Source of this article: Times Weekly Author: Liu Muxuan
If Trump cannot help Republican win power, then the latter does not need to help Trump cover up his "emperor's new clothes".
On the evening of November 15th local time, former US President Trump officially announced his candidacy for the 2024 US President at a press conference at Harao Estate in Florida.
Trump's decision to run for election is already expected by most people, but now he has lost his former appeal.
As US midterm elections approached the end of the Republican atmosphere of disappointment, the Democrats successfully retained control of the Senate. In contrast, among the 14 candidates who shouted "America First" supported by Trump, only Morales, who is from , Indiana, is elected.
Trump certainly was not convinced. He has repeatedly sent similar content on social media since November 8: " Detroit has vote fraud! Protest!" " Arizona also has! Protest!"
Tonight's US Capitol Hill is much quieter than January 6, 2021. (Photo source: social media)
In Detroit two years ago during the 2020 presidential election, dozens of Trump supporters (hereinafter referred to as "Trump fans") did scream and knock on glass outside the polling station at the Detroit Convention Center, shouting "vote fraud." But until today, this phenomenon has not occurred in Detroit.
In Maricopa County , Arizona, the far-right group that supports Trump has been striking momentum on social media early, claiming to hold protests in front of the vote counting building, including the infamous "Proud Boy" and "Guardian of the Vow." They had gathered in front of the vote counting building with guns in 2020, and almost caused a death. This year, local police, who were still scared, dispatched Mounted Police and helicopters on November 8, but their preparations proved to be redundant, with few dangerous protesters at all.
According to AP , the "democratic order" in the United States seems to have returned overnight in the past few years. Many local officials and police are ready to deal with the chaos, but the bad weather on voting day is even more powerful than the intimidation of radical voters.
appeal is questioned, "Trump fans" lose enthusiasm
Rodriguez is responsible for temporarily registering ballots in the Reno area of Nevada. He just persuaded two men who tried to intimidate other voters. Despite the troubles of his work, Rodriguez also expressed sympathy for the two men, "Many people are accusing them of being unpatriotic, but maybe they just didn't do the right thing."
Compared with the scene where tens of thousands of people flocked to the streets two years ago, thousands of people "strike" the chaos of the US Capitol. Today, Trump fans seem to be no longer willing to respond to Trump's call.
The former Sichuan fans were a force that all walks of life in the United States were very afraid of. (Photo source: social media)
is not just Trump fans, but even Republicans and those who have supported Trump in the past are also staying away from him.
Former Trump partner and former US Vice President Pence , who has personally experienced the Capitol Hill incident, said in a recent interview that "there will be a better choice than Trump in the future." Maryland Republican Governor Hogan even told the media, "Trump has made the Republican Party fail three times. In baseball rules, this is considered out."
The Republican Party attributed Trump the defeat in midterm elections to midterms on , because the latter had promised that it would trigger a "red wave" that swept the United States and make the Republican Party win in an all-round way. "We have too much advantage and we will eventually get tired of winning," Trump once said at a rally.
For a long time, Trump has been the most influential presidential candidate in the Republican Party, but his distinctive personal character also makes his allies afraid. Some Republicans choose to "submit" publicly, while more Republicans dare not speak out. Until the appearance of DeSantis, these Republicans finally saw the dawn.
Republican DeSantis, who just won the Florida governor's campaign, became a possible replacement for Trump.In Florida, which has been led by Democratic supporters for many years, he successfully re-elected as governor with an overwhelming advantage of 19%, achieving extremely high party reputation.
Florida Gov. DeSantis may replace Trump as the Republican presidential candidate. (Photo source: social media)
After the midterm election voting ended on November 8, DeSantis's party support rate has surpassed Trump. According to data from polling agency YouGov, 41% of Republican respondents said they prefer DeSantis and 39% of Republican respondents prefer Trump.
"If Trump competes with DeSantis in Wisconsin , then DeSantis will win," said Sholtz, former Wisconsin Republican chairman.
At the same time, many financial supporters who once supported Trump also chose to support DeSantis.
New York businessman Sabin, who once donated $120,000 to Trump, said, "I won't give Trump a penny this year." According to Florida's campaign financial records, Sabin donated $55,000 to DeSantis's campaign foundation this year.
ranked 151st on Forbes' global rich list, and $11.6 billion Miami Dolphins boss and real estate giant Ross had a close personal relationship with Trump. He held a fundraising event for Trump at home in 2019. But this year, Ross also said he prefers DeSantis and said he can support DeSantis in his campaign for president. In fact, Ross donated $220,000 to DeSantis's campaign foundation during this year's midterm elections.
Griffin, founder of the multinational safe haven fund Citadel, donated more than $100 million in this year's U.S. midterm elections. He also recently said that if DeSantis runs for president, he is ready to support DeSantis.
Griffin said in an interview with Politico that Trump did not grasp the key points in some important areas and hoped that the former president would not run again.
Trump becomes "the most popular opponent"
"As an American, Trump's idea of re-election, all his lies, and his efforts to undermine American democracy is definitely a horror show. But I have to say that as a politician who wants to see no Republicans in 2024 White House , his candidacy may be a good thing," said the independent senator Sanders , who held a caucus with Democrats.
After retaining control of the Senate in the midterm elections, many American Democrats believe that Trump is completely unafraid. If the Republicans continue to participate in the 2024 election with Trump at the core, they will undoubtedly lose.
For the now optimistic Democratic Party, is Trump really not afraid? (Photo source: social media)
"We all want Trump to run again," former Virginia Governor and Democratic National Committee Chairman McAuliffe also said in a recent interview.
In fact, Trump has never won a majority of votes in the country.
During Trump's tenure, the Republican Party lost a majority in the House of Representatives in the 2018 midterm elections, and he himself lost the general election in 2020 and left the White House. Even though his actions to call on supporters to "fight for election fraud" eventually led to the vigorous Capitol Hill incident, it was ultimately futile and even discredited the overall image of the Republican Party.
On January 6, 2021, U.S. lawmakers avoided attacks from Sichuan fans at the Capitol. (Photo source: social media)
Export polls for the US midterm elections also prove that Trump is "out of time". Only 39% of voters said they are optimistic about Trump, while 58% said they are not optimistic about him. In addition, as many as 28% of voters said they voted for the Democrats purely because they hated Trump, compared with only 16% of voters saying they voted for the Republicans to support Trump.
Although Trump will not be easily defeated, there is no doubt that Trump is far less appealing than he was when he ran for president in 2016.
