PLEASE GOD NO
Republicans Are as Excited for Trump’s Upcoming Rallies as They Are for Their Next Colonoscopy
“This guy is a disaster.”
By Bess Levin
May 27, 2021
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/05/donal...ies-return
Earlier this month we learned that Donald Trump is expected to bring back his campaign-style rallies this summer, and, like a reboot of a show that no one asked for or wants, few people are thrilled about the development.
Democrats obviously are unenthused about the trio of events the guy who tried (and is still trying!) to overturn the election has planned, but apparently some Republicans are equally unhappy about Trump‘s return to the stump.
Politico reports that Republicans in Washington are “dreading” the 45th president’s upcoming rallies, fearful that the new platform—from which he’ll no doubt spew baseless election-fraud conspiracy theories, among other grievances—could derail their chances in the midterm elections, when they’re hoping to take back the Senate and House.
“If we win the majority back in 17 months, it’s going to be in spite of Trump—not because of Trump,” one senior House Republican aide, who works for a lawmaker considered to be one of Trump’s top supporters, told Politico. “He will totally take credit if we win the House back—but it won’t be because of him. This guy is a disaster.”
Trump is slated to kick off his rallies in June, and while he’s allegedly working on hammering out a policy platform with Newt Gingrich designed to “excite GOP voters,” the odds that he might actually stick to a script for the first time in his life are slim to none.
Instead, he’ll presumably treat his base to the sort of rants he’s been performing at Mar-a-Lago, i.e. rambling, incoherent speeches about how the White House was stolen from him, with countless asides re: Joe Biden being on drugs; the country being a hellhole; his not getting enough credit for COVID-19 vaccines; the lower third of Mitch McConnell’s face; low-flow toilets; and maybe even cancer-causing wind turbines for old time’s sake.
Of course he’ll also use the rallies to tease a 2024 run, which some members of the GOP are also not jazzed about:
Trump is confiding in allies that he intends to run again in 2024 with one contingency: that he still has a good bill of health, according to two sources close to the former president. That means Trump is going to hang over the Republican Party despite its attempts to rebrand during his exile and its blockade of a Trump-centric investigation into January’s insurrection.
And amid news that the Manhattan district attorney has convened a grand jury that could decide to indict Trump, other executives working for him, or the business itself, Trump publicly signaled this week that he’s considering another run.
But he may face skepticism from surprising corners of the GOP, as some Republicans who supported him consistently during his presidency have mixed opinions about the possibility of a Trump 2024 campaign, according to interviews with 20 Republicans in both the House and Senate.
“President Trump did a lot of good. But he squandered a lot of his legacy after what happened after November 3. And I think that’s a shame,” Senator John Cornyn told Politico. “Running for president, you’re under a lot of scrutiny.
And all I can say is there’s a lot to talk about.” Of course, given Trump’s current stranglehold on the party, even some people who want to see him consigned to the scrap bin of political history are too scared to say so on the record.
“I’d like to see a fresh face. I think we have a lot of them,” an unnamed Republican told reporters Olivia Beavers and Burgess Everett. Said another: “He’s one of the best presidents we’ve had in terms of policies. But having said that, if it were up to me, I would never have Trump on any ballot ever again because it’s such a distraction.”
BY CHRIS MURPHY
Former House Speaker Paul Ryan is scheduled to give a speech tonight in which he’s expected to declare, “If the conservative cause depends on the populist appeal of one personality, or on second-rate imitations, then we're not going anywhere.
Voters looking for Republican leaders want to see independence and mettle.” Which might mean something if (1) he actually mentioned Trump by name, (2) he hadn’t personally helped get Trump elected, and (3) he didn’t sit on the board of a company whose “news” network spends hours every day deifying the guy.
Of course not everyone is dreading the prospect of President Attempted Coup taking another shot at the White House—namely the people who would like to see him named emperor for life. “I’m for Trump, period. I don’t care who else is running,“ Rep. Jim Jordan told Politico.
“Why have a carbon copy?” Rep. Brian Mast wondered aloud. “Why would we not support the original?” Meanwhile, professional trolls Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene are currently on a multicity tour trashing anyone who hasn‘t pledged their firstborn child to their lord and savior.
