Trump Needs to Stop Harping on the Past
Republicans – and all Americans – have every good reason to continue to investigate irregularities in the 2020 election. The claim that the presence of vote fraud at some level is a big lie …is a BIG LIE. The review of our state-based voter laws that is going on in 47 states is a good thing. Saying it is all about voter suppression and racism is another BIG LIE.
Whether one believes that the presidency was stolen from President Trump or that he did fall short of a victory is no longer a useful debate. Like it or not … legit or not … Joe Biden is sitting in the White House as the certified President of the United States. Lamenting does not produce progress.
Former President Trump recently hosted the big fat-cat donors of the Republican National Committee at his Mar-a-Lago resort home. While it was an off-the-record private meeting, leaks are inevitable at such events.
According to most reports, Trump gave a rather good cheerleader speech.
Both the event and his words were clear indications that he will not be considering any political future outside the Republican Party. The question is: What is his political future IN the GOP?
Whatever his plans may be, they would be more successful if he would stop obsessively haranguing about the 2020 election — and stop his seemingly insatiable pugnacity. It is that personality thing.
Reports from the Mar-a-Lago event indicate that he used the occasion to express his bitter opinions about anyone and everyone he perceives as insufficiently loyal. Trump has left behind an unprecedented trail of former friends, aides and appointees he had first exalted only to later label them with the most sophomoric ad hominem insults – including his own super-loyal Vice President Pence.
Trump still maintains that Pence lacked “the courage” to stop the electoral vote count. This is something the former Vice President had no constitutional or legal authority to do. He called Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell a “stone cold loser”. He previously had even harsher epithets for the Kentucky Senator.
Trump complained that neither McConnell nor his wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, thanked him for putting her into the Cabinet.
What keeps Trump in play is the undying loyalty from a portion of the Republican base.
He does not own the GOP as Democrats and the biased media like to suggest. Although even he may think so. But he does have a following that pledges fealty to him personally. By most objective measures that is about 25 percent of Republican voters (excluding the apostates who fled to Biden).
Trump cannot elect candidates as much as he can defeat them. His power is – and always has been – the ability to pull away votes.
Trump’s base is not only loyal in the voting booth, but with small donors. In just weeks from his departure from the Oval Office, Trump has amassed more than $80 million in his political action committee – slightly more than the Republican National Committee has in its bank account.
Will the GOP make a comeback?
The Republican Party has every opportunity to take back both the House (80 percent chance) and the Senate (50 percent chance) if the various players will put the past behind them and strategize a unified growth strategy for a future based on ISSUES – and that includes Trump.
While many see Trump’s success as a candidate and as a President as a personal achievement, it was the issues – as compared to what Democrats have been offering – that produced the victories. Trump needs to talk more of the issues and a future combined Republican/Trump vision. Rather than provide the media a conservative Republican response to the Biden policies, Trump gave the unfriendly media another chance to ignore the philosophic and political differences between the parties in favor dredging up their evergreen anti-Republican political narratives.
The next day reporting on his speech to the donors was not about the Republicans specific opposition to Bidens bogus infrastructure bill, but about nasty in-fighting among Republican leaders.
Somewhere in the political firmament is a person who can speak to the future. Who can draw together a winning Republican coalition of voters. That person could be Trump, but only if he sheds a bit of his self-oriented combative personality. In war and politics, you cannot win if you fight on too many fronts. The Trump personality has already overshadowed the all-important issues – and cost the GOP the House, the Senate and the presidency. The speech at Mar-a-Lago suggests that Trump has yet to learn that lesson.
So, there ‘tis.
ONE VERY IMPORTANT ISSUE HERE IS THAT A MAJOR CRIME AGAINST 75 MILLION AMERICANS HAS BEEN COMMITTED AND THOSE INVOLVED DESERVE TO BE PROSECUTED FOR THIER INVOLMENT. P E R I O D !
