Donald Trump just picked a fight he can’t win
Whatever you think of Ohio’s Republican Governor Mike DeWine overall, he’s doing a fairly decent job of trying to manage the coronavirus pandemic in his state. That includes newly announced closures, which are unfortunately necessary. DeWine was also one of the first Republicans in high office to recognize and congratulate President-elect Joe Biden.
Naturally, none of this reasonable behavior is sitting well with Donald Trump, whose entire political existence has been dependent on unreasonable behavior. So now Trump is tweeting this: “Who will be running for Governor of the Great State of Ohio? Will be hotly contested!”
It’s a clear cut attempt at sparking a Republican primary challenge against Mike DeWine in 2022. Trump is seeking retribution. He’s also trying to send a message to other Republican office holders that if they dare to recognize President-elect Biden, he’ll attempt to punish them too.
But here’s the thing. By 2022, Donald Trump will either be in prison or feverishly attempting to delay his trial while under house arrest. His creditors will have eaten him alive. He’ll only be relevant in the sense that the media will still be periodically reporting on how he’s being dismantled.
The notion that Trump could still be a major player by 2022, while his own life is being ripped apart at every level, is just a fantasy. We don’t expect Mike DeWine to cower to Trump on this. And once it quickly becomes clear that Trump isn’t going to get anywhere in trying to take DeWine down, this should send a clear signal to other Republican office holders that Trump can’t really do much to them either. Trump is picking fights he can’t win.