Republicans Are as Excited for Trump’s Upcoming Rallies as They Are for Their Next Colonoscopy
“This guy is a disaster.”
By Bess Levin
May 27, 2021
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/05/donal...ies-return
Earlier this month we learned that Donald Trump is expected to bring back his campaign-style rallies this summer, and, like a reboot of a show that no one asked for or wants, few people are thrilled about the development.
Democrats obviously are unenthused about the trio of events the guy who tried (and is still trying!) to overturn the election has planned, but apparently some Republicans are equally unhappy about Trump‘s return to the stump.
Politico reports that Republicans in Washington are “dreading” the 45th president’s upcoming rallies, fearful that the new platform—from which he’ll no doubt spew baseless election-fraud conspiracy theories, among other grievances—could derail their chances in the midterm elections, when they’re hoping to take back the Senate and House.
“If we win the majority back in 17 months, it’s going to be in spite of Trump—not because of Trump,” one senior House Republican aide, who works for a lawmaker considered to be one of Trump’s top supporters, told Politico. “He will totally take credit if we win the House back—but it won’t be because of him. This guy is a disaster.”
Trump is slated to kick off his rallies in June, and while he’s allegedly working on hammering out a policy platform with Newt Gingrich designed to “excite GOP voters,” the odds that he might actually stick to a script for the first time in his life are slim to none.
Instead, he’ll presumably treat his base to the sort of rants he’s been performing at Mar-a-Lago, i.e. rambling, incoherent speeches about how the White House was stolen from him, with countless asides re: Joe Biden being on drugs; the country being a hellhole; his not getting enough credit for COVID-19 vaccines; the lower third of Mitch McConnell’s face; low-flow toilets; and maybe even cancer-causing wind turbines for old time’s sake.
Of course he’ll also use the rallies to tease a 2024 run, which some members of the GOP are also not jazzed about:
Trump is confiding in allies that he intends to run again in 2024 with one contingency: that he still has a good bill of health, according to two sources close to the former president. That means Trump is going to hang over the Republican Party despite its attempts to rebrand during his exile and its blockade of a Trump-centric investigation into January’s insurrection.
And amid news that the Manhattan district attorney has convened a grand jury that could decide to indict Trump, other executives working for him, or the business itself, Trump publicly signaled this week that he’s considering another run.
But he may face skepticism from surprising corners of the GOP, as some Republicans who supported him consistently during his presidency have mixed opinions about the possibility of a Trump 2024 campaign, according to interviews with 20 Republicans in both the House and Senate.
“President Trump did a lot of good. But he squandered a lot of his legacy after what happened after November 3. And I think that’s a shame,” Senator John Cornyn told Politico. “Running for president, you’re under a lot of scrutiny.
And all I can say is there’s a lot to talk about.” Of course, given Trump’s current stranglehold on the party, even some people who want to see him consigned to the scrap bin of political history are too scared to say so on the record.
“I’d like to see a fresh face. I think we have a lot of them,” an unnamed Republican told reporters Olivia Beavers and Burgess Everett. Said another: “He’s one of the best presidents we’ve had in terms of policies. But having said that, if it were up to me, I would never have Trump on any ballot ever again because it’s such a distraction.”
BY CHRIS MURPHY
Former House Speaker Paul Ryan is scheduled to give a speech tonight in which he’s expected to declare, “If the conservative cause depends on the populist appeal of one personality, or on second-rate imitations, then we're not going anywhere.
Voters looking for Republican leaders want to see independence and mettle.” Which might mean something if (1) he actually mentioned Trump by name, (2) he hadn’t personally helped get Trump elected, and (3) he didn’t sit on the board of a company whose “news” network spends hours every day deifying the guy.
Of course not everyone is dreading the prospect of President Attempted Coup taking another shot at the White House—namely the people who would like to see him named emperor for life. “I’m for Trump, period. I don’t care who else is running,“ Rep. Jim Jordan told Politico.
“Why have a carbon copy?” Rep. Brian Mast wondered aloud. “Why would we not support the original?” Meanwhile, professional trolls Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene are currently on a multicity tour trashing anyone who hasn‘t pledged their firstborn child to their lord and savior.
