I feel fairly confident that this conclusion is beyond much debate: when the final nail is driven into the coffin of the late, great United States of America, Donald J. Trump will stand out as one of the most bizarre, baffling, and enigmatic politicians in our history.
You can't pigeonhole him. You can't classify him. You can't categorize him.
How do you make sense of a political figure who nominated justices to overturn the legally specious and morally repugnant Roe v Wade travesty, but then turned around and managed to do what decades of abortion-friendly politicos could never do - turn Republicans into a de facto pro-choice party?
Conservatives, and particularly social conservatives for whom the issue of life has always been a non-negotiable, are understandably in the throes of political whiplash as they try to figure out how to proceed. How do you reconcile a fierce opposition to the moral evil that abortion represents - the intentional destruction of a being bearing the image of Almighty God - with support of a presidential ticket that now calls for "access" to the vile abortion pill (which represents 60% of all abortions, and rising), promises to veto a federal ban on the practice, and opposes state heartbeat laws and abortion bans?
Conservatives for whom the sanctity of life is negotiable have attempted to persuade the absolutists who see evil in Trump's newly declared position that the former president is merely pivoting to the center for votes, and that he would govern as he did previously. Remember, they say, he will be surrounded by Christian, pro-life voices - the very ones who pressured him into nominating Justices Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett in the first place.
Well, let's just say, this newly released video doesn't help that case:
Even if that's just RFK, Jr. running his mouth to defend his own decision to support Trump (it's not), the argument that Trump needed to "pivot to the center" on the issue of life is contradicted by the evidence.
Arizona is an important swing state that Trump lost in 2020. Doug Ducey, staunchly pro-life, was elected by 15 points to be the Arizona Governor at the same time. Trump doesn't need Arizona's pro-abort vote to win.
Georgia is an important swing state that Trump lost in 2020. Brian Kemp, staunchly pro-life, was elected by 9 points to be the Georgia Governor at the same time. Trump doesn't need Georgia's pro-abort vote to win.
Virginia is a blue state that Trump lost by double digits in 2020. Glenn Youngkin, staunchly pro-life, was elected by 2 points to be the Virginia Governor at the same time. Trump doesn't need Virginia's pro-abort vote to win.
Florida is supposed to be a reliably red state that Trump won in 2020 but now is drifting purple. Ron DeSantis, staunchly pro-life, was elected by 20 points to be the Florida governor at the same time. Trump doesn't need Florida's pro-abort vote to win.
For those who truly believe that Kamala Harris represents an existential, even "communist" threat to our republic, the Trump/Vance abortion pivot is all such a needless debate and unnecessary distraction it defies explanation. And I'll take it a step further - it's incredibly irresponsible and is jeopardizing something that never needed to be jeopardized.
A few days ago, Christian writer Rod Dreher posted the obvious:
I get that such a take is going to outrage those for whom the sun rises and sets at Mar-a-Lago. But objectively speaking, it seems inarguable that the only reason Kamala Harris stands a chance in this presidential election is because she can rely on a seething anti-Trump hysteria to motivate voters. That's the only reason a decades-long political gadfly like Joe Biden ended up within even a whiff of the White House, after all, no less being elected the 46th president.
What Dreher is saying is patently true: There will be more anti-Trump votes then there will be pro-Kamala votes in the Democrats' final November 5th tally.
