Trump becomes a 'problem' as Republicans really beg him to stop talking about 2020
6h
U.S. President Donald Trump reacts during a rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S. October 22, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
In recent weeks, President Donald Trump has taken time out of his busy schedule to relitigate the 2020 election, which he lost to former President Joe Biden. And Republican lawmakers hoping to keep their seats in November really want him to stop talking about it.
Politico reported Monday that all it will take is a "savvy Democrat" to "put a Republican on the spot" and turn their election into a disaster.
Trump subpoenaed 2020 election documents in Arizona and in Fulton County, Georgia this year. But inside the GOP, there's a growing view that focusing on Trump's "stolen election claims and voter fraud will kneecap them in the general election."
“You’ve got to at least touch that base,” a Georgia-based Republican strategist told Politico. But “once you’ve got the nomination, then I think it really collapses down into economic issues.”
But even touching on the issue could cause problems for Republicans.
Buzz Brockway, a GOP strategist and former Georgia state representative, told Politico, “A savvy Democrat will put a candidate on the spot and say, ‘You agree with [Trump], don’t you?’ and make a mess." Republicans have “got to figure out a way to deflect that question somehow, in a plausible way that doesn’t alienate this loud minority.”
Right now, nearly a dozen state and local Republican leaders want their candidates and officials to focus on what's happening with the economy and foreign policy.
“Part of me understands it, and part of me just wants to move forward,” said Monroe County, Michigan GOP chairman Todd Gillman, told Politico.
“Focus on the things that matter to everybody throughout the whole country,” he said, “or we’re going to have a problem in a few months.”
Polling repeatedly shows that the top issues for Americans right now are not election issues, but economic issues, the report said, citing a February Politico poll. Only 23 percent of Americans think elections are the top issue.
While there are still a lot of loyalists to Trump, many say that there is a risk "that voters simply don’t care — or have moved on," the report said.
Republicans, including his own followers, want him to focus on the economy, not old grudges.