Well now, that’s an actual play by the Democrats, I’m a little surprised. Of course the Republicans have to vote against it because they have to protect President Smooth Brain, but this then drags out the story over another news cycle when Trump is desperate for people to stop talking about it.
Now, all this means nothing because the base will eventually get to “it’s ok for Trump to have raped those girls because he was saving them from the evil Democrats who would have done worse” but at least there’s a small moment where I can imagine things matter.
This is the longest I’ve seen his base angry at Trump & Republicans for. He got ratioed on Truth Social for the first time ever. He’s also doing something he rarely does - telling his base directly that their concerns don’t matter to him. Republicans usually manufacture away around issues that still pretends to care about their concerns, but they are not doing that well here
I can’t fully predict the future think this leaves a wound that not all the base comes back from and that matters. If say 10-20% of MAGA people don’t return, that weakens his grip on power. Some percentage going away enables a permissions structure for future criticism on other issues. Wannabe authoritarians need zero criticism to be acceptable to their followers because the tiniest bit can snow ball
Every single Democrat running against these assholes next November will be able to say the Republican candidate voted against the release of the Epstein files. That’s their headshot in the debates. “Representative X voted against the release of the Epstein Files” is an easy campaign strategy.
Well now, that’s an actual play by the Democrats, I’m a little surprised. Of course the Republicans have to vote against it because they have to protect President Smooth Brain, but this then drags out the story over another news cycle when Trump is desperate for people to stop talking about it.
Now, all this means nothing because the base will eventually get to “it’s ok for Trump to have raped those girls because he was saving them from the evil Democrats who would have done worse” but at least there’s a small moment where I can imagine things matter.
This is the longest I’ve seen his base angry at Trump & Republicans for. He got ratioed on Truth Social for the first time ever. He’s also doing something he rarely does - telling his base directly that their concerns don’t matter to him. Republicans usually manufacture away around issues that still pretends to care about their concerns, but they are not doing that well here
I can’t fully predict the future think this leaves a wound that not all the base comes back from and that matters. If say 10-20% of MAGA people don’t return, that weakens his grip on power. Some percentage going away enables a permissions structure for future criticism on other issues. Wannabe authoritarians need zero criticism to be acceptable to their followers because the tiniest bit can snow ball
This is such a key.
It’s a great play.
Every single Democrat running against these assholes next November will be able to say the Republican candidate voted against the release of the Epstein files. That’s their headshot in the debates. “Representative X voted against the release of the Epstein Files” is an easy campaign strategy.