairmont Hotel, just around the corner from a hotel I booked for the night called the Chicago Millenium. After I looked at the comments on the hotel’s website, I noticed someone said there was blood on the sheets, nice, and it took me back.
I’m here because I said yes to the dress, yes to covering Trump. Yes, to everything. I felt like a young cub reporter, and I realized how much I missed that feeling, all problems, and nerves and then no problems booze wouldn’t cure.
Press had to meet at the hotel at 5:30 a.m. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten up that early. I trained my newborn to get up at 9 a.m. This might be a problem.
“You’re always late,” my sister and nephew said. “Get there early.”
I split the difference and arrived at 4 a.m. where I expected heavy Secret Service pat downs. But nothing. I sat there until 5:30 a.m. and then meandered to a ballroom where they Secret Service) told me to put my camera down and leave it until 9:30 a.m. I then went back to my questionably sheeted hotel and went back to sleep. After that, it was time to see Trump and Bloomberg Editor-in-chief John Micklethwait.
The reason we all convened was because Trump was addressing the Economic Club of Chicago ahead of the Nov. 5 election. The former president, and current GOP nominee, was interviewed by Micklethwait, whose name appears to be a mouthful.
The press section, about 100 reporters, were seated behind members of the Economic Club who had drinks and breakfast. The press had coffee and seemed to be thoroughly pissed off. Maybe if we had croissants? Trump also was late, hours late.
“Is this normal?” I asked a fellow old man reporter.” He doesn’t care,” the man said.
Once he was on the podium, it was hard to stay mad at him. In my view, he was genuinely funny and I’m a sucker for laughter since I’ve had so few giggles since age 60. He started by talking tariffs and said he loves them for China.
Micklethwaite in a heavy British accent (love that for United States elections) countered Trump on every idea.
“You’ve been wrong your whole life,” Trump said to Micklethwait. Kinda made me think Trump has zero fucks left to give.
