Donald Trump wasn’t willing to support a peaceful transfer of power when he lost to Joe Biden in 2020 and he he isn’t willing to accept a peaceful transfer of power now, within the GOP. And for many Trumpers, that is the unpardonable sin.
A quick stroll around the right-o-sphere provides plenty of examples of GOPers being fed up with Trump. “Why do this? Why?” asked national conservative Newsweek opinion editor Josh Hammer, when Trump pointed out that he got more votes in 2020 than Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis got in 2022. “This is an irrelevant point and totally tone-deaf,” added MAGA podcaster Dave Rubin. “I like the guy, but c’mon…”
Over at Townhall.com, Kurt Schlichter, who wrote a book defending Trump, writes: “In 2018 we lost seats, a lot of them. [Trump] gets a big piece of that demerit. In 2020, he lost the election—yeah, I know about the rigging issues because I lawyered in the aftermath, but the fact is that Crusty O’Senile is in the Oval Office and Trump isn’t, so Trump lost. And in 2022, well, we are still mopping up that mess. No, it’s not all his fault, but some of the fault was his.”
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Schlichter then adds this: “[Trump’s] cringe insecurity about DeSantis—and he should be insecure—is embarrassing. All that stuff hurt us in the midterms.”
Meanwhile, The American Conservative’s Rod Dreher writes: “I know this is old news, but damn, [Trump’s] bitter attacks on DeSantis, a proven winner who can govern (and can govern without all the stupid drama), are a fresh reminder of just how crazy Donald Trump is.”
This is just a sampling of opinions about Trump in the MAGA world. To be sure, they represent a wide range of points on the Trumpy spectrum: from full-blown fanatics to simply being willing to hold their nose and support Trump to own the libs.
Regardless, you can clearly see that many prominent members of the MAGA right are (in some cases, for the first time) publicly outraged by Trump. And it’s largely based on (a) the string of losses he has caused the GOP, and (b) his refusal to pass the baton of Republican leadership to Ron DeSantis.
If you thought this was just inside baseball, think again. Saturday Night Live ain’t what it used to be, but this week’s cold open exposed a hard truth about MAGA Republicans who are turning against Donald Trump: that as long as Trump was useful to the GOP, it really didn’t matter what he did. He could literally have shot someone on Fifth Avenue.
The conceit was a post-midterm Fox & Friends where the cast is attempting to distance themselves from the former guy.
In case you missed it, when the faux Ainsley Earhardt tells Trump he’s no longer welcome on the show, he responds: “Was it the insurrection?” “The impeachments?” “Blackmailing Ukraine?” “Charlottesville?” To each of these questions, the cast responds, “No,” with Steve Doocy finally admitting, “It’s because you lost.”
It’s funny because it’s true. But there’s another truth that MAGA boosters are just coming to acknowledge—which is that Trump has lost a lot before now.
In 2016, he lost the popular vote but became president by besting the wildly unpopular Hillary Clinton in the electoral college. In 2018, Republicans lost the midterms. In 2020, Trump lost re-election, and Republicans lost the U.S. Senate. And now, Republicans (thanks largely to Trump) have wildly underperformed in the 2022 midterms. Less appreciated is the toll Trump’s presidency took on governorships and state legislatures. Tired of all the winning yet?
Somehow, despite mounting evidence to the contrary, Trump (ever the master self-promoter) has preserved his image as a “winner.” Until now.
For years, his cult members ignored his evil deeds, rationalizing that “at least he fights!” It seems they have finally realized the difference between fighting and winning. And although Trump’s attacks on other Republicans (see John McCain, Lil’ Marco, Lyin’ Ted, et al.) have always been forgiven (or applauded), his criticism of conservative darling DeSantis is finally drawing swift rebukes.
Unfortunately, getting rid of Trump (now that he is no longer of any use) will be as difficult as drop-kicking a crazy ex so you can pursue someone younger and hotter.
We are likely to end up with a boiled bunny, if you catch my drift. That’s because Trump has only ever been for himself. He never cared about conservatism or the Republican Party. He used these institutions as a vehicle to achieve power and attention (because, like Glenn Close’s character in Fatal Attraction, he won’t be ignored).
If the party decides to move on, he will show no deference to, or reverence for, the institution. Instead, he will burn it to the ground. We are seeing this play out right now with his unprovoked attacks on DeSantis (“Ron DeSanctimious”) and, to a lesser extent, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (“Young Kin”).
Again, though, the most telling aspect is that the thing that put Trump’s most shameless enablers over the edge wasn’t his many unethical, illiberal, or immoral actions, but that they finally recognized that he’s nothing but a loser.
Winning isn’t everything. It’s the only thing.
