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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums" We have to be prepared for Trump losing" - Laura Ingraham at dinner party
WE HAVE TO BE PREPARED FOR TRUMP LOSING: AS CHAOS ENGULFS TRUMP CAMPAIGN, INGRAHAM, OTHER LOYALISTS LOOK FOR THE NEXT THING
BY GABRIEL SHERMAN
JULY 8, 2020
A couple of weeks ago, Roger Ailess widow, Elizabeth, invited Fox News host Laura Ingraham and a few others for dinner at her $36 million Palm Beach home. The political conversation around the table was melancholy, a person familiar with the gathering recalled. With COVID cases hitting record highs and Donald Trumps poll numbers going in the opposite direction, guests agreed that Trump is probably incapable, or unwilling, to take steps to turn things around. We have to be prepared for Trump losing, Ingraham told her dinner companions, according to the source. Perhaps anticipating that Fox News could pivot in a post-Trump media environment, Ingraham said shes been in talks to take over for Rush Limbaugh, who recently revealed his Stage 4 lung cancer might force him off the radio. Lauras really interested in Rushs job, a person close to Ingraham said. (Ingraham did not respond to a request for comment.)
In the days since the Palm Beach dinner, Trumps political standing has slipped further. On Tuesday, Trumps favorite pollster, Scott Rasmussen, released a poll showing Trump at 39% approval, the lowest number Rasmussen has ever recorded for Trump. Trumps popularity among Republicans dropped four points since mid-June, to 80%. The dismal polling is one reason why visible cracks in Trumps Republican firewall are increasing. Staunch Trump ally Lindsey Graham, facing a tough reelection, broke with Trump this week over the presidents Twitter attack on Black NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace and Trumps defense of the Confederate flag. Yesterday aides to Senators Mitt Romney, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski said the three senators would not be attending the Republican convention next month in Jacksonville (if the convention even takes place, as Trump has backed away from his plan to deliver an indoor convention speech in front of 15,000 people).
At a moment when he needs to calm restive Republicans, Trump may antagonize them further by commuting Roger Stones 40-month sentence. According to sources, Trump has told people he wants to commute Stones sentence before Stone reports to prison on July 14. Rumors swirled over the weekend that Trump would announce it on Sunday night. Sources say the West Wing is at war over a possible Stone commutation. White House counsel Pat Cipollone is against the move, and even Attorney General Bill Barr is opposed. Barr has told Trump not to do it, and if he does there will be a mutiny at DOJ, said a source briefed on the internal debates. People close to Trump fear he wont listen. You cant underestimate how hard it is to get information through to him, a Republican close to the White House said. When you talk to him, he just talks at you. He doesnt like to read memos, so theres not really a way to get through to him. Everyone agrees. (The White House declined to comment).
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/07/chaos-engulfs-trump-campaign
LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)he'll go full-on Caligula-style politics which, given the right temperature and cooking time, could really hurt ant remaining chances for the GOP to keep the Senate.
Skittles
(153,182 posts)SHAME ON YOU LAURA
Scruffy1
(3,256 posts)They are all just a bunch of frauds who only care about making money. They are in a gold mine preying on the the uneducated and ignorant and have got wealthy doing it. These grifters will find a new "thing" soon enough.
jeffreyi
(1,943 posts)And associated economic and social catastrophe.
TheCowsCameHome
(40,168 posts)Screw you, sister.
Tech
(1,771 posts)Marie Marie
(9,999 posts)trashing Biden non stop. Much easier job for them rather than trying to defend the indefensible.