Donald Trump cannot move on from the 2020 election.  He cannot accept he lost.  Despite the fifty plus court cases and his own attorney general refuting his baseless claims, Trump still thinks there was “Massive Fraud” that caused his defeat.  He said as much in a recent “Truth”:

Trump thinks this level of fraud justifies “termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even found in our Constitution.”  He later tried to walk back that he actually called to terminate the Constitution even though a plain reading of his words indicates otherwise.

Almost no Republicans who currently hold elected office were brave enough to confront and denounce this outrageous statement.  Their collective fear of Trump will lead to his victory as the 2024 Republican nominee. 

“He says a lot of things, you have to take him in context”

Those words were spoken by Dave Joyce (R., Ohio).  He tried to ignore Trump’s statements and instead shift the focus to economic issues, but the interviewer, George Stephanopoulos, pressed further, which elicited the following:

“Well, you know, he says a lot of things that—but that doesn’t mean that it’s ever going to happen”

– Dave Joyce (R., Ohio)

Did Joyce conveniently forget about January 6th?  Has he forgotten about the numerous young men radicalized by Trump’s rhetoric to commit acts of violence?  

And Representative Joyce, allow me to put this in context:

• Trump’s call to terminate the Constitution comes less than two years after he encouraged a mob to march on the U.S. Capitol with the hopes of swaying the 2020 election certification
• Many of those supporters violently ransacked the nation’s Capitol, while chanting “hang Mike Pence” and trying to hunt him down simply for performing his constitutional duty
• Trump sat back, watching it all unfold from the White House, and didn’t call off the dogs until much later in the afternoon once it was clear the coup attempt had failed.

It’s amazing that after everything that has unfolded, after many Republicans themselves were in danger on January 6th, that almost no Republican still in office wants to confront Donald Trump.  The excuses that “he says a lot of things” or “you have to take him in context” will not stop his increasingly extremist rhetoric.  And as we have seen, it will not stop his extremist actions either.

Until more Republicans confront Trump head on, they will continue to play subservient roles.  They will be bullied and belittled by him.  Trump will use them as his cannon fodder to win over more Republican supporters and eventually take the 2024 nomination.

Republicans have a winning strategy for 2024, but Trump will steamroll it

The Republican reactions to Trump’s calls to terminate the Constitution is evidence enough.  They will try to ignore Trump.  Some like Mike Pence will try to distract people and move on from Trump.  But Trumpism is a Republican reality until it is directly confronted and expelled from the party’s platform and rhetoric.

Trump is purposely ignoring what Republicans proved was a winning strategy in the Midterm Elections, and what will likely win again in 2024:

Less extremism.

Almost every Trump-backed candidate lost.  Meanwhile, candidates like Ron DeSantis and Brian Kemp, who didn’t use extremist rhetoric about election fraud or conspiracy theories, cleaned up.

The problem here is that so long as Trump is around, Republicans like DeSantis and Kemp will eventually have to address Trump’s extremism.  It’s a litmus test for the Trump base.  Agree with our anti-semetic, white Christian nationalism or consider yourself an enemy. 

They can only ignore Trump for so long.  The longer Republicans wait to directly confront Trump, assuming they ever do, the more it plays in his favor.  They look weak.  Uncertain.  Scared not to hedge.

Even Dave Joyce had to concede in his interview with Stephanopoulos that he would support Trump if he were the party’s candidate in 2024.  

They will all eventually kiss the ring.

The writing is on the Republican wall because of one thing

Fear.  Republicans in office fear Donald Trump.  It’s why Kevin McCarthy eventually made his way down to Mar-a-Lago after condemning him on January 6th, with his tail between his legs, to kiss the ring.  

When Republicans don’t confront Trump’s extremist claims in unison, they tacitly support them.  They give them air to breathe.  Trump then takes that inch another mile.

When there’s public outcry from Trump’s extremism, as there has been in the wake of his terminating the constitution statements, Trump grows stronger with his base.  They realize it’s truly us v. them.  You are either with us or against us.

Until Republicans overcome their fear and in unison confront this bully, he will continue to gain political strength.  All of the political analysis in the world that indicates a less extreme approach will fare better in 2024 will not be enough to stop the Trump train from steamrolling the Republican primaries.  By then it will be too late for DeSantis and other competitors.

Trump is like any other strongman

Like Mussolini, Berlusconi, or Putin, Trump is obsessed with retaining power at all costs.  And like those other strongmen, Trump grows more extreme when his power is threatened.  

Mussolini and Berlusconi were both eventually ousted when others within their party and government finally said enough was enough.  But their hold on power did not wane until that happened.  We’ve seen how a strongman’s ironclad hold on power can play out in Russia.

No other Republican will beat Trump until they can actually confront Trump.  Many may think that he is only hurting himself by saying outlandish things like terminating the constitution.  But in reality, he is only gaining more strength.  

By not condemning Trump now, Republicans have tacitly supported him terminating the very document he would be sworn to uphold.