CNN
—
Donald Trump is about winning.
“We are going to win a lot,” he said on the 2016 election campaign. “You are going to get tired of winning. You’re going to say, ‘Please, Mr President, my head hurts. Please don’t make that much. This is getting terrible. And I’m going to say, ‘No, we have to make America great again.’ You’re going to say, ‘Please.’ I said, ‘No, no. We’re going to keep winning.’”
Trump’s entire personality is wrapped up in this notion that, with apologies to DJ Khaled, all he does is win. From his point of view, he is the ultimate winner in life. He is rich! He is successful! He is famous! – and the only people who don’t recognize it are the haters and the losers.
Except that, at least in politics, Trump has lost far more than he has gained.
Trump won the 2016 presidential race, yes. But since then the following things have happened:
* Republicans lost control of the House in 2018.
* Trump lost the White House in 2020.
* Republicans lost control of the Senate in 2021.
* Republicans dramatically underperformed despite high expectations in the 2022 midterm elections.
It’s that decidedly spotty record that a new opinion piece from the editorial board of The Wall Street Journal focuses on, as it argues that it’s time for the GOP to turn away from the former president.
“Mr. Trump has botched the 2022 election and could hand the Senate over to Democrats for two more years,” the op-ed reads. “Mr. Trump had political successes as president, including tax cuts and deregulation, but he has led Republicans into one political fiasco after another.”
Yes, exactly that!
One of the most disconcerting things about Trump’s continued appeal to the GOP, at least to me, is his ability to maintain his position of power despite demonstrably poor results. Only 39% of the midterm electorate viewed him favorably, according to national exit polls.
there really is No doubts about Trump’s record as leader of the Republican Party. He has overseen considerable setbacks and disappointing performances time and time again. He has pushed candidates with limited appeal away from the most extreme parts of the Republican base that have failed to come close to winning winable seats. He has alienated moderates, independents, and even a good chunk of Republicans.
If ANY other politician had the kind of electoral record that Trump boasts about, it’s hard for me to imagine that politicians would continue to pay tribute to him. In fact, there would probably be some effort to push that politician aside and get rid of the smell of defeat.
Why hasn’t that happened with Trump? Well, at least in part it’s because Trump never admitted defeat, whether in the 2020 election or any of the other races I mentioned earlier.
“While in a way yesterday’s election was somewhat disappointing, from my personal point of view it was a great victory: 219 WINS and 16 losses in the General. Who has done better than that?” Trump said on his Truth Social website on Wednesday.
The facts, however, are the facts. Trump has lost every time since his impressive 2016 victory. The question now is whether Republican voters realize that fact.