To some, Trump’s announcement at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday was music to their ears. It was the revival they had been waiting for after two years of a Biden administration that was not even a return to the swamp, but a deep-dive into the La Brea Tar Pits. As before, they were weary of being called names, lampooned, and now vilified as Mega-MAGA Republicans and a threat to the general welfare. (Incidentally, I thought the Democrats had all of the creative people on their side. Couldn’t they have done better than Mega-MAGA? It sounds like an ad for a monster truck show.)
But this time around, they, like many Americans, have been beset by inflation at the pumps and in the stores, a historic military blunder overseas, government overreach, and the corruption of their children. Not to mention the fear of a national government weaponizing itself against dissenters or exploiting the common man. So for those people, Trump’s announcement was a long-awaited breath of fresh air. No doubt, Democrats are equally enamored of the idea, since they can re-start the keening, wailing, gnashing-of-teeth, and calls-to-arms that served them so well in 2020 and the previous four years. Who knows? Don Lemon may even get his old job back.
Not everyone is thrilled. The National Review was one of the first ones off the starting block, with a piece by the editors simply entitled “No.” While giving a nod to Trump’s accomplishments in office, the article cited the chaotic and erratic nature of the administration, the high turnover in staff, and the loss of two Georgia Senate seats as indicators of Trump’s inability to lead. Among other things.
But Trump and the MAGA faithful are facing other challenges. Now that Mitch McConnell is secure in his position as Senate Minority Leader, he is free to hold his ground. Breitbart reported that Majority Leader Chuck Schumer made an appearance on CNN’s “This Morning” on the 14th. During the segment, Schumer said that he had plans to talk with McConnell about “ditching” MAGA Republicans. He told Kaitlan Collins:
“I’m going to say to the Republicans in the Senate who are not the MAGA Republicans, stop letting them lead your party. Work with us to get things done. I intend to sit down with Mitch McConnell and express that. I intend to sit down with him and say we should be working together. You’re not going to get the extremists in your party to work with anybody, but the rest of us can work together and get some real things done for the American people.”
Schumer was confident that he would succeed because of the failure of the Red Wave to materialize, crediting that to a fear of MAGA and its inherent threat to democracy. And as this footage courtesy of MRCTV indicates, Schumer likely found a willing ear in McConnell.
Many Americans, even the ones who blanch at the thought of Trump having a second term, do not believe that the MAGA crowd is out to destroy democracy. Or more accurately, the republic. Most people just want their damn lives back. And at this point, anyone who isn’t in lock-step with whatever the current thought meme is can be branded as Mega-MAGA and forced to wear a scarlet M. And that includes moderates who appreciated some aspects of Trump while disliking others. And one thing is clear: No matter what your opinions on Trump may be, Schumer and McConnell are fairly fossilized into their positions, and they aren’t ready to give up the power and paychecks quite yet. The status quo is working too well for them, even if it isn’t for the rest of us.
If anything, it’s time for old men to get out of Washington. And I say that a man who is in the second half of middle age. Or as my wife likes to remind me, closer to 60 than 50. Whether it’s Trump, DeSantis, or a player-to-be-named-later, the nation cannot continue on this trajectory. Somebody has to clean house.
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