Moments after Donald Trump announced that he was running for President from Trump Tower, New York in June 2015, experts summarily dismissed him claiming he delivered the worst campaign launch speech in political history and that it was the end of Trump before he even began.
Then
Trump triumphed in the primary debates and had rallies that packed stadiums.
The experts claimed that people were there for the comedy roasts, and most
regular voters will be turned off by Trump’s rhetoric, and hence it is the end
of Trump.
When
Trump topped the polls, the experts claimed that it was because of the crowded
Republican primary and that the real picture will only emerge when the field
narrows down. They also insisted that the poll was meaningless and voters would
elect Jeb Bush as the GOP nominee causing the end of Trump.
When
Trump lost the Iowa Caucus to Ted Cruz, the very first contest during the
primaries, the experts claimed it was the end of Trump.
Trump
went on to win New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada, but once again the
experts claim that on Super Tuesday it would be the end of Trump.
Trump
triumphed on Super Tuesday and most of the subsequent primary contests to
become the presumptive nominee with the most votes in the history of GOP
Primaries. Yet the experts insisted that the majority of delegates at the
convention would nominate a mainstream candidate such as Mitt Romney and it
would be the end of Trump.
When
Trump clinched the nomination, they said that he is such a polarizing figure
that he would repel women, Hispanics, LGBT+, and Muslims. They predicted that
he would lose with such a landslide that it not only will be the end of Trump,
but also the end of the GOP.
When
Trump won the elections, a host of former celebrities appeared in a PSA
urging members of the Electoral College not to cast their vote for
President-Elect Trump, despite him winning the required votes. Experts claimed
that that could be the end of Trump.
The
experts began talking about the end of Trump via impeachment and the 25th
Amendment even before Trump was inaugurated.
All
through his presidency, their predictions about Trump’s end were frequent.
The
said he would be forced to resign during the politized probe for the Russian
Collusion hoax. They said he would be forced to quit, after the first baseless impeachment
over a call with Ukrainian President Zelensky. Following the second baseless impeachment
for "incitement of insurrection" they claimed with certitude that it
was the end of Trump as a political force.
Most
of the above claims were made by Democrats, Never-Trumper Republicans, and
occasionally conservatives.
Now
that the GOP underperformed during the mid-terms, they are once again claiming
it is the end of Trump and the beginning of DeSantis. Many conservatives have
joined in.
Ann
Coulter wrote on Breitbart that "A Nation Rejoices! A Humiliating
Defeat for Trump”. David
Frum wrote, “Trump Lost the Midterms. Ron DeSantis Won”.
Chuck Todd called it a “Bad night for Trump; Good night for DeSantis”. The WaPo claimed, “After midterms, Ron DeSantis eclipses Trump on Fox News”. CNN claimed that ‘Murdoch's media empire celebrates DeSantis as future of GOP after midterms. Maggie Haberman claimed conservative media ‘landscape’ has ‘shifted’ away from Trump.
The Democrat media also joined in.
It has to be wondered why anti-MAGA voices are suddenly and quite aggressively championing DeSantis.
So how did 'rising star' Ron DeSantis perform during
the mid-terms?
DeSantis was re-elected in Florida by 20 points, it was an emphatic victory. Experts compared it with Trump’s victory in 2020 by 3.4 points. The implication is that DeSantis won by 6 -7 times wider margin than Trump.
DeSantis
has undoubtedly done well during crises such as COVID-19 and Hurricane
Ian. DeSantis is the first Republican gubernatorial candidate since Jeb Bush to win Miami-Dade, a Hispanic county
regarded as a Democratic bastion. Trump lost that county.
The
claim being made is that DeSantis has a broader appeal, disciplined and focused
hence this victory in Florida makes him a more viable Presidential candidate than
Trump?
In
2020, Trump received 5.6 million votes and Biden receive 5.2 million
while DeSantis received 4.6 million votes, almost a million less than both
Trump and Biden.
A
case could be made that DeSantis is so unpopular and polarizing that despite his
good governance, his lack of ‘baggage’, his disciplined messaging, mass
Republican migration to Florida, winning a Democrat stronghold, and being pitted
against a very weak liberal Charlie Crist, he received 1 million fewer votes
than Trump and 0.6 million less than Biden.
If
this is the situation in Florida, how will he fare elsewhere and or even
against Biden?
What
about Trump’s endorsements?
Trump
didn’t pick these candidates from the general population, he merely endorsed
what was presented to him by the GOP.
In
Philadelphia, for instance, the choice between Oz and anti-MAGA David McCormick
What
else happened with Trump's endorsements?
Some of Trump’s endorsements did lose and some Republicans who
Trump viciously opposed did win
https://twitter.com/VaughnHillyard/status/1590231880120799232
However, the figures reveal Trump did rather well.
Vance
won Ohio. The Nevada Senate race is leaning toward the GOP. Kris Kobach won in
Kansas. Joe Kent will win in Washington. Anna Paulina Luna won and flipped a
Democrat seat in Florida. The GOP flipped up four seats in New York and one New
Jersey seat flipped red. Zeldin came close to winning the race in NY.
Now
for the Trump vs DeSantis narrative.
Some
conservatives are saying that this is DeSantis’s turn and that Trump should
step aside. Perhaps they forget that only monarchs have turns, when Queen
Elizabeth II passed away, it was Prince Charles's turn to be King.
What
about President Trump’s threatening to reveal
dirt about DeSantis. DeSantis is an adult and if he intends to run for
President he has to be prepared for the worse. Let’s see how DeSantis deals
with the attacks. Will shrug them off and counter Trump or will he crawl into
his shell like a frightened turtle.
It
is probably human instinct to want to blame somebody after such a catastrophic
disappointment.
It
is surprising the experts, including conservatives, are not blaming GOP officials
such as McCarthy, McConnell, and McDaniel. Instead, they are attacking Trump who holds no official party post but who campaigned tirelessly throughout the
mid-terms. It would have been much worse had he stayed out of this one. Perhaps
minds will change once the effects of the shock dispel.
So is this the end of the Trump era?
For seven long years, experts on both sides of the political spectrum have been predicting the political demise of Trump, with each pronouncement they say – ‘it is different this time'.
The
only way to know if Trump remains a force to reckon with in the party is to
allow the voters to decide.
If
I was a betting man, I would place my money on Trump.
Also appears on American Thinker
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