(PresidentialInsider.com)- Sometimes Donald Trump can be his own worst enemy. Last week, the former President released a statement that caused such enormous blowback, his spokeswoman had to release a “what he meant was” clarification several hours later.
Trump’s two-sentence statement, released on October 13, once again urged that election fraud be resolved, but this time added a jaw-dropping “or else,” saying “Republicans will not be voting in ’22 or ’24.”
Syndicated radio host Jesse Kelly tweeted out the statement acknowledging that on the one hand, Trump is right. Election fraud is a big deal, and Democrats will commit fraud “every chance they get and have for a long time.”
But, Kelly pointed out, Trump “telling his supporters their vote doesn’t matter is the dumbest, most suicidal thing I’ve ever seen.”
Yes. It is.
The Democrats and the media have always done everything humanly possible to suppress turnout among Republicans. It’s why they run skewed polls that show the Republican candidate has no chance of winning. They want Republican voters to feel so dispirited and hopeless that they don’t show up to vote.
And here is the former Republican President doing the same thing. Kelly is right; it is suicidal.
Why would Donald Trump, who is raising millions for a PAC that is ostensibly to help Republicans flip Congress in the Midterms, at the same time tell his supporters their vote doesn’t matter?
A very similar message went out just before the Georgia Senate runoff election in January. Did it have an effect on Republican turnout? Let’s ask Senators Purdue and Loeffler what they think. Oh, wait.
Trump’s statement went over like a lead balloon – not just among NeverTrump Republicans who complain about everything he says, but among Trump supporters who want to throw the Democrats out in the Midterms.
People who are fired up to send the Democrats packing saw Trump’s statement as a gigantic wet blanket intended to douse the fire.
Not long after tweeting out the statement, Trump spokeswoman Liz Harrington tried to mop up the mess.
She tweeted a clarification saying that Trump didn’t say not to vote. In attempting to thread the needle, Harrington argued that the former President was merely pointing out that “the obvious consequence” of not preventing fraud or “holding those who broke laws accountable” is that Republicans will sit out elections.
Harrington closed her tweet saying, “If we don’t fix our elections, many voters will think their vote won’t count.”
Many probably do think that way. But by making that statement, Donald Trump runs the risk of increasing that “many” by many more.
