October 4, 2021

"The biggest point we drove home was that he doesn’t want to own the midterms if we don’t win back the House or Senate."

Said an unnamed informant, quoted in "Trump, talked out of announcing a 2024 bid for now, settles on a wink-and-nod unofficial candidacy" (WaPo).
Some of his advisers were concerned that Democrats might use his announcement in their effort to frame the midterm elections around his candidacy, potentially boosting their own turnout and hampering his plans if Republicans fall short next year. Advisers also argued that he could be more effective electing like-minded Republicans next year if he was not an official candidate himself.... 
Trump has asked some of his advisers about the moves of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his former vice president Mike Pence, though he believes neither of them will run should he run, three advisers said. 
“I’m running,” he says to people constantly, according to two advisers.... 
Public polling has consistently shown him struggling to break 45 percent approval across the country, while internal GOP polling this year has found support for his candidacy hovering around 40 percent. His toxic brand continues to turn off voters in the suburbs, according to strategists in battleground states. 
In a meeting just before the November election, he was shown polling that suggested his policies were popular — even as he was trailing. Trump, in a surprisingly self-deprecating move, people familiar with the meeting said, jokingly conceded the problem was him....

35 comments:

Critter said...

No mention of polls that show Trump beating Biden. I guess polls only count if they favor your narrative.

rehajm said...

These types of stories seem rather quaint in our post-elections America.

gilbar said...

unnamed informant

Remember! IF/WHEN Trump says something; it is reported as being
unsubstantiated
unproven
untrue

IF/WHEN an anti Trump says something, it is from an unnamed informant, and is Gospel

Russia Collusion.... Gospel
Hunter's Notebook... Russian fabrication

tim maguire said...

I think Trump was a good president and could have been a great president if not for the sabotage of the "loyal" opposition (large numbers of whom will soon be going into retirement or jail if we are to salvage anything from the tatters of our corrupted legal system), but I don't want him to run again. I'd much rather he play kingmaker and spend his spare time on the rally circuit. Two reasons: he's too old and I'm sick of the drama.

rhhardin said...

I have a toxic brand myself. It's actually lots of fun provided that you actually believe what you say.

Being woke must be very depressing. I'm supposing that nobody can actually believe that stuff.

Trump is always having a good time.

Joe Smith said...

If Trump is the nominee I will vote for him.

But I'd rather see a Ron DeSantis/Richard Grenell ticket.

Michael K said...

I think the toxicity around Trump is too great. Pence is a squish but Desantis might make a better candidate. I'm trying to think of a similar situation in American history. The rage of the Establishment against Trump is unique in our history. Maybe Roosevelt stirred similar hatred but he was able to overcome it because media supported him.

papper said...

He is right the problem is him. I will vote for him over Biden/Harris/other Leftist, but I wish he wouldn't run.

Narayanan said...

and these are the same pollsters who get everything right and accurate?

Trump is ill served by ill chosen advisors/informants

hombre said...

WaPo just never quits. Do they really suppose QuidProJoe and Kamala along with other whacked out Dems are less toxic than Trump? No, they don’t. They have seen all the polls.

Having said that, some of us would prefer Trump campaigning for conservatives and keeping quiet about his plans.

Howard said...

Does anyone really believe this kind of bullshit trial balloon morsel of clickbait

Maynard said...

Twitter did everyone (including Trump) a favor by banning him.

Those mean tweets were a threat to the Constitution and to our democracy.

He also threatened the status quo which has been very very good to the entrenched uniparty.

Mike Sylwester said...

The Republican Party has a system of primary elections to deal with such a situation.

Trump can run in the primary elections, and so can DeSantis and other candidates.

If Trump wins the primary-election race, then Trump will be the party's candidate in the general-election race. Likewise for DeSantis and other candidates.

If Trump runs, then I hope that DeSantis runs against Trump and defeats him and becomes the party's nominee.

However, I surely will vote for whichever Republican wins the primary-election race.

Narayanan said...

Michael K said...
I think the toxicity around Trump is too great.
---------
is toxicity euphemism for something else? may be = willingness to defend America First

and less toxic = RINO ish

Kevin said...

People say you can't beat somebody with nobody, but then Biden 2020 came along.

Biden 2024 has a record of governance.

So far it's not a good one.

MikeR said...

Anyone but Trump. He's done what he can do, and some of it was good, and now they're on to him, and he just does damage. There is no conceivable way he could have done more damage than he did after the election.
He never really figured out who his real enemies were until it was too late.

mikee said...

As a newly inaugurated President, Trump filed for recognition of his re-election campaign one or two days after entering office because he needed to continue campaigning against "The Resistance," using all resources available to him as both President and a "candidate." He has been quoted recently saying that campaign laws require him to avoid open campaigning now, without restarting a formal campaign, to avoid both costs and limitations on what he can do as a private citizen.

Both actions have a ring of truth to them. He'll become a candidate when he is ready and able to do so. Age, legal attacks, and public opinion will all play a role in his decision.

I, for one, look forward to CNN getting a ratings boost again by presenting Trump, and all his annoying habits of speech, once again as a primary candidate. And should Trump lose to DeSantis in the primary it would only boost DeSantis' standing as a candidate.

My name goes here. said...

I would vote for trump should he run.

However, if his ego could take it, I would rather see him as Veep to DeSantis, or Grenell, or Pompeo. And the new preside t could make the VP be responsible (think LBJ and NASA) for reforming the FBI, the CDC, the State Department, the Joint Chiefs.

Gunner said...

Normally I might be tempted to sideline Trump if only to prevent the annoying NeverTrumper fake Republicans from whining about him for a year. But they have indicated that they will do this regardless of who we nominate, even if we pick someone who makes Mitt Romney look conservative.

Darkisland said...

