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A Slip Twixt the Cup and the Lip? [Updated]
This is not good at all. President Trump unleashed a series of tweets that have cut short the story about Democrats self-destructing, making him and us the targets now. I don’t know how he’s going to dig himself out of his false claim that any of the “’Progressive’ Democrat Congresswomen,” other than Ilhan Omar, came from another country.
So interesting to see “Progressive” Democrat Congresswomen, who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world (if they even have a functioning government at all), now loudly……
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 14, 2019
….it is done. These places need your help badly, you can’t leave fast enough. I’m sure that Nancy Pelosi would be very happy to quickly work out free travel arrangements!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 14, 2019
They are, as they are happy to point out, “women of color,” so the race card is just too easy to play here. Indeed, President Trump knew this as he chided AOC and her “squad” for falsely accusing Nancy Pelosi of racism. Before he tweeted this Sunday, Maureen Dowd of The New York Times was attacking AOC for her false claims of racism, in a piece mockingly titled “Scaling Wokeback Mountain.” The AOC Squad was advocating “grabbing” power from the old leadership. They were busy self-destructing and President Trump had added fuel to the fire, saying “[Pelosi] is not a racist.” In doing so, the president was voicing the sensible middle of American thought.
The “Squad:” Reps. Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.)
Then he rolled out a variant of “go back where you came from.” This was a bad move. Had he only addressed Ilhan Omar (“she,” not “they”), he would be on very solid ground. Had he called out the others for loathing the country of their birth that had given them such advantages, including a path to become Congresswomen, he would have been preaching to the sensible center. Instead he created a mess.
He hates apologizing, but here he is going to have to clean up his own mess. Otherwise, he is going to lose reelection and hand the whole Congress to the Democrats. No matter how much he touts economic advances and criminal justice reform helping racial minorities, he has just made a vote for him toxic to suburban women and all the darker skinned ethnic groups he has actually dedicated his administration to helping.
Every member of the administration, every member of Congress, every state and local official, will be forced to denounce these tweets and President Trump for typing them. Time for him to show a skill he has not had to use, finding some way to turn this unforced blunder into a political win.
John Hinderaker calls this “A Blunder of Epic Proportions.” I’m not sure about the magnitude, but it certainly makes a tough reelection tougher. To get how bad the Democrats were doing before President Trump just helped them, see this: “Democrats Start to Worry.” Maureen Dowd was criticizing AOC. The “Squad” was split from Pelosi. PresidentTrump has put them back together, for now, with Pelosi defending the progressive congresswomen who had been attacking her.
When @realDonaldTrump tells four American Congresswomen to go back to their countries, he reaffirms his plan to “Make America Great Again” has always been about making America white again.
Our diversity is our strength and our unity is our power. https://t.co/ODqqHneyES
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) July 14, 2019
President Trump seems to recognize his blunder. He has already responded to responses in this way:
….and the many terrible things they say about the United States must not be allowed to go unchallenged. If the Democrat Party wants to continue to condone such disgraceful behavior, then we look even more forward to seeing you at the ballot box in 2020!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 15, 2019
The only fix, in our “Ronnie Raygun the nuclear cowboy,” “Bushitler” “pubic hair on Coke can” “high school rape” reality, is to go on offense. Yet, that offensive must be effective. Tucker Carlson was far more focused and careful in his attack on Ilhan Omar, not conflating any facts with the life stories of her allies in Congress. Perhaps President Trump should be tweeting something like this:
The other Progressive Democrat Congresswomen, who work together, aren’t in the same category as Ilhan Omar. While they all attack America and defend bad foreign governments, only Omar was born outside America…
All the other Progressive Democrat Congresswomen were blessed to be born here but show hate for our country and want to change America to be like the countries so many people are leaving to come here…
My mistake: the “Progressive Democrat Congresswomen” only sound like government mouthpieces from countries whose people these Democrats support more than our legal immigrants and long time American citizens who are ethnic minorities…
Sad, contempt for America is homegrown through our schools and media. The Progressive Democrat Congresswomen, except Congresswoman Omar, have contempt for the country of their birth and success, America. They should go to their hometowns and count the blessings of being born here.
I don’t say President Trump has thrown away the 2020 election. He continues to have strength among the “battle ground states,” with a diverse range of voters who “love him because he listens.” Indeed, there is growing bipartisan buzz that President Trump will be reelected. There is even talk of Democrats worrying about holding the House.
[Monday midday update]
To this end, President Trump has both worked and communicated tirelessly to win over voters who no Republican has ever really fought for in past elections. What do you think the president is doing when he reels off “best African-American employment rate ever, most Latinos, most women working ever?” Stop and really think on this: why does he recite these figures every week, virtually every time he steps in front of any microphone?
