Republican Senators mostly voted “Not Guilty” in the Impeachment trial, citing the absurd argument that a government officer cannot be tried on the basis of impeachment once out of office. Their real motivation was their fear of Trump and Trumpism.
They want to be re-elected without being primaried, or to do well if running for some other post—either Governor of their state or even President. (I think such ambition explains the retiring Rob Portman’s vote. What accounts for Chuck Grassley’s and Richard Shelby’s similar vote can only be wanting to be held in high regard by the Trumpists in their states—i.e., pure ego. )
Presidential ambition is quite evident in Ted Cruz’s and and Josh Hawley’s fueling the support of Trump’s Big Lie about the vote count. They are calculating that Trump will not run in 2024, and they each hope for his endorsement.
Indeed, Trump almost certainly won’t run in ’24; losing a second time would be too humiliating. At the same time, his overwhelming narcissism will keep him from being consistent about endorsing anyone else as a fit substitute for himself.
In fact, any other Republican’s winning the Presidency in 2024 would only put Trump to shame. This should be obvious. So he will find ways to undermine anyone else—unless he is dead or visibly senile by that point.
So, long live Trump—hopefully under indictment and facing endless civil suits. And here’s to the decline of the Republican Party
2 Responses to “How stupid can they be?”
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Good point re: narcissism keeping him from running again (we can hope) – though I do wonder if he’d keep it in the family and throw his support behind Ivanka, as the rumor mills are starting to indicate. All this aside, we really appreciate your points about the attention economy and loved the NYT Opinion piece. Would you be willing and interested in connecting with us via audio to record a podcast episode on Dear White Women about that attention economy?
I suspect Trump sees Ivanka as a (mostly) trustable and most loyal advisor, but would be as ambivalent in support of her as a candidate as any other would-be successor. His followers, as misogynistic and racist and anti-Semitic as they are, wouldn’t countenance her.