He was always a force larger than life.
In his prime, he restored the country — bringing us a phenomenal economy, a foreign policy that ran on good deals rather than bad wars, and pride in country.
In the process, he so enraged half the country that they overreacted to everything he did. The Left’s insane hysteria over Orange Man Bad put us through two useless impeachments and countless leaks, many little more than rumor, to media stars, Dems all, who grew ratings by shouting from rooftops that he was evil, racist, or dumb.
All of this compromised Trump’s ability to trust his instincts — and his intuition is exceptional — when it came to the pandemic. He caved to the hysteria of Fauci et al, launching a 15-day period to slow the spread that Birx has admitted was a lie from the beginning. Under Biden, this small opening was expanded into a never ending public emergency of mandates designed in corrupt fashion to enrich Big Pharma, China and the Biden Crime Family. Dr. Aaron Kheriaty, a renowned medical ethicist fired by UC Irvine for refusing the vaccine, noted in his new book The New Abnormal: The Rise of the Biomedical Security State, that natural immunity proved more reliable. More, he writes, the panic — with its lockdowns, masks and social distancing — marked the first time in the history of pandemics a society quarantined the healthy. Ever.
Trump’s energy, his political savvy, his sheer will to succeed, are a lasting legacy. The manner of his governance — his insults and bullying — rankled many voters, especially suburban women. But his tribe was loyal — rewarding him with more than 74 million votes in 2020, flocking to the US Capitol on Jan 6 to trumpet his cause. Many are still in jail. This they did for him. Out of love. Out of gratitude.
Tuesday, he announced his campaign for re-election in 2024, promising to “Make America Great and Glorious Again.” He sounded like a wounded warrior, subdued and anxious. “The Washington establishment wants to silence us, but we will not let them do that,” he said. They already have. Big money Republicans have signaled a pivot to a younger generation. Billionaire Stephen Schwarzman, founder & CEO of Blackstone, said, “America does better when its leaders are rooted in today and tomorrow, not today and yesterday. It is time for the Republican Party to turn to a new generation of leaders and I intend to support one of them in the presidential primaries.”
So it is time to pose the question, is Trump now a burden to his own party?
Republicans were widely expected to capture the House & the Senate in the midterms. Now they will be lucky to emerge with a bare majority in the House. On Monday, a recount in New Hampshire flipped a seat won by a Republican blue — by one vote.
A “pissed off” Sen Ted Cruz blamed Senate Leader Mitch McConnell for withholding funds from candidates flying the America First flag. That tactical decision meant a lost opportunity for a landslide, what he called, “an extraordinary opportunity…a generational opportunity.” But Donald Trump shares some of the blame. He backed candidates to avenge the 2020 election he believes was stolen from him, and exact retribution on those who voted to impeach him. The ugly rivalry between Trump & McConnell helped take down the party. Consider:
In Arizona, McConnell wanted Gov. Doug Ducey to run against incumbent Sen Mark Kelly. Instead Trump muscled tech exec Blake Masters into a primary win, Masters vowed he would not support McConnell — and McConnell’s Senate Leadership Fund withheld $$ support. In Alaska, McConnell’s PAC withheld money from Trump-endorsed Kelly Tshibaka, to help RINO Sen. Lisa Murkowski. McConnell also spent $$$ to run negative ads against Tshibaka. The two are now in a run-off. The Alaska GOP censured him for it.
Trump vowed to defeat every one of the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach him in the House. He came close. In the primary, he defeated Rep. Jaime Herrera, whose 3rd congressional district in Washington voted R + 13 in 2020. Trump pushed her out in favor of Joe Kent, a former Green Beret and combat veteran. As Republican Daily put it, this race should have been a slam dunk for the Republicans, but now it’s in Dem hands. Political bad blood can splatter expectations. Another impeachment voter, Rep. Dan Newhouse, easily won re-election in the very red 4th congressional district in Washington.
In short, McConnell and Trump both put personal peeve ahead of party, and the results were disastrous, turning the Red Wave into a Blue Victory. Likewise Dem Kevin McCarthy and Florida Sen. Rick Scott. In politics, you have to deliver. If the country were a business, and we the stockholders, they would all be fired.
