Trump baggage is a load for GOP to carry
Former President Donald Trump and former first lady Melania Trump after announcing a third run for president, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, Tuesday. Credit: AP/Rebecca Blackwell
Ambitious Republicans have begun, at this late date, to stray from the Donald Trump chorus.
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the GOP needs a leader who isn’t “claiming victimhood.” Former Vice President Mike Pence says “we’ll have better choices” than Trump in 2024. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dismissed the ex-president’s candidacy by citing the national party’s “underwhelming” midterm record.
From his perch in retirement, former White House chief of staff John Kelly reveals that Trump in office demanded IRS probes of his perceived enemies, echoing Richard Nixon’s famous abuse of his authority.
Add that to Trump's usurping secret documents, his incitement of the Capitol violence, his dubious business practices, his sneering at various laws, and his attempt to use Ukraine's government to smear Democrats. He told the party organization whom to support, selfishly or not, and all along it obeyed.
State and national party dynamics matter locally. Through his career in the State Senate and in Congress, Rep. Lee Zeldin adhered to the leadership of the party caucus. He voted with House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy against a bipartisan infrastructure bill worth billions to his state. No one could justifiably call Zeldin a Republican In Name Only.
After a strong showing for governor last week, especially on Long Island, Zeldin helped the state GOP look like a party revived and on the move. He said Republicans "need to go to all communities no matter how blue they are, show up often, build relationships and advance our proposals." Zeldin cited issues from schools to mental health and public safety.
Now a rumored contender for state or national party leadership, Zeldin also urged those working in future campaigns to make sure people “know what you stand for and not just what you are against.”
This upbeat postelection pitch contrasted sharply with Trump’s grim, spite-riddled election announcement. In case you missed it, the defeated 45th president suggested on Tuesday that America will be doomed to darkness and radical dystopia unless he returns to power. Ever the fabulist, he tried to spin his chaotic term as a golden period of wealth and peace.
As an institution, New York Republicans are getting a very late start resisting Trump’s tyrannical whims as national party leader.
Notably, Nick Langworthy beat toxic Trump ally Carl Paladino in a Western New York primary for the House seat Langworthy just won. But as state GOP chairman, Langworthy hauled his share of Trump baggage. Only nine months ago, he and two other members of the Republican National Committee from New York voted to censure Republican Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois. Their sin was to join a House committee investigating Trump’s schemes to nullify Joe Biden’s legitimate election.
Would-be executives need to project independent leadership. That's a credibility problem for the potential presidential field. Pompeo never protested Trump's use of the State Department for Ukraine treachery. Pence rebuffed Trump's unconstitutional demands at a key moment, but served as his evangelical cheerleader before that. DeSantis, too, rode the Trump train.
Who could galvanize a unified GOP? To find out, the Republicans will need to function again as an American political party — with a real platform and competitive races — rather than one man's playground full of taunts and slogans. That's when the post-Trump era will begin.
Columnist Dan Janison's opinions are his own.
Dan Janison is a member of the Newsday editorial board.
