Of course, it’s too early to know and there’s plenty of evidence that those who stand up against the vindictive Trump will eventually be crushed by his bullying ways or by his loyal followers. there, with little support from the rest of the GOP. And yet, it’s worth noting that over the past few days, we’ve heard two major conservatives tell Trump that he should stop whining about the election he lost and let the Republican Party focused on real problems, instead of his self-serving fantasy.
Murdoch is not alone in suggesting that Trump is a threat to conservatives. Christie, who just published a new book that looks a lot like unofficially entering the 2024 presidential race, is suffering the same, only stronger.
Take a look at the title of Christie’s book, which effectively branded Trump as a threat to the GOP: “Rescuing the Republican Party: Saving the Party from the Opponents of Truth, The Theosophist Joe Biden’s Conspiracy and Dangerous Policies.” Note that Trump fits two out of three reasons the party needs to save (Christie’s, perhaps).
Murdoch and Christie aren’t the first Republicans to endorse the former president – but their rebukes of Trump are starkly different. Trump’s Early Critics, Like Senators
Marco Rubio,
Ted Cruz,
Lindsey Graham and others, melting into fervent defenders when their criticism proved dangerous to their own positions. Their inversion is reminiscent of a quote commonly attributed to Groucho Marx: “Those are my principles, and if you don’t like them… well, I have others.”
Christie says many in the GOP are afraid of Trump, who
“Moralism is meant to instill fear.” Conservative Republicans who refuse to line up, such as Representative Liz Cheney, are being
kicked out of a party that is increasingly being remade into the former president’s brand of fanaticism, symbolism, and intolerance.
Sure, it’s possible that Murdoch and Christie’s words may not change the course of the GOP, but their criticisms are different. Both have helped Trump during his presidency, and importantly, they are the ones who are now speaking out against him. However, their pleas that he stop complaining about the last election will only fall on deaf ears, given Trump’s simply inability to admit he has lost. But Murdoch and Christie are sending an important message to other members of the party – and to the rest of the country – that continuing to support Trump is dangerous madness.
Coincidentally or not, in the end, the chair of the Republican National Committee, Ronna McDaniel,
admit Biden’s victory on Thursday, more than a year after the 2020 vote. “Painful,” she said, “Joe Biden won the election and it was painful to see him as President. We know it. that.”
Murdoch and Christie certainly have their own personal motivations to speak out against Trump in this moment, and there is plenty of evidence to charge with hypocrisy. Murdoch, whose Fox News is home to Tucker Carlson, who supplies harmful lies and propaganda about everything from
Vaccines against covid come
American democracy – is still serving Trump’s goals. But Fox News now faces billions of dollars
defamation lawsuits was launched by two voting technology companies accusing the network of spreading false claims about election fraud.
Murdoch may be fueled by fears of liability and additional lawsuits that could potentially damage him if Fox News continues to track Trump down a loophole of conspiracy theories and claims. baseless father. It’s also possible that he’s interested in the future of conservative politics and is genuinely concerned that the GOP could be trampled on if Trump doesn’t give up.
For her part, Christie is trying to promote her book and the prospect of occupying the White House.
What’s remarkable, however, is that they calculated and decided that they could benefit from speaking out against the former president, even after other Republicans were badly hurt for doing the same. on one’s own.
I think their calculations make sense.
With President Joe Biden’s ratings slumping, it usually looks like the Democrats are dead. But Republicans could be doomed if they stay attached to the former president.
There’s no doubt the Biden administration is terrible at texting. The economy is
boom and consumers are feeling pessimistic. Meanwhile, Biden is making important legislative progress, and inflationary pressures are creating the false impression that the failing economy can be addressed in time to boost his fortunes. Democratic Party.
Even if Democrats remain in the doldrums in 2024, it’s hard to imagine that voters will crave another four tumultuous Trumpian years. Biden may not look attractive now, but the former president who had
poor approval rating of any president in the modern era, remains very unpopular and controversial.
Do Republicans want a candidate entangled in endless — and serious — legal troubles? According to the New York Times, prosecutors have the ability to
put on a grand jury in Georgia in the criminal investigation into the former president’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election (In September, he argued he was being unfairly targeted,
speech, “Even the Fulton County DA, the district attorney, went after me.”) Meanwhile, New York prosecutors had subpoenaed a
second grand jury to hear evidence of the Trump Organization’s business practices, according to the Washington Post. (The first major jury, convened this spring,
charge two Trump companies and a tax-evading executive. Trump, who was not charged, issued the indictment and
Is called investigation into a “political witch hunt.”)
ONE
Pew poll conducted in September found that two-thirds of Republicans want Trump to remain a major force in the party, but only 44 percent want him to run for re-election. One-third of Republicans and 92% of Democrats don’t want him to become a major national political figure in the future. That is not the arithmetic of victory.
There is a possibility that the post-Trump Republican Party gains ground. It still seems a long way off at this point, but if his critics are successful in persuading the GOP to go in a different direction, it is possible that American democracy could return to some of the rules. normalcy, where political leaders debate what policy is best for the country, without fear of upsetting the tender, explosive emotions of a very bad loser.
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