Former President Donald Trump’s remarks at a Pennsylvania rally on Saturday could have a galvanizing effect in the wake of Democratic attacks on “Make America Great Again” Republicans, some hope, after months of investigations and hearings that have prompted allies to keep their distance.
Trump is set to take the stage in Wilkes-Barre at a moment of potential legal peril in the wake of the FBI’s August raid on his Mar-a-Lago residence and days after President Joe Biden put the former president at the center of a blistering attack on MAGA Republicans delivered from Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Behind Biden stood two Marines.
One senior GOP aide said the president’s remarks made him “deeply uncomfortable.”“To quote George W. Bush, that was some weird s**t,” the staffer quipped, referencing the former president’s reaction to Trump’s famously dark inaugural address.
Biden’s remarks had Trump’s associates revising his speech and soliciting outside talking points on Friday.
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In the days leading up to Thursday, aides were focused on ensuring Trump’s message had broad appeal to the Republican base and wanted to craft talking points that wouldn’t “get into legal hot water,” while Republican Party officials were concerned about the midterm elections, according to one former Trump aide.
Now, some think Biden’s rhetoric will rally supporters of the former president who have drifted aside — but only if Trump can stay on message.
Prominent conservative editorial boards at the New York Post and Wall Street Journal have urged the nation to move beyond the former president, arguing that he is “unworthy” of a second term.
“I’m not saying they will jump right back into his camp, but they will soften as long as the president doesn’t step on his own message and make this all about him,” said a former Trump aide.
Democrats are counting on Trump to buck this advice. Biden, for months, has targeted MAGA Republicans after a battleground study led by a top adviser indicated that the strategy could provide an edge to Democrats in the November contests.
The Democratic Party has spent more than $44 million boosting such candidates in an attempt to take control of Congress, viewing the elevation of polarizing political hopefuls as a route to winning elections.
On Thursday, Biden said Trump-aligned Republicans threaten “the very foundations of our republic.”
“They do not believe in the rule of law. They do not recognize the will of the people,” Biden said, arguing that “MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards.”
Some are concerned about a down-ballot effect from Trump’s legal woes.
“The Democrats are closing the gap on us,” a Republican campaign consultant said, noting that Sen. Marco Rubio (FL) was down 4 points against his Democratic opponent, Rep. Val Demings, 44% to 48%. The University of North Florida’s August poll marked a significant erosion for Rubio since holding a 12-percentage-point lead in the same survey last February.
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Biden, despite low approval ratings, holds an edge over Trump, according to a new Wall Street Journal poll.
Sixty-eight percent of respondents said the country was headed in the wrong direction and stressed concerns about the economy and inflation.
But they remain disinclined toward a second Trump term, with Biden leading Trump 50% to 44% in a hypothetical matchup of the 2024 election if it were held today.
