While Trumpism might be here to stay, Donald Trump himself might be finally done if he loses in November.
Washington Post columnist Philip Bump penned the potential future in a Friday piece that the end might be on the horizon.
Among his observations when comparing the Republican and Democratic conventions is that Democrats had scores of elected officials, former presidents, famous singers and actors, and streaming influencers eager to promote Vice President Kamala Harris and her campaign. On the Republican side, the options were sparse.
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"Several of those offering testimonials on Trump’s behalf, for example, were people employed at Trump Organization properties," said Bump. "There were more people on Trump’s corporate payroll there to tout his candidacy than there were former Republican presidents or presidential candidates."
The reason so few popular or historic GOP leaders were willing to step up, he wrote, is "Trump [has] been successful in winnowing the party down to the most Trump-loyal elements."
He cited The Wall Street Journal column from conservative Peggy Noonan, who described the GOP convention as what happens when you “cast your history aside.”
But to Bump, "a bowling ball is not casting aside the pins’ history."
Noonan also observed what she described as a theft of "patriotism" and "faith" that once dominated the GOP. Those ideals no longer hold up in a campaign about a person over a movement or slate of policies.
At the start of 2024, Bump said Trump had the "advantage of inertia," but it has become obvious over the past several weeks that he can no longer match what is "new" or "popular."
"Instead of treating Trump as an equal force in the system, the Democrats are now treating him more like a virus," Bump wrote.
Harris's "rhetoric lands differently from outside the fray than from within it," while "Biden was still in that tussle."
"Harris is not engaging with Trump as a representative of a valid position in the political debate but as an outlier," Bump said. And if it is successful it might serve as the end to his political future.
