Trump’s 'grievance campaign' now threatens down-ballot GOP in key swing states: analysis

14 August 2024

When Donald Trump gave his acceptance speech at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, his campaign was feeling confident.

President Joe Biden was still drawing widespread criticism for his performance during a debate with Trump, and his poll numbers weren't looking good. And the fact that Trump appeared on stage at the convention only two days after surviving an assassination attempt at a rally in Western Pennsylvania, many right-wing pundits argued, made him look powerful and confident.

But that convention was followed by a major political bombshell: Biden dropped out of the race, endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for president. Now, many polls are showing the new Democratic presidential nominee, Harris, with narrow single-digit leads over Trump.

In an article published on August 14, NBC News' Chuck Todd stresses that many Republicans are worried that Trump's obsession with "grievance" will not only harm his campaign, but down-ballot GOP candidates as well.

"Nearly a month into this new Democratic reality," Todd explains, "the question of who has the weaker presidential nominee for down-ballot candidates is back up for debate. As of this writing, it's now Republicans in battleground states and districts who are begging their nominee to change course. And so far, former President Donald Trump isn't listening."

MAGA Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, Todd notes, has urged Trump to "focus on the policy contrasts" between him and Harris instead of engaging in personal attacks — advice that, according to Todd, Trump has so far ignored.

"This wouldn't be hard for a normal candidate," Todd writes. "And yet for Trump, it has been quite hard. In talking with folks who know him well, it's clear he can't get over losing to Biden in 2020. His only personal hope of moving past the Biden defeat in 2020 was to defeat him in 2024. Now, Biden has denied him that opportunity…. Republicans, especially those invested in trying to flip the Senate or hold the House, are begging Trump in public to pivot from a grievance-focused campaign to a policy-focused one."

Todd continues, "These Republicans know they'd be in a better position if they had a nominee who was future-oriented rather than past-obsessed. But what happens if Trump never pivots? Then what do these down-ballot Republicans do?"

The NBC News reporter cites Dave McCormick in Pennsylvania and Mike Rogers in Michigan as two examples of Republican U.S. Senate candidates who will be in "precarious positions" if Trump doesn't "pivot" to a more policy-focused campaign.

"Of course, the real challenge for both Republicans will be figuring out how to navigate Trump's appearances in their respective states," Todd reports. "If Trump's numbers continue to languish, it’s going to be tempting for those candidates to find some distance from him."

Chuck Todd's full NBC News article is available at this link.

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