THE BIG ISSUE HERE IS THAT A MAJOR CRIME AGAINST 75 MILLION AMERICANS HAS BEEN COMMITTED AND THOSE INVOLED DESERVE TO BE PROSECUTED FOR THEIR INVOLEMENT IN THIS CRIME. P E R I O D !
Election stolden …..evil has taken over🤭👿
Sounds like a typical Chicago pundit to me.
The election theft was a gut wrenching event and Pence had the power to upend the fiasco.
I invite you to listen to the Clapper interrogation were he defines how Pence is a closet butt boy and Rosenstein was the one running the assault on the Trump presidency. A Pub no less!
This mamby pamby talk is not goung to build any coalition because it defies the truth.
McConnell and Chow are problems.
Most of the Trump appointees were a joke starting with Sessions and the GOP house seemed to want Nancy back in the seat the first 2 years.
The pubs you defend acussed Trump of inciting an attack on the Capitol!
But you think Trump is the problem?
What the hell are you all about?
ILarry, give it up. All of the people that have commented on this thread are much more informed than you are. You sound like all the other people that want to sweep the most blatant crime in our history, right under the rug were then they can keep pretending like Joe Biden deserves to be in office. Audits are being done and methinks Larry is going to be unhappy when the truth comes out.
Just let Trump be Trump. That is what we like about him. We must talk about the past, because what happened in the past effects the future.
Hey Larry when Trump stops talking about it people will for get, WHAT A CURRUPT THIS 2020 ELECTION WAS…….
I know you are sick of talking about the 2020 election, but, it was a fraud and until that is seriously looked at and corrected, no one has any faith in future elections. Trump is right to not let that drop- he was robbed and it was obvious. You need to research that!
Agreed. Trump effectively talked himself out of the Presidency. He needs to make his speeches about issues and solutions, and not about himself.
I am removing myself from your ignorance on the 2020 election. The Democrats hijacked the election thru manipulation of counting votes. In fact they are so happy about it they bragged about it in a Times Magazine article. If you would have researched the pervious elections you would have seen that the Democrats made a list of things they had done to them, but since no body looked at it, they figured well we can do that too. And they did in this last election. Yes it was manipulated just like the Chicago elections have been for years. The dead vote, they double vote, illegal votes, fake votes and other votes are counted. Believe what you want, but you have been suckered in believing the illegal actions by the Democrats. No wonder America is in the position it is today, blindly headed to COMMUNISM, when we have people like you supporting it.
AMEN TO THAT !!!!
SOCIALISM, RACE WARS AND REVOLUTIONARY WAR WILL END IT ALL THANKS TO THE DEMOCRATS AND BIDEN !!
ALL OF THEM FOR THAT MATTER !!!!! WE AIN’T SEEN NOTHING YET !!!
Agreed Larry! The American people have seen what was done and are aware. The mouthing and non forgiveness in some areas helps nothing. Plans on future security and correctness for American citizens is what the format and concerns should be. Right now it’s just all about who has the most money and can get away with the most deceitfulness in voting integrity. This must stop. So help me God!
