Donald Trump is collapsing
Since he became the former guy, Donald Trump has become desperate for relevance, as he’s rarely leading news these days, even when he decides to hold one of his rallies. Being banned from Twitter and Facebook, he can’t reach an audience anywhere near what he once used to be able to, and his public messages via press release are gradually becoming more insane by the day, as he’s managed in the same week to call on Republicans to not vote in the next two elections and demand that he be reinstated as president and returned to the White House based on absolutely nothing.
All he has left is his effort to be a GOP kingmaker, but even that is under question. In other words, not only has the former guy had a bad week, but his handpicked Republican candidates – the ones he picked to replace the Republican politicians who voted in favor of his impeachment – are also having a bad one. Rep. Liz Cheney, the highest profile NeverTrump Republican in Congress, has raked in $1.7 million over a three-month period, while her primary challenger is struggling to keep up. In the same time span, Sen. Lisa Murkowski managed to raise ten times what her primary challenger, Kelly Tshibaka brought in. U.S. Representatives Fred Upton of Michigan and Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington state also out-raised Trump-endorsed opponents.
It used to be that Trump picked either the most blatant loyalists or the candidates most likely to win their respective races, just so he could look influential – but having chosen candidates out of a desire for vengeance was probably not the smartest idea. Being outraised doesn’t mean his endorsees can’t win, of course, but if they aren’t successful, with Trump’s base being low propensity voters as it is, it’s only going to weaken the influence Donald Trump has over the GOP.
James Sullivan is the assistant editor of Brain World Magazine and an advocate of science-based policy making