You will not get the obvious answer from conservative talk radio or pundits, entrenched in what has always worked for them with their audience. Indeed, Monday morning found talk show hosts pretending President Trump was only tweeting about one congresswoman (don’t believe your lying eyes), or waving it off as Trump being Trump (no big deal if he scratches an Archie Bunker itch), and after all the congresswomen had it coming. The messaging only reinforces core support while amplifying the old message that minorities don’t matter to Republican election plans. Contrast this response to Tucker Carlson getting fired up and hectoring the administration anytime he senses the president steering foreign policy towards the dreaded “neocons.”
Sadly, there is no public voice, besides the president, invested in expanding the electoral coalition, in confounding the Democrats’ plan for long term demographic dominance. President Trump has sought to do well by doing good for demographic groups long written off, taken for granted, by both parties. Now, as he seeks to close the deal, he has made a misstep with people who have never voted for a Republican before, but who he is striving to sell on himself.
I do say President Trump put words on virtual paper that will be rammed down every Republican’s throat. He needs to turn the conversation, again, and not in the good loser direction. Roll out a string of tweets like I suggest above and everyone can say “I don’t need to defend the President’s tweets; President Trump has corrected them completely.”
Published in Politics
He was talking specifically about me. As we now know through Trump’s example, if you don’t use names and speak generally, you’re actually referring to specific people.
Well, I know if I want non-fringe opinions I definitely go straight to Richard Spencer.
Honestly, is there any club you aren’t willing to pick up over Trump? From what I hear Richard Spencer thinks Rep. Omar is just great…but then I don’t hold the opinions of random nutjobs against people.
Orange Man Bad!
FaceApp: the Russians now say … ‘all your face are belong to us’
I don’t even have Facebook but for some reason multiple people have sent me pictures of old me.
When everything is racist, nothing is. Blame the Leftists (and NeverTrumpers) who cried wolf over and over again.
The Leftists have worked very hard to create this ‘identity’ based cultural environment so they can play the role of the victim which seems to be their nature.
Needs a stogie.
Clifford, I think that you’re wrong. I see your point, but the President is adopting a different strategy. Given his improbable victories in 2016, I’m inclined to trust his strategy.
The strategy is to make AOC and her fellow Squad nut-jobs appear to be the face of the Democratic Party. He wants the attention focused on them.
He also wants to make it clear that all of the Dems base their politics on the false charge of racism.
Notice, also, how he played Pelosi, as you document. Here’s the sequence:
Mission accomplished, perhaps. The nut-jobs are revealed for what they are; Pelosi is revealed either as a nut-job herself or — better still — it is demonstrated that, for some bizarre reason, the moderate Democrats always side with the nut-jobs.
This may or may not work out well.
What might help would be for you, Clifford, and other (more prominent) Conservative commentators to stop piling on Trump about stuff like this. Just let his strategy play out without comment.
I used to have hair! Damn, I would love to have white hair!
Later Note: Opps. I just noticed the FaceApp notation in the bottom corner.
I guess by his logic, any criticism of the Congressional Black Caucus is racist. I guess we can never criticize anyone with skin color that is not white.
Ask him if he is critical of the Congressional Black Caucus. If he says yes, then he’s a racist too. By his own logic.
How come you’re not wearing a dress shirt? You look like some Lib who refuses to grow up. :-P (I’m kidding)
You obviously no nothing about Richard Spencer. Perhaps people might consider him an Islamaphobe – I don’t but it’s within the realm of argument – but white supremacist? Pfft, that’s laughable and ignorant of Spencer.
I think you’re getting Robert Spencer and Richard Spencer mixed up.
Oh. Perhaps I did. I don’t know who Richard Spencer is. @rgbact I apologize on that.
I did a double take too when I first heard the story. I kept thinking that they meant Robert. :-)
I’ve done that a couple of times too.
I got similar comments about criticism of McSally’s conduct of her 2018 Senate campaign. My criticism is carefully focused and you have skipped entirely over my central, basic point. Tell me again how you reconcile your account of recent events as a strategy with President Trump’s daily recital of great good news for African-Americans. Why do you think this matters to him, or are you saying it really doesn’t?
You two are, by far, the best Arizona attorney writers in Ricochet. I would pay money to watch you debate.
An excellent and surprising post. Good job.
No problem. Glad I held off on tearing into you for that. I think pre-Charlottesville, I had them confused too, now that I think back.
Damn, that Trump 4D chess is working like a charm. 5 days into his master strategy, and America can totally see that theres no racism or xenophobia in the GOP. Its fake news. The nutjobs have indeed been revealed. How could we doubt such political brilliance. I’m going on an 8 hr Scott Adams Youtube binge to punish myself for doubting.
Yeah, come back when you have it all figured out.