Successful vendetta How Trump eliminates his opponents in cold blood
Donald Trump's poll ratings are in the basement, and majorities could topple in the mid-term elections. However, he has a stranglehold on his party like never before - and is clearing several critics out of the way.
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- Donald Trump has once again impressively demonstrated his power in the Republican Party.
- All of the candidates he supported won internal party primaries.
- This brought Trump's months-long vendetta to a successful conclusion. Several internal party opponents were eliminated.
Things are actually not going well for the US President at the moment. The Iran war is extremely unpopular with the people and the rising cost of living is causing problems for citizens. Accordingly, Trump is doing badly in the polls.
But Trump's Republican Party is as firmly in his grip as ever, as his latest vendetta shows. In a months-long campaign, Trump sawed off dozens of opponents within the party. The crowning glory followed on Tuesday: Donald Trump once again demonstrated his power in the Republican Party in internal party primaries. Trump-supported candidates were successful in numerous states, while some of the president's opponents lost by a wide margin.
After all these years, it is still clear that anyone who opposes Trump is politically finished - just like Bill Cassidy. The Louisiana senator was one of the few Republicans to vote for Trump's impeachment in 2020.
"It's nice that his political career is over!"
Since then, Cassidy has tried in vain several times to mend his relationship with Trump. The final straw came on Saturday, when he was soundly defeated in the Republican primary in the southern state by Julia Letlow, who was supported by Trump. Shortly after his defeat, Trump let Cassidy know why he was denied a third term as a senator: "disloyalty"
The US President savored his triumph over his former opponent: "It's nice to see that his political career is over!"
Trump also had a score to settle with Brad Raffensperger, with the events of 2020 also playing a key role. The Secretary of State in Geogia had dared to abide by the law at the time and refused to give Trump the 11,779 votes he was missing in Georgia against Joe Biden, who was ultimately elected.
In the primary election for the governorship in Georgia, Raffensperger was ultimately defeated by billionaire Rick Jackson and Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones, who both made it to the run-off.
Numerous politicians were defeated by their challengers
Trump concluded his vendetta with success against Thomas Massie. The race was particularly in the spotlight among the many primaries. This is because the member of the House of Representatives had repeatedly opposed Trump in recent years and is one of the few vocal critics in Congress. For example, he opposed the president's most important domestic spending package and in particular the war in Iran. He was also the one who, together with Democrat Ro Khanna, pushed forward the law for the publication of the investigation files in the case of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Reason enough for Trump to "vote this good-for-nothing out of office". Massie's opponent Ed Gallrein, massively supported by Trump, ultimately emerged victorious in the landmark primary elections in Kentucky. Of course, Trump did not leave this success uncommented: "He was a bad guy. He deserved to lose."
In the weeks before, numerous other Republican politicians had already lost to their Trump-backed challengers, including several senators in Indiana who had opposed Trump's plans to redraw constituencies.
"The most valuable asset is Trump's support"
No price is apparently too high for Trump and his allies to put his opponents out of business. Because the primary in Kentucky became the most expensive in US history to date. According to media reports, Trump's allies and several pro-Israeli groups spent 32 million dollars to defeat Massie. After his defeat, he expressed his dismay: "In this country, you long for someone who puts principles above party affiliation."
Trump's successful vendetta shows once again that anyone who opposes the US president will be politically eliminated. "Trump has once again demonstrated his power within the Republican Party," says Trey Grayson, the former Secretary of State of Kentucky. And Josh McKoon, head of the Republican Party in Georgia, emphasizes: "The most valuable asset in the Republican primaries - not just in Georgia, but in the whole country - is Donald Trump's support."
The President knows this too - and never misses an opportunity to remind his opponents of this. His postings on Truth Social read like the chronology of an internal party purge. Trump himself summarizes how successful this was on his social network: All 37 of the candidates* he supported won their respective primaries.
The final victory in Texas could follow next week. There, the state's controversial Attorney General Ken Paxton had secured the president's support to oust four-term incumbent Republican Senator John Cornyn in the primary run-off. There are many indications that Trump will also win this race.
Test in November
For Trump, the primaries were ultimately a successful test of how well he can mobilize the Republican voter base. However, the decisive test will come in November. This is when the midterms are held, in which the House of Representatives and part of the Senate will be re-elected.
If the Republicans lose their currently wafer-thin majority in even one of the two chambers, Trump will no longer be able to push through any major legislative initiatives. He may also have to prepare for further impeachment proceedings.
