being absolutely heartbroken hearing of his passing because he died without knowing the love of his own mother. and it s heartbreaking to think back to john s era, and thankfully his family accepted him, but a lot of the people that he loved the most, that created the sport, thatjudged the sport, just didn t want anything to do with it, and it sjust really sad. i mean, eitherway, i what have you done? i mean, you haven t invented penicillin, i you haven t cured cancer, you haven t built- an old people s home, - you zoomed around the ice. is what you do really - of any importance at all? it s only important because things like skating or any kind of performance that brings people pleasure are really some of the things that, if you like, make life worth living. i know that sounds terribly corny, but it does. some things have to lift you or move you or, you know,
i m really glad you asked that question because my answer, frankly, is the same it was when i first spoke to him a year ago. i spoke to him more than once for the book over the course of several months and my answer didn t change. and that was, if the election were tomorrow, i think trump would run. of course, the election is not tomorrow. based on my conversations with him, though, the sense of anger and detachment from reality seemed to grow from the first time i spoke with him in january until the late summer, and you can hear it getting worse and worse. you know, i heard him speak in january at a rally outside arizona, and he has, it seems, talked himself into this idea that he s somehow the victim of this grave injustice. and, you know, whether or not that s still powerful for his voters i think is an open question. but it is perfectly fitting with his appeal as a populist figure
the love of his own mother. and it s heartbreaking to think back to john s era, and thankfully his family accepted him, but a lot of the people that he loved the most that created the sport, thatjudged the sport, just didn t want anything to do with it, and it sjust really sad. i mean, eitherway, i what have you done? i mean, you haven t invented penicillin, i you haven t cured cancer, you haven t built- an old people s home, - you zoomed around the ice. is what you do really - of any importance at all? it s only important because things like skating or any kind of performance that brings people pleasure are really some of the things that, if you like, make life worth living. i know that sounds terribly corny, but it does. some things have to lift you or move you or, you know,
that he was outed like that, but it wasn t for nothing. you know, his story, . despite it not being told you know, his story, despite it not being told on his terms, that still resonates and still inspires. i it comes down to howjohn coped internally with it, which of course, we never found out until much later. and he coped, from what i could see, extremely well and very graciously. there were no tantrums. it s what it was. and i think for all of us coming forward and going forward, you speak your truth or you speak your honesty, and it didn t change who he was as a person to him. and it certainly didn t change who was ever going to be as a performer.
and i think it sjust awful. that he was outed like that, but it wasn t for nothing. you know, his story, despite it not being told on his terms, i that still resonates and still inspires. i it comes down to howjohn coped internally with it, which, of course, we never found out until much later. and he coped, from what i could see, extremely well and very graciously. there were no tantrums. it s what it was. and i think for all of us coming forward and going forward, you speak your truth or you speak your honesty, and it didn t change who he was as a person to him. and it certainly didn t change who was ever going to be as a performer.