Although Donald Trump appears hell bent on announcing his candidacy for president in 2024, perhaps as early as Tuesday, Nov. 15, there is no reason any longer for that to strike fear in the hearts of Republican office holders in Congress or anywhere else.
Trump suffered a humiliating repudiation of his tactics during the mid-term elections, with many of his endorsed Republican candidates falling as voters grew tired of their hard-right Trump-inspired rhetoric, and spurred by warnings from Democrats that many key freedoms were at stake. The response to the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision was just one example.
Essentially, those voters simply said, "We've had enough, please go away."
As The Washington Post reported:
Democrats have been projected as the winners in 191 House districts, while 211 have gone to the Republicans. The magic number for a majority is 218, so Republicans are obviously much closer.
But those raw numbers are misleading: Most of the yet-to-be-decided districts are out West — read: Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington — where the vote counting is slower, and most lean blue. That region has upward of 10 clearly blue seats that don’t have enough votes in to be called, but are very unlikely to flip. And several others lean blue.
So the popular prediction that Republicans would wipe the floor with Democrats during the mid-terms and thus command a huge majority in the House of Representatives failed to materialize. If, indeed, the GOP does take control of the House, it will be by a razor thin margin and Democratic votes will be needed to pass any significant legislation.
Will be incentive for the two parties to at least speak to each other and stop the divisive rhetoric? Or will Republicans set up star chamber hearings and even try to impeach President Biden on trumped up charges retaliating for the two-time impeachment of Trump.
If they do, will they risking the anger of voters of their own party and the independents who crossed over to support Democratic candidates during the mid-terms because they were sick of the divisiveness?
As this is written on Saturday, Nov. 12, Democrats are within one vote of maintaining control of the Senate. To do that, they need Sen. Rafael Warnock to knock off Herschel Walker in the Dec. 6 runoff election, or a victory in the nail biter race in Nevada between Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and Republican challenger Adam Laxalt. (Update: Sen. Masto won her race, giving Democrats Senate control.)
Trump's Announcement
Meanwhile, within the GOP there were calls for Trump to at least delay his promised announcement.
Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, a Republican who strongly supported Trump, said the poor performance of some of his endorsed candidates shows he should step aside, according to The Washington Post.
“It turns out that those he did not endorse on the same ticket did better than the ones he did endorse,” she said. “That gives you a clue that the voters want to move on. And a true leader knows when they have become a liability to the mission.” New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) — who cruised to victory as the Trump-endorsed Senate candidate, Don Bolduc, lost by a large margin — was quoted in The Post on Friday as saying that Trump could “muck up” the opportunity for Walker to win if he announces his run before the December 6 runoff.
“What the former president doesn’t understand is if he announces … he’s not going to keep anyone else out of the race,” Sununu said, calling it an “awkward” thing to do. “I don’t think they’ve started out very well.”
″‘You’re fired!’ That’s the message Republicans must deliver to Donald Trump. ASAP!” said Republican New York Rep. Pete King, a longtime backer of Trump’s. “He held massive rallies where he ranted endlessly about himself, complained about the 2020 election and attacked other Republicans. It was Trump’s ego first, last and always,” King said in a tweet Thursday.
Arkansas Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson, on PBS’ “Firing Line with Margaret Hoover, said “Trump’s endorsement comes with a cost. The cost is that it minimizes your ability to attract independents and to win in November.”
“There’s no question this was a bad election for Donald Trump,” said Asher Hildebrand, an associate professor at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. “With the possible exception of [gubernatorial candidate] Kari Lake in Arizona and [Senate candidate] Herschel Walker in Georgia, every governor and Senate candidate he endorsed in five main battleground states appears to have lost.”
“That combined with DeSantis’ strong showing in the Florida governor’s race increases pressure among Republican elites to find another standard bearer in 2024,” he added.
DeSantis defeated former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist by 19 points.
Trump's Reaction
So what's been Trump's reaction? Taking typical childish potshots at DeSantis, and at another potential rival, Virginia GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin, saying neither could have won without him.
DeSantis, he said, is "Ron DeSanctimonious."
Of Youngkin, Trump mocked his name, spelling it "Young Kin", and saying it "sounds Chinese, doesn't it?"
Responded Youngkin: “I work really hard to bring people together, I do not call people names. This is a moment for us to come together.”
Finally, an adult in the room.