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“President Joe Biden and his predecessor, Donald Trump, romped coast-to-coast on Super Tuesday, all but cementing a November rematch and increasing pressure on the former president’s last major rival, Nikki Haley, to leave the Republican race.” AP News
The right is generally optimistic about Trump’s chances in the general election.
“At no point did the Republican Party stop being the party of Trump… In his race for the Republican nomination, Trump did not debate, and he barely campaigned. He didn’t elaborate on his policy proposals. Ron DeSantis tried to run against him from the right, Chris Christie from the left, and Nikki Haley from the middle. None of it mattered. All that mattered was that most Republican voters were always with Trump.”
Philip Klein, National Review
“Many Republicans (myself included) may have wished for a Republican nominee who would bring less chaos to the Oval Office. But they can also see the potential for conservative policy victories in a second Trump administration. They see the possibility of another opening on the Supreme Court and the scores of executive branch appointees who dictate how law is implemented…
“The [Biden] administration’s progressive cultural stances, like replacing the word ‘mother’ with ‘birthing person’ in federal budget documents, a national tour to support abortion rights and seeking to defund anti-abortion centers that provide direct services to pregnant moms, limited its ability to appeal to Trump-skeptical cultural conservatives…
“Perceived chaos on the border, the shambolic withdrawal from Afghanistan and tumult in Ukraine and Gaza all make it less, rather than more, likely any wavering Republican voters will be drawn to the Biden-Harris ticket.”
Patrick T. Brown, CNN
“The economic issue is [also] good for Trump and bad for Biden. Voters have decided they fared much better during the Trump years, at least before Covid. Their income went up about 7 percent in real terms. It has gone down about 4.7 percent under Biden. People notice the difference in prices, too, especially at the grocery store and gas pump. They also see them in much higher interest rates if they want to buy a house or car. They are grumpy about Biden trying to squeeze them into electric vehicles, even with huge government incentives, and prohibit gas stoves.”
Charles Lipson, Spectator World
Some argue, “The public mood is set up for what should be a GOP triumph… Mr. Biden’s electoral bargain in 2020 with Bernie Sanders hasn’t paid off as his leftward policy lurch has produced a popular backlash. The 2020 coalition that elected him is fraying, as Hispanics, black men, young voters and independents turn away. Yet the polls show Mr. Biden is only down from two to five points in head-to-head polling despite all of his political infirmities. And that’s the gamble the GOP is taking by elevating Mr. Trump one more time.”
Editorial Board, Wall Street Journal
The left focuses on potential weaknesses for Trump in the general election.
The left focuses on potential weaknesses for Trump in the general election.
“There wasn’t much drama Tuesday… Despite a disastrous four years in office, two impeachments, four indictments, and one violent insurrection, polls suggest Trump’s running even with or leading Biden in the general election. This all comes as Biden has overseen a strong economy and an impressive list of accomplishments in this divided Washington…
“It’s bad enough to elect Donald Trump president once. The fact that there’s a chance, let alone a good chance, that he could win out a second time, even after voters lived through four years of his leadership? That speaks not only to the cynicism and cravenness of the GOP, but also to the dysfunction of this country’s politics.”
Eric Lutz, Vanity Fair
“For Trump, the signals were again mixed, with some significant warning signs. Trump became the first of the two major candidates to actually lose a state, with Nikki Haley winning Vermont… In addition to Vermont, Haley’s effective protest candidacy was winning 35 percent of the vote in Massachusetts and Virginia, 34 percent in Colorado, and earning strong showings in Maine, Minnesota and North Carolina…
“Lots of voters are still coming out for her in a no-doubter contest… Early exit polls show about 4 in 5 Haley voters declined to commit to backing the GOP nominee in November. About 3 in 10 GOP primary voters there said Trump wouldn’t be fit to be president if he’s convicted of a crime. That’s down slightly from neighboring South Carolina, which is redder, which might suggest this sentiment is declining — but only slightly.”
Aaron Blake, Washington Post
“Despite never having a chance at winning, Haley’s quest quickly became quixotic, exposing cracks in Trump’s election strategy and structure. After all, Trump has always run on appealing to the GOP base’s basest nature. He won by shifting the electorate, getting traditionally low-turnout voters to vote for him. If that base’s enthusiasm falters even a little bit, that alone could be enough for Biden to hold on to the presidency…
“Trump may have ‘won’ Super Tuesday, and he will win the GOP nomination, but this is a president who has never once had any interest in growing his base. He is a president for primary voters only. And Trump has not become a more disciplined politician in his older age…
“A few months ago, he mused that he would lock up his political enemies. Trump also mused that he would create massive deportation squads. Even Steve Bannon said, as reported by Media matters, ‘Mass deportations are going to start, if you don’t like that, then don’t vote for President Trump.’ Talk about a unifying message.”
Molly Jong-Fast, MSNBC
