Trump can’t help being his awful self. – by Paul Mirengoff

For decades, the GOP was known as the stupid party. I went along with the joke, but never thought Republicans were less intelligent than Democrats.

Until the party s lengthy love affair with Donald Trump.

It s not just that Trump is an appallingly dishonest narcissist. It s also that he has led the party to three consecutive defeats, yet is still its champion.

Trump did pull off a narrow victory in 2016. It helped that his opponent was massively unpopular (as Trump is now) to the point that I believe any credible Republican nominee would have defeated her. But we ll never know.

We do know that Republicans have suffered three consecutive election defeats with Trump as their champion. The 2018 and 2020 defeats were referenda on his character and presidency. The 2022 election was decided by a referendum on the weak, and in some cases ridiculous, candidates he propelled to nomination for key Senate seats.

All three elections went poorly. Yet, the Republicans have nominated Trump again.

How did it happen? The answer resides to a significant extent in the most damning fact about Republican intelligence. Trump managed, without sufficient evidence, to convince a big majority of Republicans that his defeat was not legitimate.

The GOP candidate should win this year s presidential election fairly comfortably. The nation is dissatisfied with the Biden administration, and although Biden has been replaced, the candidate who replaced him is (1) the number-two person in that same unpopular administration and (2) a candidate of less than middling political talent.

Yet, this mediocrity has pulled about even with Trump in the polls. Why?

The main reason is that Trump is unpopular. With a president who manifestly isn t up to the job no longer on the ticket, the focus once again is on Trump, which is exactly where both he and Harris want it.

via ringsideatthereckoning.substack.com

True dat.