Last week, former President Donald Trump danced on the political graves of Republican politicians whom he claimed were no longer in office thanks to him. In a New Year’s Day post on Truth Social, Trump posted a list of the Republicans he “strongly opposed and fought against” who are no longer in office.
@realDonaldTrump’s post | Truth Social
In addition to the House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump over the January 6 Capitol riot who are no longer in office, Trump also included former Arizona Senator Jeff Flake who announced in 2018 that he would not seek reelection. Of course, since Flake was subsequently replaced by a Democrat, Trump bragging about getting rid of him is a bit of a pyrrhic victory.
The same could be said about Trump including former Representatives Peter Meijer and Jamie Herrera Beutler since the people who replaced them are also Democrats. Trump also took credit for Adam Kinzinger’s retirement.
But that is a bit of a stretch. Kinzinger chose to retire after Illinois Democrats redistricted him out of existence. Unless Trump was involved in redrawing Illinois’ congressional map, he can hardly claim credit for Kinzinger’s departure. Trump also boasted that he defeated South Carolina Congressman Mark Sanford in 2018.
But since Sanford was defeated by Democrat Joe Cunningham, he too is an odd one to include on the list. Trump also took credit for retiring Republican Senator Pat Toomey. But since Pat Toomey’s seat is now occupied by Democrat John Fetterman, his inclusion on Trump’s list is just as odd.
Likewise, Trump included former Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker who did not seek another term in office. Baker too was replaced by a Democrat. In short, the former President inadvertently boasted about helping Democrats beat a whole lot of Republicans.
That kind of boast might not play well in the 2024 Republican primaries.
