In the wake of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s exit from his failed independent bid for president, Republicans were giddy at his endorsement, and that (re)endorsement of former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard a few days later. In their minds, it was but the beginning of a flood of Democratic defections to Donald Trump.
That never happened. But Republicans sure are defecting to the Democratic ticket!
It’s hard to understate just how excited conservatives were.
"We now have a trio of Power Rangers who can swoop right into the middle of the rival party and convince traditional Democrats that it's OK to leave a party that left them,” a senior Trump adviser told conservative outlet Just the News, founded by former Washington Examiner editor John Solomon, back on Aug. 24. The quote was so ridiculous, that this “senior Trump adviser” was too embarrassed to put his name on it.
The third “Power Ranger” is Elon Musk, who is an independent.
"I think that the Trump people should package Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F Kennedy Jr, together, and they would—as joint former Democrat witnesses about the corruption of the system—be devastating,” said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich on the “John Solomon Reports” podcast, apparently with a straight face.
“[I]t shows you that today's Democratic Party is leaving these people behind. Today's Democratic Party is so radical, so dangerous, so progressive, that there are millions of Democrats who are leaving that party every day," said Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley to Just the News. "We're seeing thousands of them that are coming our way.”
Yeah, no they’re not. In fact, their endorsements only serve to remind voters of how weird and creepy Republicans are.
Kennedy was funded by right-wing donors in order to take votes from the Democratic ticket, and was so batshit crazy that he repelled weirded-out Democrats and ended up taking votes from the Republican ticket. He would’ve stayed in if any Democrats were actually interested in what he was selling.
And to drive the point home, as soon as he dropped out, he signed on to one of the dumbest conspiracy theories in history—the one about chemtrails.
That might not be the best way to attract “traditional Democrats,” though it could very well repel Republicans.
Musk, long lost to the fever swamps of the right, isn’t attracting any Democrats anytime soon. On Sunday, Musk tweeted “interesting observation” at an incel posting that women and “low T men” shouldn’t be allowed to vote. “Only high T alpha males and aneurotypical people (hey autists!) are actually free to parse new information with an objective ‘is this true?’ filter,” the weirdo wrote. “This is why a Republic of high status males is best for decision making. Democratic, but a democracy only for those who are free to think.”
Not really the sort of thing any campaign should be associating with, even if this is the sort of material Sen. JD Vance might embrace.
Gabbard hasn’t damaged Trump by association this past week simply because she hasn’t said anything publicly. She’s supposedly helping Trump with debate prep, playing the role of Vice President Kamala Harris. But nothing in her history suggests she’ll attract traditional Democrats. She lost the plot a long time ago.
Trump’s backers sure are excited about those three, but what about all the Republicans who are abandoning Trump in droves?
Not a single former Republican president (George W. Bush), former vice president (Mike Pence, Dick Cheney, Dan Quayle), or presidential nominee (Mitt Romney) has endorsed Trump. Two of the four living Republican ex-House Speakers, Paul Ryan and John Boehner, have moved on from Trump. (He’s still got Gingrich and Kevin McCarthy.)
Of the 44 former Trump cabinet members, only four have publicly endorsed him.
Meanwhile, in addition to fully consolidating her own party, Harris is also cleaning up with Republican endorsements. So far, she has garnered:
Do endorsements influence voter decisions? Not really, particularly at the top of the ticket where the candidates are universally known by the electorate. But it adds yet another bit of stress for a Trump campaign desperate to regain momentum.
It’s hard to brag about kooky Gabbard and Kennedy when hundreds of Republicans are herding over to the Democratic tent.
Chip in $5 or more to keep the Harris-Walz momentum going!