The former one-term president slapped the man seen as his primary threat, Florida Gov. Ron DeSandis, with the label “DeSanctimonious” and tried a racially-tinged moniker for Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngin as he tries to fend off any challengers for his party’s 2024 nomination. For Trump, who has long seen himself as a wrecking ball within the party, it’s pretty much the same playbook he ran in his successful 2016 campaign and his failed 2020 re-election campaign. But it comes as a growing chorus of Republicans blames him for their weaker-than-expected performance in Tuesday’s congressional elections, and when Trump may need to build support across the party rather than alienate it. In the past, Republican luminaries such as former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Congressman Paul Ryan and conservative outlets such as Fox News Channel and the Wall Street Journal have criticized Trump for entering the midterms, arguing that his involvement encouraged Democratic turnout and alienated independent voters. . Trump in turn fired back, accusing the media without evidence of favoring De Sandys in a conspiracy to deny him the nomination. Trump has a history of marginalizing opponents with derisive nicknames and rallying supporters against them, as he did in 2016 with opponents like Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio. “He frames people and allows his supporters to tear them down,” said a Republican strategist from Florida, who asked not to be identified to protect his relationship with Trump.
ALLIES ARE TRYING TO BREAK TRUMP
But recognizing that the political landscape since 2016 may have changed significantly, those around Trump are trying to get him to tone down his image, fearing that his fire-and-brimstone rhetoric is alienating many voters who might like the his policies but hungry for some normality, a senior adviser told Reuters. There is also an effort underway to get Trump to focus less on past grievances. “The 2016 campaign was about solving problems and offering ideas. We’re trying to get him to talk about the future. We’ll see what happens,” the adviser said. With the party split, some of Trump’s allies are already trying to publicly demonstrate their loyalty. Elise Stefanik, the No. 3 Republican in the US House of Representatives, endorsed him on Friday, as he has yet to start running and the party’s first primary is more than a year away. Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green said on Twitter that successful Republican governors should stay in office and not try to run for president. Neither DeSantis, who was convincingly re-elected to a second term on Tuesday, nor Youngkin, a first-term governor, has announced a presidential run, although DeSantis is reportedly strongly considering a bid. In a Friday post on his Truth Social network, Trump called Youngkin “Young Kin” and said, “Sounds Chinese, doesn’t it?” Youngkin is not Chinese. A day earlier, Trump posted a lengthy rant about DeSandis that again called him Ron “DeSanctimonious” and said he owed his political fortune to Trump. Two Florida Republicans close to DeSantis predicted the governor would be reticent to respond immediately, keeping his focus on the state’s recovery from Hurricane Ian and policy issues. By sitting out the fray for now, they said, DeSantis would underscore how his governing style differs from Trump’s more combative and less policy-focused approach, they said. Trump’s early presidential announcement, set for Tuesday, could be seen as an attempt to clear the field before the race even begins, but sharp criticism within the party suggests that won’t happen. Republicans were expected to take control of the House by a wide margin, but as of Friday they were far from certain of taking power as votes continued to be counted in several races. In the Senate, Trump-backed candidates in states like Pennsylvania and Georgia stumbled, and his Arizona pick, Blake Masters, appeared on track to lose to Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly. Report by James Oliphant and Gram Slattery. additional reporting by Jarrett Renshaw. Editing by Scott Malone and Alistair Bell Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Slattery grams Thomson Reuters Washington-based correspondent covering campaigns and Congress. Previously published in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Santiago, Chile, it has been widely reported throughout Latin America. Winner of the 2021 Reuters Journalist Award in the business coverage category for a series on corruption and fraud in the oil industry. He was born in Massachusetts and graduated from Harvard College.
