President Trump was in New Hampshire last night for what he claimed “Could be the beginning of a New & Vibrant CNN, with no more Fake News, or it could turn into a disaster for all, including me. Let’s see what happens.” Well?
What do you think happened?
I listened to Jeff Kuhner this morning on the way to work, and he’s convinced Trump knocked it out of the park. He went so far as to suggest Trump may have secured his nomination. I have doubts about that, not just because he was polling so well before the event even started, but I do think that it is his to lose, regardless of the concerns about how he will invigorate the Left in 2024 and the potential down-ticket consequences. I’m not dismissing those concerns but leaning too heavily on them feels like an excuse to avoid (perhaps) the only (true) political disrupter to come along in many of our lifetimes.
I also believe they exist regardless of the nominee. The Dems will not change their path to victory strategy and risk losing the White House no matter who primary voters pick.
True Dat!
Trump is or was everything activists claimed we needed in Washington, and when he won, he was that guy. What he did is what it must look like no matter who you send to DC. You need Marjorie Taylor Greens, Matt Gaetz'(es), and Donald Trumps. Those folks are Davids facing a Goliath with police powers, a weaponized bureaucracy, and a partisan media wind machine at their backs. One well-placed stone will not get the job done.
Scrappy is only the beginning of the change we need.
Every day is a battle in a war the opposition is better prepared to win. Trump needs to be Trump, and the polling – unless the pollsters are skewing the numbers as some sort of electoral head fake – tell us he is the general of choice to retake The Hill. But he needs to earn it, and Ron DeSantis isn’t going to make it easy, nor should he.
Much like a trial, reasonable doubt makes all the difference. Trump’s scrappy nature and the Left’s war on him (hint: because they fear him) leave dozens of opportunities for challengers like DeSantis—and not just on creating reasonable doubt about The Donald’s electability in a general election. Gov. DeSantis is doing something Trump cannot. He is a sitting executive, advancing actual legislation and signing laws that demonstrate action on Republican priorities.
The real question (assuming DeSantis formally announces, which he will) is if he can cover the nearly 28-36-point lead Trump has in the early polls. And is DeSantis that guy? He’s excellent with a legislature that shares his priorities. He’s grown the brand and the strength of the Florida GOP and earned national praise, but what’s he like when nearly everyone is out to get him, including the Republicans in his new backyard?
He is currently in a political world where you can say you’ll never back down in part because you rarely or perhaps ever need to – unless you consider the recent 6-week abortion ban DeSantis didn’t ask for but signed when his legislature handed it to him. Outside noise is easy to leverage or ignore in his current political womb. What happens when the 6-week ban becomes an issue the Left brings to bear the way they used the Boggs decision to stifle the 2022 Red Wave?
It’s a different game when you can’t wake up with an idea and sign it into law before you go to bed that night. It’s trench warfare 24/7/365 for even an inch. I’m not saying he can’t do it or take it, but we know the opponent, and we don’t know as much about DeSantis in that environment.
Whatever you may think of Trump, we know he can handle that adversity from inside and out. It may be why he agreed to do the CNN Townhall. Yes, he said they made him an offer he could not refuse, but Donald Trump lives to be in that position. He thrives on it. To borrow from the DeSantis campaign, he never backs down from it, walks into it, and comes out nonplussed. Ron will do it, he has to, and he’ll be fine on TV. He knows his way around a debate stage, thinks fast on his feet, and can articulate Republican priorities with conviction, but that’s not the same as the meat grinder inside the Beltway.
Yes, Trump’s got negatives. Some folks think giving CNN a few more eyeballs is one of them, but it pissed Dems off so much that I think a few swore they’d move to Canada.
Did you watch it? What are your thoughts either way? And no, I’m not – at this moment – endorsing Trump or DeSantis, so let us, not waste time assuming I have.
