It is a phenomenon long overdue. and strangely arguments will be made against my premise both by supporters and opponents of former President Donald J. Trump, however increasing reams of evidence, certainly more than he and his sycophants have been able to produce regarding a stolen election in 2020, indicate that we have an Incredible Shrinking Trump, less relevant by the week in world affairs and domestic politics.
National Democratic Party leadership wants to have it both ways. Block Trump from ever seeking future elective office, and strongly support state or federal indictment from any of several ongoing investigations by the U.S. Congress, U.S. Justice Department, U.S. District Attorney's office in the Northern District of New York, Attorney General's Office in New York State as well as a Special Grand Jury underway in Fulton County, Georgia.
However, you can't smite or bury the Orange Man and have the fear of his return loom large at the same time for the fall 2022 Midterm Elections. The DNC wants to be able to point to the Trump Boogeyman, among increasing signs that even many Republicans do not welcome his return to the Presidential campaign arena. Trump is now 76 years old. He would be 78 in the fall of 2024. We've seen how well that age benchmark has gone for President Joe Biden.
The Biden administration has had a couple of recent wins, 50 straight days of declining fuel prices (still more than $1.00 a gallon above the Trump average), and the recent U.S. Senate package of tax increases, climate change spending, and price caps/cuts on prescription drug prices for seniors and those on Medicare/Medicaid.
But pushing through a minimum 15% corporate income tax increase, particularly for corporations paying next to nothing due to the current tax code and legal and legitimate deductions and expenses...you can then expect SIGNIFICANT job cuts and layoffs, across the economy, starting with big business, who will also cut vendor contracts.
Here in Georgia, Trump's only endorsees who survived their GOP Primaries are U.S. Senate nominee Herschel Walker, who likely would have won without the Trump endorsement, and who kept his distance on cries of 'Stop the Steal' and election fraud -and the GOP's Lt. Gubernatorial nominee, State Senator Burt Jones. Trump did endorse the re-election of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in the 14th Congressional District, but all of Trump's other endorsements at the top of the ballot for Constitutional offices, and a smattering of state legislative posts all went down in flames.
Trump is still demonstrating that he cares about the U.S. Senate as much as he did during two critical U.S. Senate runoffs in Georgia on January 5, 2021, when the results would determine the U.S. Senate Majority. On Election Day, instead of pushing voter turnout, his campaign ran ads asking voters to call their members of Congress to NOT certify the results of the Electoral College.
Missouri’s GOP dodged a Trump fired-bullet last week, nominating State Attorney General Eric Schmitt for Governor over former Governor Eric Greitens, whom Trump had supported despite him carrying more political baggage than a 747. In the dueling Eric's battle, Trump endorsed "Eric" the day prior to Election Day, and the Missouri GOP had to expend an additional $10 million to remind Missouri voters of Greitens' shortcomings, dollars that were not available to support other GOP campaigns. The Democratic nominee is well-funded Anheuser-Busch heiress, Trudy Busch Valentine, and John Wood, a former Bush Administration official, and January 6th Commission Investigator, is running as an Independent.
In Arizona, Trump had a vendetta against another incumbent GOP Governor, Doug Ducey. who similar to Brian Kemp in Georgia refused attempts to overturn Arizona's election results in 2020. Trump instead backed venture capitalist Blake Masters against Ducey in the GOP U.S. Senate primary, a political neophyte who backed Trump’s stolen election claims. In what should have been a safe Senate 'pickup' for the GOP, Masters is now heavily trailing Arizona's Democratic incumbent Senator Mark Kelly.
Those who closely watched the two U.S. Senate runoff contests in Georgia note that nearly 400,000 Republican voters in the General Election sat out the Runoff contests. Trump was focused almost entirely on overturning General Election results in Georgia and three other states, as well as halting certification of the Electoral College vote. While millions of Americans and Georgians still embrace or are influenced by Mr. Trump, by most every measure...that influence is shrinking. Perhaps good for the party, but not great for its chances in the U.S. Senate.
