- Mar 9, 2011
- 69,950
- 83,531
- 3,635
The never-Trumpers on both sides of the aisle are really ratcheting up their rhetoric in some quixotic attempt they're convinced will dissuade Trump-supporters. But as the poll numbers keep indicating, President Trump's popularity hasn't seemed to wane, even in spite of his indictments. This has to be driving the never-Trumpers in the GOP and those on the left in particular, out of their collective minds.
So why is it that President Trump's supporters aren't "leaving him in droves" like some folks would like to pretend? And why is it that Ron DeSantis can't seem to generate the numbers needed to overtake him in the polls?
An email to conservative Mollie Hemingway summed it up succinctly:
"Keep in mind that supporting Trump came with costs never associated with supporting Bush, McCain, or Romney. Trump supporters lost friendships. Brothers and sisters stopped talking to each other. There are parents whose children disowned them, and grandparents who will never see their grandchildren again because they stood by Trump.
Every Republican has these stories. Every Republican knows Republicans who have these stories.
Attacking Trump was effectively telling the people who made real sacrifices that they were stupid for doing so because Trump was just a poser."
On the failure of the DeSantis Campaign:
"A better campaign strategy for DeSantis would have been to describe Trump as the victim of a hysterical media that created a prejudiced populace. This would have enabled DeSantis to be the "MAGA without the baggage" candidate that many Republicans say they want.
The effectiveness of this approach is not hypothetical. It is precisely the tactic used by Mr. Ramaswamy. DeSantis has lost half of his support from its peak five months ago. Meanwhile, support for Ramaswamy has increased by a factor of twelve. DeSantis would have left Trump in the dust by now had he used that approach.
Trump had a 90% approval rating among GOP voters when DeSantis decided to go negative. Even most people who supported DeSantis for the nomination approved of Trump. The choice to go negative alienated many of those supporters. Trump didn't cause a drop in DeSantis' support. The governor was hoisted by his own petard."
Mollie
@MZHemingway
"Last week @davidharsanyi and I received a podcast listener email that is a particularly good and straightforward analysis of why anti-Trumpism in the GOP primary does not persuade GOP voters."
So why is it that President Trump's supporters aren't "leaving him in droves" like some folks would like to pretend? And why is it that Ron DeSantis can't seem to generate the numbers needed to overtake him in the polls?
An email to conservative Mollie Hemingway summed it up succinctly:
"Keep in mind that supporting Trump came with costs never associated with supporting Bush, McCain, or Romney. Trump supporters lost friendships. Brothers and sisters stopped talking to each other. There are parents whose children disowned them, and grandparents who will never see their grandchildren again because they stood by Trump.
Every Republican has these stories. Every Republican knows Republicans who have these stories.
Attacking Trump was effectively telling the people who made real sacrifices that they were stupid for doing so because Trump was just a poser."
On the failure of the DeSantis Campaign:
"A better campaign strategy for DeSantis would have been to describe Trump as the victim of a hysterical media that created a prejudiced populace. This would have enabled DeSantis to be the "MAGA without the baggage" candidate that many Republicans say they want.
The effectiveness of this approach is not hypothetical. It is precisely the tactic used by Mr. Ramaswamy. DeSantis has lost half of his support from its peak five months ago. Meanwhile, support for Ramaswamy has increased by a factor of twelve. DeSantis would have left Trump in the dust by now had he used that approach.
Trump had a 90% approval rating among GOP voters when DeSantis decided to go negative. Even most people who supported DeSantis for the nomination approved of Trump. The choice to go negative alienated many of those supporters. Trump didn't cause a drop in DeSantis' support. The governor was hoisted by his own petard."
Mollie
@MZHemingway
"Last week @davidharsanyi and I received a podcast listener email that is a particularly good and straightforward analysis of why anti-Trumpism in the GOP primary does not persuade GOP voters."
