Mike Francesa calls it like he sees it.
The WFAN legend has blasted former president Donald Trump several times since he left office. But Francesa still believes Trump’s indictment by Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg is a bridge too far.
“How ridiculous is this Trump fiasco?” Francesa tweeted. “New York should be embarrassed. What a waste of time and money.”
Trump will be arraigned Tuesday on “more than 30 counts related to business fraud,” according to CNN, following a long-running investigation into hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 campaign.
Francesa openly supported Trump in 2016 when he was still at WFAN. But he did not offer much commentary on his presidency until the pandemic hit and Francesa made headlines for ripping Trump’s response to COVID-19.
Francesa then left WFAN and was not on the air during the 2020 election, Trump’s subsequent lies about the election being stolen and the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol (Francesa did tweet it was a “national disgrace”). Francesa has said he voted for current president Joe Biden in 2020, but he does not believe he has done a good job in office.
Francesa said on his BetRivers podcast in September:
I am disappointed in both sides. I really am.
I am disappointed that we haven’t learned our lessons, that we haven’t done a better job trying to make things better in what is a very tough time in this country. I don’t see us any better off in terms of having a truce between the two warring factions and the two doctrines.
It seems to me the outside of each of those parties, the far-right in the Republicans and the far-left in the Democrats, are still trying so hard to take the parties to the extremist level. And to the outside extreme they can go to. So the fringe, I call it – although they’re fringe in number but not fringe in impact – are dragging the Democrats left and they’re dragging Republicans right instead of dragging people to the middle, where there can be consensus. We’re moving away from consensus all the time.
And frankly, (former president Donald) Trump had a great opportunity and I thought he lost it. (Current President Joe) Biden had a great opportunity and I don’t think he has seized it. I think we’ve had very poor leadership at the presidential position in recent years. And it is very disappointing.
James Kratch can be reached at james.kratch@xlmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @jameskratch.