As usual, Donald Trump blames everything and everyone except himself for the blue wave—some have called it a tsunami, a “bluenami,” someone has said, giving us a new political word that will become tiresome on second use. Regardless, it overwhelmed Republicans all the way down from Congress to legislatures and maybe to some county elections.
Trump claims the wave would not have materialized if he had been on the ballot. It seems, however, that this election indicates a majority of politicians and citizens strongly disagree with him. It’s interesting to see the number of high-ranking GOPers who now are citing Trump’s policies and actions with which they never previously disagreed as reasons for voter repudiation.
Trump told FOX News he will accept the results but not the blame. In one interview he said, “I don’t like to consider it a defeat for me; I wasn’t on the ballot. No matter how good the president is, you lose.”
As usual, he did two things. He lied and he avoided taking any responsibility for failure. He, his policies, and his personality WERE on the ballot. In fact, during some of his campaign “admire me, forget the candidate” speeches he urged the crowd to imagine he WAS on the ballot. He will never admit it publicly and we wonder if he is capable of admitting in privately that he IS largely responsible for his party’s political disaster last Tuesday.
But his party cannot make a case that Trump alone is its scapegoat. The Republican Party’s loyalty to him ultimately led to its ballot box disaster. They gave him the ship of state and watched quietly as he ran it hard aground.
Various news agencies are reporting that Republicans finally realize their silent acquiescence to his demand for redistricting to protect his congressional majority was a mistake. But loyal party members cannot ignore that they lacked the courage to tell him “no.” That and the war and its impact on energy prices which tend to be felt at the gas pump and the grocery store alike and in the diesel prices for farmers and truckers, his nonsensical tariffs, his self-serving schemes became part of the many albatrosses around GOP necks far down the ballot.
Vice-President Vance tiptoed around the issue in a lengthy social media post:
“The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night,” Vance said. Trump also expressed no regrets and said he’d do it again, given the circumstances that he claims exist. And Vance, ever loyal, left a couple of words out of his explanation. What he could have said was “The reason we lost is President Trump’s war….” But he couldn’t bring himself to go that far.
Trump’s colossal ego was on full display at every campaign stop in the last month before the election. The rallies were never about promoting the candidate or candidates. He babbled more about himself and made tasteless non-jokes that he thought showed him to be a charming fellow. Frankly, we’re surprised more Republican candidates didn’t ask him to stay away.
He says he’ll work with the big Democrat majorities, claiming he has “lots of friends that are Democrats…I’ve already spoken to some of them.” He has not told us who are the ones he claims to have spoken to and as we write his, no Democrat has mentioned receiving any calls.
His now former chief of staff said Trump will keep being Trump, advocating cutting taxes and kicking out aliens. He has indicated that he’ll rule with vetoes and executive orders.
His appointment of Stephen Miller as his new chief of staff sustains that opinion.
Democrats are in their strongest position ever when it comes to impeaching him a third time and the possibility of removal seems brighter because there’s no reason for Republicans to protect him. Democrats also have the power to block appointments to fill key vacancies. One of the vacancies might be Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, who is contemplating retirement. He’s 76.
If Alito takes that course, it might be best if he does it now. Trump is going to need all the time he can get to argue for confirmation of Alito’s successor. Hoping the Senate Democrats will let Alito’s successor sail through confirmation are woefully misplaced.
An important question, though, is whether impeaching Trump a third time should be the Democrats’ highest priority. While that lengthy and contentious process goes on, Trump can be doing a great deal more damage.
It will be interesting to see how Republicans try to wash the Trump tar from their hands in the next two years. Will he be invited to their national convention in ’28? Probably. It would be a mistake to let him speak after 10 a.m., though.
Here in grassroots country, we will see how far down the list of state and local government offices Trump’s negatives continue to be felt in 2028. Voters might remember those who did Trump’s bidding and aside from that, tried to make outlandish changes to the Missouri Constitution. How the Republicans, with their shrunken majorities in both the Missouri House and the Missouri Senate behave in the next two years could determine whether the majorities shift.
Donald Trump has displayed long coattails that benefitted his party. Now we wait to see if his party will be comfortable in his coattails for the next two years both in Washington and in Jefferson City.