I seek to empower people by giving them something to ponder.
My American and conservative friends, first and foremost, I am not a Never Trumper. On the contrary, I strongly advocated for Donald Trump’s presidency over Hilary Clinton’s in 2016 (after Ted Cruz lost the Republican nomination to him.) Consequently, I have commended him for exceeding my expectations, as well as those of other conservatives as president. For example, his tax cuts brought the economy out of Obama’s recession (record low unemployment rates---especially for blacks, Hispanics, and women, low inflation, job creation) to prosperity, even amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump appointed three conservative judges to the Supreme Court (which led to the overturning of Roe v. Wade). Israel’s capital and the American embassy transferred from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and the Abraham Accords occurred under Trump’s term. Some of these outstanding accomplishments were unreachable goals for previous presidents for many years, but I digress.
If America needs “more of the same” of anything, it would be more of the same Trump policies, which have made America more prosperous, safe, and free (positive results). For purposes of simplicity, let’s call these positive results “Point C.” Before America can reach Point C, it must pass Point B, which is the election of Donald Trump to a second term. Before America can reach Point B, it must reach and surpass Point A, which is the nomination of Trump by the Republican National Committee during the primary election.
Currently, America is poised to reach Point A. However, Point B is highly questionable. In order to reach Point B, Trump must either obtain an enormous amount of votes from a narrow base, exceeding Biden’s votes, or he must obtain them from multiple groups, comprising a broad base. In the former scenario as it currently stands, Trump’s base narrowly consists of the white working class, conservative Republicans, and populist Republicans. However, in the latter scenario, Trump lacks a broad, diverse base of suburban women, moderate Republicans, some conservative Republicans, Democrats, and independents, some of which are committed “Never Trump” voters.
Although many Democrats have become dissatisfied with Biden’s incompetence, their animosity towards Trump trumps (pardon the pun) Biden’s ill performance. Hence, they are inclined to either vote for “the lesser of two evils” (which they somehow believe is Biden). Even the evangelical Christians may be split, as the renowned religious leader, Bob Vander Plaats, formally endorsed Ron DeSantis in November, in spite of Trump’s advancement of the pro-life cause (the overturning of Roe vs. Wade), the transfer of America’s embassy and Israel’s capital from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, etc.
Aside from the aforementioned variety of votes, the independents can be the most consequential. That is due to their historical role in deciding tightly contested races in swing states, such as Arizona, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Georgia. In fact, Biden won the independent vote in 2020 by a 9-point margin (52% to 43%) according to Pew Research Center. Just 4 years prior (in the 2016 election), Trump won that bloc by 1 point over Clinton (43% to 42%). Ceteris Paribus, other things equal, Trump is poised to lose independents in a rematch with Biden, either because they will stay home on Election Day, or they will vote for Robert Kennedy, Jr., who is currently running as an independent.
Many have chosen to electorally forgo Trump simply due to his willful absence in the primary debates (four as of this writing), which is the traditional and appropriate public forum for maximum public exposure in order to maximize votes. His absences are viewed as shunning American voters, since many first-timers (often the impressionable youth) will be oblivious to Trump’s positions or policies and are only familiar with him in so far as his negative publicity is concerned. I’m referring to his narcissistic demeanor, inutile behavior, ad hominem attacks, and scandals (some of which entail bribing a porn star and his mismanagement of the Capitol Hill riot on January 6, 2021), not to mention his 2 impeachments and 91 criminal charges (whether innocent or guilty). In fact, a Harvard University poll shows voters aged 18 to 29 favor Biden over Trump 41% to 30%, and that 69% of those Biden voters are voting more in “opposition to Donald Trump becoming president again” than “support for President Biden and his policies.”
As a politician, Trump should be keenly cognizant of those electoral factors. Given that he is, it would appear that instead of Trump aspiring to be president of the whole United States, he aspires to be president of only the parts comprising his base. Had he appeared in the debates, at least Trump could defend himself. Even if the media or moderators spin or distort his responses, the optics would show that he made the effort. Anyway, he could always clarify any willful distortions on Twitter or his own platform, Truth Social. The same holds true of his policies and scandals, which some may find questionable or objectionable. Again, Trump refuses to avail himself of the public forums to explain or defend himself, which could cost him potential votes.
Having discussed Trump’s shortcomings, it would appear that the path to Point C (positive results) will no longer be feasible, at least not with Trump as the nominee. However, there is another route leading to Point C through another presidential candidate, whose qualifications remain unmatched by any other. More importantly, the electability of this accomplished public servant is made evident in a Wall Street Journal poll, which ranks this contender 17 percentage points ahead of Biden (51% to 34%) in a hypothetical head-to-head match, whereas Trump ties or beats Biden by only 1 to 4 percentage points according to various polls.
Ideally, if Trump sincerely wants to “make America great again” again, then dropping out of the race and enabling a new generational leader to resume and improve his policies, is the most patriotic thing he can do, before retiring honorably. However, in reality, we all know there is little chance that Trump is capable of humbling himself, in spite of the potential, negative repercussions on the country. Therefore, my American and conservative friends, I request, nay, implore you all to dump Trump, and pick a winnable conservative leader! Please click here to find out more reasons, aside from electability, why this candidate is the most qualified of all.
Long live a free, safe, and prosperous USA!
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