If we assume that the only way out of Trump’s legal troubles now is for him to assume control over the Justice Department and direct it toward his preferred ends, well, that does spare us from having to parse the recklessness of Trump’s on-camera confession to allegations of obstruction. But in the crassest political terms, I’m not sure Trump did himself too many favors.
Yes, he provided his supporters with some rhetorical ammunition to make it through a taxing news cycle. But when prompted by Bret Baier to allay Republican voters’ concerns that he can win the White House again, Trump declined the opportunity. Instead, he did what Republican voters don’t like that much: He insisted that he is the rightful president right now in all but the official capacity.
To quote from today’s Morning Jolt:
“First of all, I won in 2020 by a lot, ok?” the former president asserted. “Let’s get that straight. I won in 2020.” There is little appetite to indulge that fantasy at the post-Dominion settlement Fox News Channel, and Baier pushed back. “That’s not what the votes show,” he replied. To this gentle admonition, Trump released a furious blizzard of tendentious and easily falsifiable allegations of voter fraud.
“You take a look at Truth the Vote, where they have people stuffing the ballot boxes on tapes,” he insisted. “Bret, you take a look at all of the stuffed ballots,” he advised. “You take a look at all of the things, including things like the 51 intelligence agents,” he continued. “FBI Twitter,” he inscrutably argued in what I assure you was a complete sentence. “All corrupt stuff, Bret.”
In a CBS News survey published in the immediate aftermath of his indictment by the Justice Department, Republican primary voters were asked what issues they would like to see the former president focus on most. And this isn’t it. Ninety-six percent of surveyed voters would prefer to hear about Trump’s plans for the country, vs. 4 percent who would not. Thirty-nine percent favor a focus on the investigations against him, vs. 61 percent who do not. And 32 percent would rather hear about what happened in 2020 vs. 68 percent who would rather not. For as much as they tell pollsters they believe Trump won in 2020, they don’t like to hear Trump himself rehash his electoral grievances. Maybe they just want to hear a more forward-looking vision for the future of the country. Perhaps they think his obsession with perceived slights is a distraction. But maybe it’s something deeper . . .
There is no question that the former president can out-charisma any of his Republican-primary opponents. But for Trump’s calculation to work, his voters also have to believe he can win the 2024 election. Reminding those voters that this commanding presence was somehow cheated out of the election even when he controlled the executive branch may produce pangs of doubt in Trump’s ability to deliver.