Gilead
Donald Trump
Coup attempt
Fig. 1. “Jake Angeli (Qanon Shaman), seen holding a Qanon sign at the intersection of Bell Rd and 75th Ave in Peoria, Arizona, on 2020 October 15.” Photography by TheUnseen011101 [pseud.], October 15, 2020, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
If you’re looking for further evidence of Donald Trump’s irrelevance, you might find it with the Conservative Political Action Conference, which was simultaneously overwhelmingly dominated by Trump’s supporters and ignored by nearly everyone else.[1] At minimum, this exposes a polarization between Trump’s supporters and other Republicans and while it isn’t like any Trump supporters are going to vote for Democrats if Trump doesn’t win the nomination, at some point in the primaries, a leading candidate will have to confront his loyalists. When that happens, well . . . it ain’t like Trump or his supporters are notorious for gentility—and that’s only gonna turn more folks off.
I cannot now see how Republicans win in 2024. As we saw in the midterms, there’s a large segment of the electorate that’s turned off by Trumpist antics.[2] And as Ron DeSantis goes on his merry way in Florida, Republicans are playing right into a Democratic theme that Republicans are too extreme.
Eric Lutz, “Tucker Carlson Used the January 6 Footage to Try and Gaslight America,” Vanity Fair, March 7, 2023, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/03/tucker-carlson-january-6-footage
Tina Nguyen, “CPACalypse Now,” Puck, March 8, 2023, https://puck.news/cpacalypse-now/
Right-wing militias
Police White supremacist gangs
Fig. 1. Photograph by Lorie Shaull, April 1, 2021, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.
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Mark Belko, “Fitzgerald: County Police no longer ‘regularly scheduled for rounds’ Downtown as city moves to add more of its own officers,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 7, 2023, https://www.post-gazette.com/business/development/2023/03/07/rich-fitzgerald-allegheny-county-police-downtown-pittsburgh-mayor-ed-gainey-pittsburgh-police/stories/202303070092
David Nakamura and Mark Berman, “Louisville police engaged in pattern of misconduct, Justice Dept. finds,” Washington Post, March 8, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/03/08/louisville-police-misconduct-breonna-taylor/
- [1]Tina Nguyen, “CPACalypse Now,” Puck, March 8, 2023, https://puck.news/cpacalypse-now/↩
- [2]Kris Maher, “Democrat Josh Shapiro Wins Pennsylvania Governor Race Over Doug Mastriano,” Wall Street Journal, November 9, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/election-midterms-2022/card/democrat-josh-shapiro-wins-pennsylvania-governor-race-over-doug-mastriano-rdDSLqwHlckU7Q5yZYF2; Samantha Melamed, “Voters cited abortion as a key issue in Pennsylvania’s first election since ‘Roe’ was overturned,” Philadelphia Inquirer, November 8, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/news/election-day-pennsylvania-abortion-reproductive-rights-voters-20221108.html; Anna Orso, “Pennsylvania Democrats believe they have flipped the state House,” Philadelphia Inquirer, November 9, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/pennsylvania-state-house-democrats-republicans-election-results-20221109.html; Anna Orso and Ximena Conde, “The race for control of the Pa. state House comes down to these two districts,” Philadelphia Inquirer, November 10, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/pennsylvania-state-house-control-three-districts-20221110.html; Brian C. Rittmeyer, “Summer Lee wins 12th District race, poised to become Pa.’s first Black woman in Congress,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, November 8, 2022, https://triblive.com/local/regional/lee-races-out-to-early-lead-over-doyle-in-12th-congressional-district/; Jonathan Tamari and William Bender, “‘It’s time for him to retire’: Some Pa. Republicans want to push Trump aside after their election losses,” Philadelphia Inquirer, November 10, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/pa-republicans-blame-trump-2022-losses-20221110.html; Aaron Zitner, “John Fetterman Wins Key Senate Race in Pennsylvania, Defeating Mehmet Oz,” Wall Street Journal, November 9, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/election-midterms-2022/card/oW3cFfkuo97s4Fa2Q9Sl↩