Many are vowing victory over Donald Trump. During the 2016 Republican primary, Jeb Bush put all of his resources into action. A do-or-die battle in South Carolina.marco rubio risked everything About Florida voters.Earlier this month, Ron DeSantis bet on his political future About the Iowa caucuses. In the end, all three suffered humiliating defeats and were ultimately expelled from the race.
On Tuesday, Nikki Haley joined a long list of Republicans whose courageous last stand came to nothing in the face of Trump's unparalleled cult of personality.
Trump has spent weeks raising hopes for his strength in New Hampshire, despite several recent polls showing a close race in the state. We definitely beat Haley by 10 points.. It's time for Haley to accept reality. This primary is over.
Barring his death or disability, the former president currently faces virtually no Republican opposition.his rival has either bent the knees, banished himself from a party or found yourself started By MAGA believers. Haley may declare that her campaign is “not over,” but her spending spree in New Hampshire is draining her campaign coffers, and her anti-Trump donor base is evaporating. Trumpism may be the single most powerful political movement in America right now.
It is clear that President Trump no longer fears a serious challenge to his power from the Republican primaries or from the Republican Party itself. How else can you explain his increasingly casual engagements? trample on the constitution?Is he demanding “total immunity” from the crimes he intends to commit as president??His joyful use of Blood and soil rhetoric once promoted by Nazi leaders? his new support for QAnon conspiracy theory? President Trump knows he has nothing to fear from the Republican Party, which he has so far completely dominated.
In any case, the mainstream media will continue to treat the Republican primary as something closer to a real election campaign. After all, their business model relies on extended horse racing, at least as far as Florida. High media advertising fees It brings huge benefits to the network.
Advertising spending in Florida topped $350 million in 2020. After yesterday's rout in New Hampshire, which President Trump almost won, experts expect Florida to spend just $81 million on advertising this year. Organizing a contest between Haley and Trump has now become a financial necessity for the media industry.
That's terrible news for the American people. They will continue to be fed the media fiction that Nikki Haley is somehow a strong candidate and that there is a meaningful anti-Trump movement within the Republican Party. It may be possible to spread these false stories for a few more weeks, but what will happen when President Trump takes office? Robbery in Haley's home state of South Carolina In just one month? At that point, even Haley's most ardent donors will urge the former governor to try again in 2032.
What we need now is not a postmodern media eager to capitalize on President Trump's victory lap and create a competitive campaign. Our country needs a media outlet with the courage to hold President Trump accountable for his anti-democratic promises.
Under President Trump, voters were denied that opportunity. refused to participate In a single preliminary debate. President Trump is currently considering not attending the general election debate. In doing so, he hopes to deny the American public the opportunity to criticize his increasingly authoritarian MAGA ideology. Only the news media can bridge that gap and ensure that President Trump faces pointed questions about what “full immunity” actually means for our country.
There's a good chance this won't convince a single Trump supporter to change his allegiance. It hardly matters. If Trump is a serious and immediate threat to our democracy, as Trump's former lawyer Ty Cobb has persuasively argued, then Trump has a nightmare agenda for this country. It is the media's responsibility to encourage them to explain their vision in detail. If Americans are to have any hope of avoiding that dire outcome, they must have every opportunity to see and hear the horror accelerating towards them.
If the media continues to support Nikki Haley's zombie campaign, it won't get the coverage it needs. If you believe Haley is really President Trump, A mentally incapacitated threat to America The right thing to do, she argues, is to leave immediately and avoid another month of meaningless polls and media hyperventilation. That act alone may be the most significant act of Haley's political career. If the media can stay focused on the real threat, it may be enough to prevent November's election disaster.
Max Burns is a veteran Democratic strategist and founder of Third Degree Strategies.
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