LARRY YOUR AN IDIOT TO THINK THERE WASN’T MASSIVE VOTER FRAUD IN THIS LAST ELECTION. FIRST OF ALL I HAVEN’T TALKED TO ONE PERSON WHO VOTED FOR THE BRAIN IMPAIRED BIDEN THE PATHOLOGICAL LIAR WHO IS THE BIGGEST CRIMINAL AND HIS FAMILY THEY ALL SHOULD BE IN PRISON NOT PRESIDENT!! OVER 6500 PEOPLE HAVE STATED OVER AND OVER AGAIN THEY SAW MASSIVE VOTER FRAUD IN ALL THE QUESTIONABLE STATES AND THE UN-SUPREME COURT WOULD NOT HEAR THE CASE, JUSTICE ROBERTS STABBED THE AMERICAN VOTERS IN THE BACK. BIDEN HAS BROKEN HIS OATH OF OFFICE AND SHOULD BE REMOVED AS WELL AS THE REST OF THE NEW COMMUNIST PARTY WHO SAY THAT THE CONSTITUTION AND BILL OF RIGHTS ARE NOT FINAL AND CAN BE CHANGED AT WILL, AT THE WHIM OF BIDEN EXECUTIVE ORDERS. VIETNAM VET 67-68
Give up Trump you lost and that is past move on to the Now….not the past nor future just live for Today
It’s not that “if the republicans can make a comeback”, it’s if we can take DOWN the Democrats. Dem’s are proving to be absolute criminals. Twenty three top Dem’s have been arrested and indicted. Dem’s have used every dirty illegal trick they can find to get their way on everything. Most Dem’s have criminal backgrounds BEFORE being elected to Congress and many who didn’t now do. We all must all do everything (legal) that WE can to dismantle the DNC permanently even if we have to trash talk them about the crimes they have done and there have been MANY crimes committed by them. Chastise them, ridicule them, do whatever you can to embarrass them at all times, on comment sections in websites, in public and letters to your state representatives, Governors, WATCH them carefully and document what you see them or hear them do. We must end this game they are playing. This is our LIVES we are living and they are taking that away from us. If you see them in public, let them have it. Call out their crimes in front of everyone. It has to be done!
Yes, Trump should stop living in the past. However, he knows and so does everyone else know the election was stolen. What goes around comes around so the dems have that to look forward to. The price will be very high and I’m not speaking about money.
Wow Larry. You have to read the room man! This opinion piece hit like a black guy drinking a can of coke while wearing Nike shoes and a Colin Kaepernick jersey, with your readers.
My favorite response was from the Vet, “ Your(sic) an idiot”.
There was an interesting article on Yahoo News, written by The National Review, and published today. It lays out just how much trouble the Republican Party is in. College aged voters ( making no difference for educated voters or blue collar workers) largely favor progressive Democratic policies.
Republicans haven’t won a popular election in nearly 20 years and only once in the last 30+. Republicans didn’t win an age demographic until you got to the 55+ group. Your base is dying off.
You are NOT the majority of voters and y’all def aren’t quiet about it!
Your readers are repeating debunked myths about voter fraud ( even you tried playing into that troupe with your recent column) and talking of Civil War. Why not just find a platform that appeals to more potential voters?
Trump couldn’t win with 100% of Republican voters supporting him, why do I see so many trump 2024 flags when he has clearly split your party with talks of starting his own party.
I’m enjoying my My popcorn while I watch conservatives continue to self destruct.
Keep the opinion columns coming!
Did any one take note of the polls before the election? Didn’t they clearly show who was going to win?
You’re brain washed by liberal media, Larry! People like you will never understand Trump, so shut up!
when you spend 49 billion dollars and 4 years of investigation to fine nothing then you can start crying about a ” big lie”
I’m not a big Trump fan but am tired of hearing about , “NO FRAD”,” BIG LIE”, “GOP unable to except the results of election”! What the hell do the Libs have to hide? Let the investigation go on and put the effort and money you did into trying to prove that Trump was not A elected President by and for the American people but was a product of Russian collusion. Once you do that then maybe I can put a little faith back into the system Tired of hearing the BIG LIE of the LEFT.
Jack, Couple quick things. First, trump said there was massive voter fraud when he won the Presidency, but disbanded the Voter fraud commission prior to them exposing any evidence of fraud. Why would he do that? Why, if he believed there was so much fraud during his first election did he do nothing to correct the perceived fraud?
Secondly, The Treasury report exposed Konstantin Kilimnik as Trump’s former campaign manager’s Paul Manafort’s former employee, business associate, and oh so much more. A bipartisan 966-page Senate Intelligence Committee report revealed Kilimnik is a Russian Intelligence Services officer. And he was the hub for Moscow’s interference in the 2016 election. The reason was his close ties to Manafort.
There WAS Russian interference in the first trump election. Why would trump not acknowledge that? And why would he not take steps to prevent Russian meddling in the future?
Trump should keep the stolen election front and center