Trump is no longer the only representative of Trumpism, the 2024 presidential dream is broken?

The event that has been buzzing about in the US political news of late is the refugee landing case at Martha's Vineyard.

This case perfectly demonstrates the performance culture left by Donald Trump in American politics, and also shows that this kind of "Trumpism" that everyone can learn is eating away at Trump's own political capital.

Martha's Vineyard, an outer island in Massachusetts, is a summer beach resort for wealthy liberal politicians of the Democratic Party, far removed from the political world of the Republicans.

Since the beginning of this year, the Republicans, who have continued to use border refugees to hype political issues, have created new tactics in propaganda and decided to recruit immigrants in southern border cities and send them directly to the capital Washington, D.C., New York City, and even Chicago by bus, indicating that they will not be deported. Illegal immigrants are staying away from Democratic cities on the southern U.S.-Mexico border, hoping to cause trouble for Democratic mayors.

These refugee buses usually arrive suddenly, and the itinerary is not coordinated by the two governments, which greatly increases the difficulties for these municipal governments.

Among them was the potential Republican presidential candidate, incumbent Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (Greg Abbott), who was later followed by the governor of Arizona.

For months, thousands of refugees have been "directly sent" to these Democratic cities. The mayor of Washington, D.C., even asked the National Guard to step in to help deal with the refugees, but the Defense Department refused.

Democrats certainly consider it inhumane for these refugees who don't know where they are going after getting on the bus; but such a dramatic action has won the support of Republican voters.

MIGRANT BUSING BATTLE: More than 6,500 asylum seekers were sent by Texas Governor Greg Abbott to DC and New York City as part of his plan to criticize the Biden administration's immigration policy. Critics call the move a political stunt that has families caught in the middle. pic.twitter.com/YYHmuAQ6YF

— CBS Evening News (@CBSeveningNews) August 10, 2022

It is against this backdrop that the refugee landings at Massa's Vineyard took place.

At present, the most popular presidential candidate in the Republican Party in 2024, in addition to Trump himself, is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (Ron DeSantis).

When the latter was elected governor in 2018, it was all about his image as a Trump loyalist (in a campaign ad at the time, he taught his babbling son to say "Make America Great Again"); now DeSantis But it has established itself, fighting a culture war on issues such as legislation banning schools from talking about gender issues, and has been chasing Trump in the polls.

Seeing that Abbott and others were using the "refugee bus" to promote their work, DeSantis decided to do more and better.

The problem is that Florida is not a hotspot for illegal refugees crossing the border, and it is difficult for him to replicate Abbott's propaganda in the state.

As a result, he had a whim and sent people across the border to Texas to "borrow" local illegal immigrants, lured nearly 50 Venezuelan refugees who had no relatives in the United States on two special planes with McDonald's meal coupons, job opportunities, etc. .

Instead of sending them to the capital, DeSantis sent them straight to Martha's Vineyard, where there are no refugee shelters at all, in order to mock the local liberal elite who are ending their summer vacations and win over conservatives. Political scores among voters.

Although the people of Martha's Vineyard spontaneously welcomed the refugees, but after all, there is no shelter on the island, and there is a lack of suitable job opportunities due to the changing seasons, so the refugees were sent to an air force aircraft for temporary shelter.

Refugees sent to Martha's Vineyard were hosted by local residents voluntarily.

(AP)

Some refugees who arrived at Martha's Vineyard for the first time told the media that they thought they would be sent to Boston, and some thought they had already had job opportunities.

A Democratic Texas trooper is opening a criminal investigation into the refugees who appear to have been "deceived and abducted."

When DeSantis came under fire from the liberal press, he became a hero among Republican voters and further bolstered his national profile.

At a recent conservative event in Kansas, DeSantis was greeted with a standing ovation.

In this regard, Trump, who is said to have decided to run for the election and is only waiting to be announced on another day, is very angry, accusing DeSantis of embezzling his idea of ​​transporting refugees, and seems to think that the "meritorious person" should be him, not DeSantis. .

Trump's concerns about DeSantis are not hollow.

According to a poll released on September 21, among Florida voters, DeSantis has an 8-point lead over Trump in the Republican presidential primary, just after similar polls ended more than half a year ago. 's reconciliation.

Although Trump still leads DeSantis in national polls, the distance between the two has been narrowing. The former supports less than half, the latter chases with more than 30% support, and the pair against Biden In a poll, DeSantis also has a higher chance of winning.

DeSantis, who keeps chasing Trump in the polls.

(AP)

In terms of stage charm, DeSantis is nowhere near as good as Trump.

However, Trump's support has gradually been affected by his judicial turmoil; Trump, who has lost his Twitter account and is a civilian, does not have the ability of DeSantis to stage a political drama with the power of governor.

DeSantis, in his various "Trumpist" political performances over the years, has long shown that his culture war tricks don't need to be based on his charisma.

While DeSantis's actions to lure and abduct refugees seem likely to be subject to judicial action, the purely political nature of such cases is far from Trump's potential crimes of overturning elections, obstruction of justice, and fraudulent exploitation.

On September 21, New York State Attorney General Letitia James filed a civil prosecution against Trump, his children and their property company after a three-year investigation. The more than 200 pages of indictment documents listed Trump's various Overestimate the value of its properties and obtain more favorable financing terms from banks.

Some of these examples include valuing his private residence nearly three times its size, including the potential value of his Mar-a-Lago residence in the valuation (but Trump himself has given up this right for tax deductions), etc. .

Trump is accused of overestimating the value of his properties and defrauding banks to obtain more favorable financing terms.

(AP)

Although Trump has called these cases a political witch hunt, and the case will probably only ban Trump and his family from doing business in New York and force him to pay billions of dollars in fines and no criminal responsibility, some voters will inevitably feel that It's a moral lack, and nothing compared to DeSantis' case purely for mocking liberals and promoting the Biden administration's ineffective handling of illegal immigration.

The midterm elections on November 8 this year are more likely to be a showdown between Trump and DeSantis.

In Republican primary elections at all levels, Trump-backed figures often beat their party opponents to qualify.

But these people tend to only care about the disputed 2020 election results, and they have extreme personalities and stances, which have greatly dragged down the Republican Party in the polls.

According to The Economist's model budget, Democrats have more than 80% chance of retaining the majority in the Senate, and even in the House election, which Republicans thought would be a sure win, Democrats had a 35% chance of retaining the majority.

If the Republican midterm election results do not turn out as expected and Trump's candidates are largely defeated by Democrats, this will greatly reduce Trump's control over the Republican Party.

Judging by DeSantis' rise in a string of political performances today, it's not necessarily Trump that Republicans like, but Trumpism left over from Trump.

When a Trumpist better than Trump emerges on the Republican political scene, Trump himself risks becoming a victim of Trumpism.

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