Since Trump rode down that golden escalator in 2015 to launch his presidential campaign, the GOP establishment has done everything it could to torpedo the businessman new to politics. Speaker Paul Ryan fought Trump on his plans to build a border wall and to repeal Obamacare. Now Ryan is on the board of Fox News, which robs Trump of oxygen at every opportunity. Sen Mitt Romney voted to impeach him. Look for Romney to work with Democrats to empower Biden’s agenda.
Turns out Republicans had no interest in the issues that animate the Make American Great Again voters. Yesterday, Senate Leader Chuck Schumer reached out to McConnell to discuss how to excise MAGA Republicans altogether from power in the Senate. McConnell engineered Biden victories on gun control, a green new deal bill masquerading as infrastructure, a rise in the debt ceiling, and a Ukraine policy that shoveled $70 billion in unaccountable money overseas — even as Americans struggled to pay for gas and groceries and there is still no baby formula to be found. These corrupt fixtures of the GOP establishment were never gunning for Trump alone, but for us. Because the Tea Party was a real rebellion. Because 74 million is a big number.
The White Wave — a flood of mail-in ballots that overwhelms same-day voting — remains an issue for the Red Team. Shawn Steel, an RNC committee member from California, said ballot harvesting has now been normalized in two successive elections. Republicans, he said, have to “adopt or die.” Conservative columnist Catherine Salgado wondered why we weren’t in streets protesting Kari Lake’s loss in the Arizona gubernatorial race, calling it stolen. My answer: Because because we have been beaten down, because we are powerless against the electoral manipulations of Google, because Jan 6. Some believe Trump is the only one who can defy them. But will the Establishment — GOP & Dem —crush him again? Certainly they will try.
Already, firing squad is circling the MAGA Man. He has lost the NY Post, which blames him expressly for the losses. He has lost Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo, who tweeted,
And he has lost Candace Owens, the liberal-turned-conservative who always credited Donald Trump’s message of economic empowerment for her conversion. There is no person of more faith than a convert, no greater lion than a woman who has switched parties because she saw through the traps that government social programs pose for her people. Now, she says, Trump has turned angry, snarling at her, and at us.
Perhaps the trauma of the 2020 loss, she said, has left him in “a place of anger… holding on to this almost vengeful spirit. Is he going to get over the trauma of the election of 2020 and begin to paint a vision for 2024?” If his vision is, “I’m back,” she predicted, that idea of redemption will not return him to the White House.
And I agree. You win the presidency with a compelling vision, not a damaged spirt.
To me it seems that if you’ve lost Candace Owens, someone who defied her family history to become a Republican, then you’ve lost something essential.
Great summary of the situation. In my opinion both McConnell and Trump need to go. But as many people are pointing out, there's a moot element to the 2024 race given that states controlled by Democrats will find enough D votes to win. It's a bleak situation. Kari Lake's bogus defeat is the most heartbreaking.
Well done, Johanna!
On my good days I think we are making progress against this evil regime, on my bad days I feel the cause is lost. I think Trump represents a last hope to many people. A man who taught us by his actions how to fight the corrupt state and to win and prosper in spite of it. Kari Lake simply MUST continue to fight to win her race. Her opponent the AZ Sec of State is in charge of the state's voting apparatus. In a sane world Hobbs should have recused herself--the fact that she didn't and that there were numerous voting irregularities should be a ticket for Lake victory- at the very least it appears there will be a recount as per AZ law. As for PA-- your union roots are showing...in my opinion the democratic machine has elected a complete joke as Senator and you know what they say, you get the government you deserve. I listened to Dan Bongino give an impassioned plea for all conservatives to relocate to "RED" states...vote with your feet! We are in the process of doing just that--we are leaving a one party socialist/communist state that is now threatening the physicians of the state with retribution if they spread "mis" or "dis" information about COVID to their patients. May God help this country get through these tumultuous times back to sanity and to a republic once again.