by Do Republicans really want to dump Trump?
Is that the party’s fervent wish, even though it’s only talked about in backstage whispers?
That’s what the Atlantic thinks, and I don’t buy it outright.
More importantly, it is not up to party leaders and activists. It’s up to the voters. They’ll settle the issue in a year, which means we’re in for a long time of media analysis and bloat.
President Donald Trump, accompanied by his daughter Ivanka Trump, speaks before signing the National Security Presidential Memorandum to Launch the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
MEMPHIS MONSTROSITY: FROM RACE TO CAMERAS: TIRE NICHOLS SHOULD STILL BE ALIVE
I wrote a few days ago about whether Donald Trump could not only win the nomination but also the presidency. My conclusion is that it’s a tough fight, but not impossible.
The McKay Coppins magazine article, well linked to the right, says if you press it privately, “most Republican officials — even those with MAGA hats in their closets and Mar-a-Lago selfies on their Twitter.” -Avatar – privately admitting that Donald Trump has become a problem. He’s led three miserable election cycles since taking office, he’s more unstable than ever, and yet he returned to the campaign trail this past weekend… Barring his closest followers, virtually everyone in the party agrees: it’s time to walk away from Trump .”
It is the phrase “virtually all” that I think goes too far. Of course, many Republican officials have doubts about Trump given how his tenure ended in riots and how he presided over GOP losses in 2018, 2020 and 2022.
These officials may or may not like Trump, may or may not be jaded with him, but they don’t want to upset his sizable base. So who cares what they say in private? The bottom line is that they don’t want to lift a finger against the 45th President because they know they will suffer a backlash.
Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI) makes a statement to members of the press while awaiting the election results at an election night event at Social House on Tuesday August 2, 2022 in Grand Rapids, MI.
(Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
But the Atlantic piece has some sharp things: “I’ve heard repeatedly that the least disruptive way to get rid of Trump, grim as it sounds, might be to wait for his expiration.”
Former Congressman Peter Meijer, who voted to impeach Trump and was defeated in a GOP primary, said, “You have a lot of people who just want him dead.” While he’s not in that camp, “I have from a lot Heard of people who go on stage and put on the red hat and then call me the next day and say, ‘I can’t wait for this guy to die.’ And it’s like good sir.”
The play goes through other scenarios, such as Republican donors turning against Trump. Some defected, but there wasn’t a huge rush.
And that old queue: “Some Republicans are clinging to the hope that Trump’s legal troubles may finally bring him down.”
TRUMP’S OFFER TO THE WHITE HOUSE IS MISSION IMPOSSIBLE. OR IS IT?
At this point, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg began presenting evidence to a grand jury on the Stormy Daniels case. This is strange on several levels.
Given all the things the former President has done or is accused of, will the only thing he will be charged with be paying a porn star? That makes pinning Al Capone for tax evasion seem like a very big deal.
Bragg had essentially dropped the case when he succeeded Cy Vance Jr., and a couple of senior prosecutors resigned. Why would he have changed his mind now?
Trump, who has denied Daniel’s allegations of an affair, wrote: “As for the ‘Stormy’ nonsense, it’s VERY OLD and happened a long time ago, well after the publicly known and accepted period of the statute of limitations. “
The case is fairly well documented, with former Trump attorney (and now fierce critic) Michael Cohen, who acted as mediator, speaking to the prosecutor’s office 14 times. “The checks are the checks,” Cohen said on MSNBC.
In the final weeks of the 2016 campaign, fearing that Daniels would go public with her story, the Trump team arranged for her to be paid $130,000 in hush money in exchange for not speaking to the media about her account. Cohen, who pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations and served time in prison, received $420,000, partially to cover his taxes on the transaction.
The deal was completed with the help of the National Enquirer, which was then run by a close friend of Trump’s, David Pecker, who was reportedly one of the first witnesses called before the grand jury.
Adult film actress/director Stormy Daniels attends the 2020 Adult Video News Awards at The Joint inside the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on January 25, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
(Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Still, it reminds me how anti-Trumpers spent six years expecting and hoping for impeachment against the ex-president. If he is prosecuted in this case, it will most likely result in his base rallying behind him as a victim of an unfair system. (Coincidentally, video of testimony Trump made last year in the New York Attorney General’s civil fraud investigation against his company shows what he said before repeatedly invoking the Fifth Amendment. He accused Letitia James of “unfounded politically motivated witch hunts” and said he would be “an absolute fool” if he didn’t take the Fifth.)
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The Atlantic article states that many Republican leaders are engaged in “magical thinking” to believe that Trump is somehow being marginalized while remaining silent. Coppins writes that even if Trump loses the nomination, he could blow Republican chances by running as an independent candidate.
And yet, despite the grassroots’ enthusiasm for Ron DeSantis, by all accounts, Trump remains the front-runner for the nomination. And if he wins that, most of those private naysayers who dare not voice public criticism will follow suit.
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footnote: Donald Trump yesterday sued Bob Woodward and Simon & Schuster for publishing an audio book containing the 18 recorded interviews the former president granted for a previous book. Since Trump has approved the records and there is no agreement restricting their use, his chances of winning the case seem extremely slim.
