Some 50,000 were in that crowd Saturday: beyond excited to see Trump speak to their little county of Butler along the Ohio state line. Donald Trump’s great gift to middle America is that he communicates that they matter and that they are seen, which is why they are willing to spend four hours in 90–degree heat just to catch a glimpse of the man and hear his message to them.
Salena Zito (from Butler, PA)
What a week for the GOP. Trump’s near assassination is THE issue Democrats can’t afford in the home stretch. Joe Biden’s resignation has left Democrats in disarray. In contrast, a new and improved Donald Trump is less threatening to white suburban moms and working-class minorities, and the Republican Party’s platform has entered the 21st century.
The Shot Heard Round the World
The Democrat Party is in disarray. It began with Obama’s election guru, David Axelrod: “There are certain immutable facts of life, and the President hasn’t come to grips with it: he’s not winning this race.” Today (Sunday), President Biden decided against re-election. Already, Democrat organizer Matt Bennett sees the “wickedest of political problems: no one knows a solution, there’s no one to coalesce around, and everyone has their own theory of the case.” Translation: no Democrat – especially Kamala Harris with only 32% voter approval – has an easy path to the presidency. Democrats could pull it off, but don’t bet on it.
Trump’s near assassination has exposed the Democrat Party’s maleficence and Biden administration’s incompetence. Start with Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) saying she’d “take Trump out” in 2018. Or Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) filing a bill to revoke Trump’s secret-service protection in April 2024. Or Biden saying he’d “put Trump in the bullseye” to donors. Such intemperance invites vote-losing conspiracy theories, because 60% of voters now blame that political rhetoric for the attempt on Trump’s life (source: Morning Consult).
Let Democrats vilify Trump, Republicans will accuse them of putting Trump’s life at risk again. Plus, the 20-year-old sniper exposed (again) the incompetence of Biden-Harris leadership. Late last week, whistle blowers brought damnable negligence to the attention of Congress. The rally was designated a “loose security” event, security protocols were not enforced, and secret service agents were replaced with unprepared and inexperienced DHS investigators (source: Fox News). So this security lapse is a DEMOCRAT PROBLEM that’s not going away.
For every Biden bungle (Kabul), nobody got fired and congressional Democrats never asked tough questions. GOP-led congressional committees will hear about Butler until November, and career DHS, FBI and Secret Service agents will talk because they expect a new boss in six months. Moreover, if Biden cannot run – because he’s too senile – congressional Republicans must demand the President’s cabinet invoke the 25th amendment, and force Democrats to defend their cover-up THEN and putting party-before-country NOW.
A New and Improved Trump
The June debate showcased a new and improved Trump; adding donors, uniting Republicans, tweeting less, working within the GOP, and surging in the polls. That change resulted in 72% of the debate’s viewers telling CBS News pollsters Trump looked “more presidential” than Biden. I observed a “changed man” at the GOP convention, as did Nikki Haley, who gave her full endorsement. He was somber talking about his near assassination, and solemn promising to “heal all of America, not half of America, because there is no victory in winning for half of America.”
Democrats and their media allies cannot see this change, because they’ve invested nine years in opposition research, fact-checking, and scolding him for his worst moments. That’s why they mocked Trump’s kids and grandkids for sharing the softer side of the former president. But that (maybe) 10% of America is not 90% of America that lives with imperfection and redemption every day. Unchanged was Trump’s tough talk on illegal aliens and China.
A 21st Century GOP
Bigger than even a changed Trump is the transformed Republican Party. OUT is an abortion ban. IN is protecting social security and medicare with no cuts, including to the retirement age. The convention had four daily macro-themes: Make America (1) Wealthy, (2) Safe, (3) Strong, and (4) Great Once Again. This allowed GOP pols and everyday Americans to romance Trump’s first term and rue Biden’s last forty-two months:
- Bidenomics has ruined family WEALTH: 80% of voters have experienced cost of living creep, and 66% say high interest rates make it impossible to pay down debt (source: Qualtrics/Intuit).
- Personal SAFETY fears are at a 30-decade high.
- Only 38% of Americans think Biden’s a STRONG leader. (source: Gallup).
- A GREAT America does not need DEI policies at work or school that 71% of Independents and 76% of Republicans oppose (source: TPPF)
The idea of Everyday Americans (EDAs) describing the horrors of living with Biden’s policies and positions made the 2024 election understandable to minorities and working-class whites. On Monday, metal fabricator Jack Gilchrist explained how Biden had “made everyday life unaffordable for working-class Americans.” The crescendo was his cry: “This Administration is killing us out here.” On Wednesday, a 98-year-old WWII veteran, William Pekrul, attacked liberal elites who claim that “America is an idea.” His message is reality to 90% of the USA: “America is much more than that. America is our home.”
The EDA star, however, was (former) Democrat Madeline Brame, a black mom from New York City who blamed Alvin Bragg for releasing two assailants that had been arrested for stabbing her son to death in 2018:
“I don’t want anyone else to experience the senseless pain that many other victims across this United States of America have to live with every day. So I decided to use the voice that God gave me to be the voice for the voiceless across America. Soft on crime prosecutors like Alvin Bragg in New York have turned our great country and cities into a war zones. The Democratic Party, that poor minorities have been loyal to for decades, including myself, betrayed us. They stabbed us in the back. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, who claim to represent us, have abandoned us, but my eyes have been opened. Trump was right when he said they’re after us. He’s just standing in the way. And guess what? He always will.”
The RNC could have stopped right there, because that’s the Willie Horton commercial from 1988 with a reformed Democrat blowing the whistle, telling Black voters – Everybody! Out of the Democrat pool of voters right now!
Getting the Message Right
Trump will continue to reach everyday Americans in more places than Democrats expected just 90 days ago (like Virginia). MAGA warrior J.D. Vance will take his Hillbilly-to-Yalie-to-Populist story across the Rust Belt to ensure Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin turn out for GOP candidates. But the surprise soundbite of the convention came from Sen. Marco Rubio:
By giving voice to everyday Americans, President Trump has not just transformed our party, he has inspired a movement of the people who grow our food, drive our trucks, make our cars, build our homes, – – whose taxes fund our government, and whose children fight our wars. Americans like Corey Comparatore, a former fire chief and loving husband. He wasn’t rich, he wasn’t famous. The only reason we know his name is because last Saturday, he shielded his wife and daughter from an assassin’s bullet and lost his life the way he lived it; a hero.
For those still wondering, these are the Americans who wear the red hats, wait for hours under a blazing sun to hear Trump speak, and what they want and ask for is not hateful or extreme. What they want is good jobs, lower prices, borders that are secure, those who come here to do so legally, to be safe from criminals and terrorists, and for our leaders to care more about our problems here at home than the problems of other countries far away. There is absolutely nothing dangerous or anything divisive about putting Americans first.
And there you have it – the kick-ass retort to liberals who scoff at your party’s nominee – while they push a lesser-know Democrat (no small feat in a small window).