The Wall Street Journal editorial board worries Trump will undermine the election and warns Republicans that the problem lies with their candidates.
The Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal painted a picture of voters wanting to elect Republicans that read like an editorial fantasy, but ultimately they got stuck on the Trump problem.
The editorial board wrote:
The problem is the candidates. Mr Trump He has passionate followers who don’t want to hear anything discouraging. However, the political reality is that his approval rating is capped at less than 50% because many Americans dislike him. Now that he’s in the campaign news every day, he’s reminding voters why they didn’t vote for him for reelection in 2020.
Ms. Harris in particular seemed to unsettle him as he struggled to find an effective attacking line. He said she “didn’t like Jews” even though her husband was Jewish. He attacked her racial identity, which alienated swing voters. He calls her “low-IQ” and “stupid,” as if schoolyard insults could convince anyone.
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Trump appears to believe he remains ahead of the vulnerable incumbent in the polls. It was this overconfidence that led him to choose Vance, who did little to put voters on the fence about Trump. The former president seems unaware that he is now in a close race that will require discipline and a consistent message to win. His fight is hurting Republican candidates for the House and Senate.
All of this underscores the risks for Republican voters to nominate Trump for a third time. They have younger replacements with fresher voices who can serve two terms. But primary voters want to nominate Trump as a quasi-incumbent president, believing his second term was stolen due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Aside from a lucky election in 2016, Trump has always been a loser
Nothing the Wall Street Journal writes is new. Some on the right have made the same complaint about Trump over the years, as critics see things that the Make America Great Again base that controls the Republican primaries doesn’t. Donald Trump is not popular. Trump lost an election that the Republicans could have won. Trump is indeed not a winner.
Between Obama’s stellar performance after eight years in office, complacent Democrats, racially resentful Republicans eager to return to power, and centrists hoping for a new voice, a perfect storm is brewing.
Hillary Clinton is Trump’s perfect opponent. Clinton was treated misogynistically. The media was already hostile to her because of decades of Clinton scandals. Hillary Clinton is not a fresh face or a new voice inspiring those seeking change. Her campaign is traditional and she doesn’t know how to stand up to Trump.
Despite all of these factors working in his favor, and Russia’s interference in the election, Trump lost the popular vote and eked out an Electoral College victory.
As time goes on, 2016 looks more like a fluke. Donald Trump’s true record is one of his party failing, underperforming and failing. The fact that Donald Trump continues to cost his party electorally even after leaving office should be a red flag for Republicans.
As Harris-Walz momentum builds, the question comes closer to whether Trump will undermine the electionbut how badly would the former president lose it??
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of Society of Professional Journalists and American Political Science Association
