'Trump's not a kingmaker — he's a kryptonite-maker' after brutal Walker loss: analysis

Following the run-off loss by Herschel Walker in his bid to win a U.S. Senate seat with the backing of Donald Trump, CNN's John Avlon suggested that it is time to dispense with the notion that the former president is in any way a "kingmaker."

Speaking with "CNN This Morning" co-host Poppy Harlow, Avlon was asked for a post-mortem on Walker's loss and what it means for Trump and the GOP.

"What can we expect from a Democratic majority?" Harlow prompted the analyst.

"People say, look, Democrats had the majority, it was going to be 50/50, why does Warnock's win matter?" Avlon replied. "It changes the ball game fundamentally because all of a sudden Democrats will control the committees, fast track legislation, nominations, they have subpoena power. They can't have a legislative agenda held up by one senator and can be a more effective counterweight to the Republican control of the House."

"It's a tight margin in both seats but a still divided government, it's a game changer. It's not one seat it's a difference in the balance of power," he added.

"So what did we learn last night about the future of the Republican Party for 2024? Trump is not a kingmaker, not last night with Walker, not with almost all of his hand-selected candidates," Harlow stated.

RELATED: 'Getting our clocks cleaned': Former adviser admits Trump's candidates all got 'slaughtered'

"That's right. Trump is not a kingmaker, he is a kryptonite maker," Avlon shot back with a smirk. "He's putting forward candidates who cannot win general elections because they are too extreme, they are election deniers -- it's the personal fealty that he demands."

"We're learning over and over again, it's the suburbs, stupid," he continued. "The deep divide in politics in blue state/red state is urban versus rural and suburbs are the swing and they'll vote Republicans in all sorts of races but not when you have someone who's unqualified in fundamental ways except he's willing to kiss the ring."

Watch below or at this link.

CNN 12 07 2022 07 05 52youtu.be