What is the point of this discussion? Our President Emeritus will be back in the oval office before any elections. I'm betting by the end of the year.

Kamala resigns, PEDJT becomes Vice President. President* Biden resigns, VPDJT becomes president.

Simple, legal and constitutional.

John Henry

Michael K said...

---------
is toxicity euphemism for something else? may be = willingness to defend America First

and less toxic = RINO ish


My day is complete being called a RINO. I agree that Trump was a great president in spite of the hysteria and dishonesty by the left. The terrorism by the left after the election was stolen is unique in American history. I cannot think of anything similar except the Civil War after Lincoln's election.

I would hope to avoid it with an equally effective president, which DeSantis might be.

rcocean said...

How many times does the NYT/WaPo have to lie about Trump using "Anonymous sources" before people stop believing them?

I guess is the answer is a Billion.

There's ZERO reason for Trump to announce he's running for POTUS in 2021. That can wait till 2023. Leaving aside the fact, that there's no reason to lock himself into running, there's ZERO upside to announcing this early. Period. If someone thinks there's an upside, tell me. How does saying he's running help HIM?

Right now, he's the head of the R Party and he has the loyalty of the 70 million who voted for him, and know the election was stolen. That's enough. For now.

narciso said...

actually he's made it quite clear he wants to run, some unnamed person says something and we're supposed to react, he has plenty of time, now does the Country that's a whole other issue,

Chris Lopes said...

Waiting until after the midterms is the smart move. Announce before then and the media will make sure it's all about Trump, instead of the shitfest brought to us by Slow Joe and Nancy. As a Republican, I want it (the election) to be about the folks currently in charge, not the guy they replaced.

rehajm said...

I like good policies and am less concerned with how we get them.

Amadeus 48 said...

Here's the problem with Trump: he lost to a potted plant. While I liked a lot of Trump's policies--and I liked them a lot--I came to see he could not get out of his own way, and I really came to dislike his lack of self-control and his poor judgment. A few examples: Why didn't he let Pence handle the Covid issue? Why did he persist in punching down at reporters who obviously were biased and stupid? Why didn't he have his own vote-harvesting operation? Why did he appoint Milley? Why didn't he fight the election-rigging when it was happening in early 2020 rather than scramble after the election? Why did he meddle in the Georgia Senatorial elections after he had lost the Presidential election? Why did he think it was a good idea to hold a rally in DC on the day they were approving the electoral ballots?

Biden and the Democrats are going to get worse. They are going to fail if they don't pass their program, and they are going to fail in a different and worse way if they do. If the 2022 elections are not about Biden and the Democrats, and instead are about Donald Trump and the 2020 elections, the GOP will suffer massive underperformance. Donald should sit down and shut up. In the law, we used to say that if you are explaining, you are losing. The facts of your case should make your argument for you. Trump had his chance in 2020. From here on out, he is going to be explaining.

john mosby said...

John Henry, come on now. Please flesh out the intermediate steps! How does Kamala get convinced to resign? Why would Congress approve Trump for VP? How does Biden get convinced to resign? You keep teasing us….

The only chain of events I could think of would start with some irrefutable public expose of the 2020 fraud- maybe multiple simultaneous deathbed confessions by city machine bosses. Our foreign enemies and even friends fill the airwaves with true agitprop about how America is no longer a democracy. Maybe the UN refuses to seat our delegation. Our ambassadors get PNG’d from not only the shithole countries, but from Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, etc. The issue of whether or not to recognize us fractures the new German coalition and threatens to turn them into Italy with better cars.

Then you maybe have state capitol riots by righty-whiteys, that scare people more than the BLM riots and lead to election rules likely to return an R majority in both houses in 2022. Then you have closed door talks where Rs pledge not to remove or prosecute Kamala, state D bosses, or major cabinet officers if they leave now and the D majority approves VP DJT.

Then VP DJT, backed up by the acting cabinet secretaries, starts a 25th Amd action on Biden, who uses his last shred of decency to accept and step down.

Is something like that your scenario?

JSM

Eric said...

It constantly amazes me how WaPo has such great sources close to a man they openly oppose.

Mark said...

BEST thing that Trump could do is, like all past politicians, get out of the way and let other people carry the ball.

Obama wasn't our Savior. Neither is Trump. It's time for him to let go.

jim said...

"If the 2022 elections are not about Biden and the Democrats, and instead are about Donald Trump and the 2020 elections, the GOP will suffer massive underperformance."

I could not agree more.

Biden did not win, Trump lost (thank god).

Chris Lopes said...

"Biden did not win, Trump lost (thank god)."

I'm sorry, but given the results of that loss, I am reserving my gratitude to the Deity I worship for the midterms. Not even Orange the Clown could have pulled off this much damage in this short amount of time.

Kevin said...

Anyone but Trump.

Seriously?

Mittens/Flake 2024?

doctrev said...

Howard said...
Does anyone really believe this kind of bullshit trial balloon morsel of clickbait

Goodness, no. Even as a point to start further discussion it's incredibly weak- just the hopium of neocon and neolib political consultants who can't believe the grift might be drying up. But there is a substantial portion of the country who can't hold an opinion unless they read it in a major newspaper first.

Ray - SoCal said...

Running the country at age 78. Looking at my own parents condition at this age, I’m not sure.

Any Republican will be demonized and made into a Hitler. See what was done to milquetoast Romney.

At least Trump is talking about most of the issues I care about, where the Gop establishment is not, just seems lost / rudderless.

And Trump seems to be working to get the right type people elected in the primaries.


Anonymous said...

I would hope to avoid it with an equally effective president, which DeSantis might be.

You really think that would happen? I don't think so. I think the media would portray him as the reincarnation of Hitler and plump up any Republican "elder statesman" who ever criticized him. Even Trump.