Usually I write about local issues but sometimes I have an idea about the national situation. This is something that’s been in my mind for months. We’ve entered the post-Trump era.
Look at the people who built him up. Tucker Carlson apologized for his support of Trump and left the Republican Party and said he’d help build a third one in July.
Then there’s the elected politicians. Reuters found that Republicans in 41 of 62 competitive congressional races put distance between them and the big man. This is normal for a bad midterm year, but we’ve never seen this with Trump and the wrath he brings against those who side against him. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, who has criticized Trump over his immigration enforcement policy, got a Trump repost calling her a “backstabber.”
Senators who aren’t on the ballot until 2028 or 2030 are speaking out. John Kennedy of Louisiana said no public official, Trump included, should spend public money on ads about himself (Kennedy may also want to run for president and has thoughts on what a 2028 GOP primary could look like).
Even Ted Cruz (another one eying 2028) called out Trump’s deal to send billions to Iran: “an exceptionally bad idea.” John Curtis of Utah bashed Don Jr.’s business dealings. These aren’t Never Trumpers.
But it’s noticeable that these Republicans don’t walk on eggshells anymore. We were living in a world, even when Trump was out of office, where elected Republicans walked on eggshells (except for a few weeks after January 6, 2021).
Trump doesn’t suck up all the oxygen in the room anymore either. He turned 80 a few months ago. He still has energy but he looks elderly and isn’t the physically dominant presence he was even 2 years ago.
And voters notice it: 55% say his physical health isn’t good enough for the job and more than 1/3 of Republicans say he’s too old. His job approval is in the mid-30s, the lowest for any president heading into a midterm.
Over the last few weeks, he’s been campaigning in Alabama, Oklahoma and Nebraska, states he won by 20 points or more.
And look who’s emerging on the other side. James Talarico, 37, has a 68% chance on Kalshi of being elected US Senator from Texas. Abdul El-Sayed, 41, has a 71% chance at winning the senate race in Michigan. Jon Ossoff, 39, is essentially a sure thing to win re-election in Georgia. These are states Trump carried in 2024. These 3 politicians all first ran for office after Trump won in 2016.
The tectonic plates of American politics are shifting once again. It can be hard to realize it in the moment but if you take a step back, you can see the signs of something bigger than a blue wave coming.
We’ve entered the post-Trump era.
Hope you’re right Driscoll! I’m praying and after seeing his performance in San Antonia my confidence is going up.
I admire your confidence.