Democrats Should Be Glad Trump Didn't Concede

'Economist' argues his path back to the White House would be much easier if he had
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 22, 2022 3:00 PM CDT
Democrats Should Be Glad Trump Didn't Concede
Former President Trump speaks at a rally at the Adams County Fairgrounds in Mendon, Ill., on June 25.   (Mike Sorensen/Quincy Herald-Whig via AP)

Democrats have gotten a couple of breaks in their effort to keep Donald Trump from regaining the presidency, argues the UK magazine the Economist. The first was his campaign to overturn the legitimate election of President Biden, which has turned into the biggest weapon Democrats have against him. Another is that the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol has done such excellent, compelling work, holding the nation's interest while demonstrating how false the claims are that the mob that stormed the Capitol acted spontaneously and that Trump didn't know it was turning violent.

"Consider a world without the committee: revisionists would be far freer to minimize Mr. Trump's role in rousing the mob and to burnish or invent memories of his accomplishments," the magazine argues, assessing the impact on the GOP. "Instead, the panel has been reminding the party's leaders, operatives, donors and even some of the rank and file just how debilitating Mr. Trump's leadership was." True believers might stick with Trump, but members of Congress who fell into line under pressure "are rediscovering how tiresome it is to defend him."

But polls—and rallies—show Trump is not out yet, and his speeches show he's as dangerous as ever. Democrats, including Biden, have made plenty of mistakes and generally squandered opportunities to head off his return to the Oval Office. But they should actually be thankful Trump did not concede defeat in 2020, says the magazine. Had he done so, his potential path pack to the presidency would be an easier one. Instead, "his own broken psyche, and the work of the January 6th committee, have given his opponents in both parties a chance to stop him." Read the full piece. (More Donald Trump stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X