The irony here is that being dropped by Trump may improve his chances. The question is, what’s more important to Trump: getting the “win”, or getting his man on the inside, even if that is accomplished by publicly disavowing him? I’m genuinely not sure.
Personally I think it's too late for them. Youngkin had a better path where he was able to separate himself from Trump enough that he won but at the same time didn't alienate Trump supporters. Brooks has done nearly the opposite where he's tied himself to Trump enough that anti-Trump voters now definitely will not vote for him and now that he's been dropped by Trump he's lost the Trump vote. I don't think his chances were great with Trump and I think they're worse without him.
I think that the loss of Trump’s endorsement would help in the general election, but unfortunately I believe that Trump’s influence is still positive in a GOP primary. Brooks response has been that Trump has been influenced by McConnell and GOP establishment cronies, an interesting take for sure. However, I think Ethan is right in that it’s hard to see a voter viability for that view.
Very thoughtful perspective from both of you!
The irony here is that being dropped by Trump may improve his chances. The question is, what’s more important to Trump: getting the “win”, or getting his man on the inside, even if that is accomplished by publicly disavowing him? I’m genuinely not sure.
Personally I think it's too late for them. Youngkin had a better path where he was able to separate himself from Trump enough that he won but at the same time didn't alienate Trump supporters. Brooks has done nearly the opposite where he's tied himself to Trump enough that anti-Trump voters now definitely will not vote for him and now that he's been dropped by Trump he's lost the Trump vote. I don't think his chances were great with Trump and I think they're worse without him.
I think that the loss of Trump’s endorsement would help in the general election, but unfortunately I believe that Trump’s influence is still positive in a GOP primary. Brooks response has been that Trump has been influenced by McConnell and GOP establishment cronies, an interesting take for sure. However, I think Ethan is right in that it’s hard to see a voter viability for that view.