The GOP has a "ratf---er" problem — and it's centered on President Donald Trump, a political analyst argued Wednesday.
Trump's undermining of his own ability to scare up a below-the-belt scandal, or "ratf---," could spell trouble for Republicans counting on an "October Surprise" to fuel flailing campaigns ahead of the midterms, argued former New Republic editor Brian Beutler in his Substack "Off Message."
"Trump’s diluted his October surprise potential to the point where it’s basically inert, wrote Beutler. "Almost nothing he does is surprising anymore, even when it is in some sense shocking."
Before breaking down his theory, Beulter devotes some digital ink to detailing the differences between the "October Surprise and the, er, rodent romance.
James Comey delivered a historic October Surprise in 2016, when he announced he'd reopen his investigation of Hillary Clinton’s emails. This move forced Clinton to refocus her campaign at a crucial time — and many argue it cost her the election.
While this was certainly disruptive, it didn't involve a key element of the, um, muridae boinkfest: an abuse or crime.
"Ratf---ing is an especially Republican phenomenon, and Trump embodies the ratf--- more than any Republican in history," Beutler wrote. "Prior to Trump, Republicans tried to maintain plausible deniability. They fed and nurtured their dirty tricksters, but kept them at arm’s length."
Beutler suspects Trump is likely plotting another, well, worm-tailed woo-fest, for next month, but urged readers not to panic.
"It would be naive not to expect Trump to orchestrate something—a confrontation, a smear, a mirage, a propaganda blitz—in a last-ditch effort to reverse the dynamics of this election," he wrote.
But it's unlikely to succeed, Beutler predicted, because he's done it one to many times.
"He has little credibility left to stake," Beutler said. "The things he does in the arena of dirty tricks overlap almost perfectly with the reasons Democrats and independents are fired up to vote Republicans out of office."