Donald Trump returned to the rally stage Saturday night, holding a raucous event in Georgia. Ostensibly billed as a kickoff for Herschel Walker's run for the U.S. Senate, much of Trump's boilerplate campaign speech was highlighted. It once again fueled the "will he or won't he" speculation regarding a potential 2024 presidential run.
But as sure as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, you can always count on Trump's political nemeses to misconstrue his remarks.
In the hours after the rally, Democrats appeared to be giddy over the fact that Trump had seemingly endorsed Stacey Abrams for governor of Georgia. But it doesn't take a genius to realize that wasn't the case at all.
What Trump was actually doing, as anyone who has a grasp on politics knows, is that he was praising Abrams for being honest about who and what she really is. There's no mistaking the fact that she is an ultra-liberal Democrat. Trump's remarks about Abrams were really a dig at Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. That was Trump's way of calling Kemp a RINO. Abrams has never given anyone a reason to question her ideology. For Kemp, it's a different story.
Trump spent much of the evening criticizing Kemp and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, along with other Republicans in Georgia and across the nation. For all of Trump's policy successes, his biggest achievement may have been a political one. He's done a marvelous job of exposing the RINOs who seem more inclined to side with Democrats than stay true to their own professed principles.
As can be expected, this doesn't go over well with the establishment; the "go along to get along" and "we've always done it this way" crowd. True to form, it didn't take long after Saturday's rally for various left-leaning online outlets to start quoting Republicans saying how upset they were with Trump for calling out Kemp and Raffensperger. Most were anonymous, but a few people who were identified as former Republican officials weighed in. And the Trump haters were more than glad to give these triggered RINOs a platform.
Trump's base within the Republican Party is made up of people who are tired of business as usual. They like the fact that he has turned conventional politics on its head. They've seen where the old practices have gotten them. They want someone to stand up to the establishment and the political machine. They want the swamp drained and they realize that government is dominated by a "uniparty."
This is something that Trump's detractors, both liberal Democrats and establishment Republicans, fail to realize. They're quick to claim "fascism" and "trampling on the Constitution"and make other baseless accusations, but when challenged to provide proof, they can't. Conservatives may want the system torn down, but they want it demolished and rebuilt in accordance with our founding guidelines.
So-called Republicans who find themselves drawing ire from the grassroots may want to ask themselves why that is. Why are these people who may have supported them in the past now angry with them? These voters' views didn't change.
Any number of GOP politicians could have tapped into the populace's dissatisfaction. Trump was able to do it successfully. No one who wants to return to the days of yore, when style mattered more than substance, is going to succeed in this environment.
In the meantime, it's fun to watch Trump's opponents and detractors misconstrue his words and totally get his appeal to his base wrong. There are still people who think Trump's "Russia, are you listening?"joke was a serious request. So, anytime you see some liberal Web site or wishy-washy Republican politician complaining about something the former presidents says or does, rest assured he's over the target.
