Donald Trump’s sinking ship is dragging Republicans down with him
Republicans had a chance at putting themselves in an enviable position for 2022 and beyond. They had talking points to use against President Joe Biden and Democrats, regardless of the truth of those points. Much of voting relies on perception just as much as it does reality, and as Politico pointed out, Republicans know how to spin based on those perceptions. Attending a rally with former “president” Donald Trump Saturday night, authors of the Politico Playbook condensed the Republican message to this: “After just nine months under [President JOE] BIDEN, violent criminals and bloodthirsty gangs are taking over our streets; illegal aliens and deadly drug cartels are taking over our borders; inflation is taking over our economy; China’s taking over our jobs; the Taliban has taken over Afghanistan; lunatic leftists are taking over our schools; and radical socialists are taking over our country — and we’re not going to let that happen.” Now, we know most of this is not true, but this is the type of propaganda that Republicans use to draw in their most ignorant who do not research for themselves. They know their people, and they know how to play to them. Unfortunately for them, Trump did not get the memo.
The first thing out of his mouth was his lies about the 2020 election. When he mentioned to the crowd that the election was “stolen” from him, they began to chant: “Trump won! Trump won!” These people are truly crazy, as evidenced by quotes from Newsweek. One said that her entire family had “turned liberal” and hate Trump, referring to the more intelligent members of her family, but she sounded most crazy when she said: “I have complete faith that this man is going to basically save the world. Not just us. Everyone.” Yet another moved to Iowa because Trump was holding a rally there. Her quote is most puzzling: “He tells everything straight as it is, no BS, and that’s what this country needs. No lies.” So, who is she listening to? Everything Trump says is a lie, and he would not know the truth if it bit him in the ass. Yet, these people believe he is Heaven sent. Instead of pushing back and focusing on their own agenda, many Republicans now embrace and prop Trump up, even though they know he is lying. Why? They want to win, and they think his base will accomplish that.
Chuck Grassley was center stage at Trump’s rally. Grassley does not believe any of this nonsense. He is just desperate to hold power. Not long ago, Grassley publicly condemned Trump’s behavior following the election. Back then, Grassley said: “The reality is, he lost. He brought over 60 lawsuits and lost all but one of them.” Now, Grassley is seeking an eighth term, and he needs the support of Trump’s voters. Grassley, like most other Republicans, merely wants to win, and he does not care about the cost to his own reputation. This is more reason that we do not need Grassley or any other Retrumplicans in Congress.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years