Donald Trump’s emperor-has-no-clothes second | CNN Politics

CNN  — 

Donald Trump is all about profitable.

“We’re going to win a lot,” he mentioned on the marketing campaign path in 2016. “You’re going to get bored with profitable. You’re going to say, ‘Please Mr. President, I’ve a headache. Please, don’t win a lot. That is getting horrible.’ And I’m going to say, ‘No, we have now to make America nice once more.’ You’re gonna say, ‘Please.’ I mentioned, ‘Nope, nope. We’re gonna preserve profitable.’”

Trump’s complete persona is wrapped up on this notion that – with apologies to DJ Khaled – all he does is win. In his view, he’s the final word winner in life – He’s wealthy! He’s profitable! He’s well-known! – and the one individuals who don’t acknowledge which might be the haters and the losers.

Besides that, in politics at the very least, Trump has misplaced an entire lot greater than he has gained.

Trump gained the 2016 presidential race, sure. However since then the next issues have occurred:

* Republicans misplaced management of the Home in 2018.

* Trump misplaced the White Home in 2020.

* Republicans misplaced management of the Senate in 2021.

* Republicans dramatically underperformed regardless of excessive expectations within the 2022 midterm elections.

It’s that decidedly spotty file {that a} new op-ed from the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board zeroes in on because it makes the case that it’s time for the Republican Get together to maneuver on from the previous president.

“Mr. Trump has botched the 2022 elections, and it may hand Democrats the Senate for 2 extra years,” reads the op-ed. “Mr. Trump had coverage successes as President, together with tax cuts and deregulation, however he has led Republicans into one political fiasco after one other.”

Sure, precisely that!

One of many extra confounding issues about Trump’s continued enchantment to the Republican Get together – at the very least to me – is his capacity to keep up his place of energy regardless of demonstrably poor outcomes. Simply 39% of the midterm voters seen him favorably, based on national exit polling.

There’s actually no doubt about Trump’s file because the chief of the Republican Get together. He has overseen appreciable setbacks and disappointing performances repeatedly. He has pushed candidates with restricted enchantment outdoors of probably the most excessive components of the Republican base who’ve failed to return near victory in winnable seats. He has alienated moderates, independents and even a good chunk of Republicans as effectively.

If ANY different politician had the type of electoral file that Trump boasts, it’s arduous for me to think about politicians would proceed paying obeisance to them. Actually, there would seemingly be some effort to push that politician to the facet – and eliminate the whiff of defeat.

Why hasn’t that occurred with Trump? Nicely, it’s at the very least partly as a result of Trump has by no means conceded defeat – whether or not within the 2020 election or in any of the opposite contests I discussed above.

“Whereas in sure methods yesterday’s election was considerably disappointing, from my private standpoint it was a really huge victory – 219 WINS and 16 losses within the Basic – Who has ever executed higher than that,” Trump mentioned on his Fact Social web site on Wednesday.

The information, nevertheless, are the information. Trump has misplaced at each flip since his beautiful 2016 win. The query now’s whether or not Republican voters get up to that reality.