Any chance that Donald Trump may have of winning re-election will require that he expand the number of voters willing to choose him over President Joe Biden — and that has the former president making some political concessions that risk alienating some of his most ardent followers.
In recent weeks, Trump has gone wishy-washy on the far-right's plans for more extensive limits on abortion — which is angering the anti-choice right. And then he added insult to injury by backing House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) as he pushed through a foreign aid bill that is sending billions to Ukraine.
Those two hot topics have led some of the MAGA right to wonder what is going on and increased the risk that some of them will give up on him for making concessions‚ something Trump is notorious for avoiding and which many of the MAGA faithful considers his superpower.
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According to a report from Daily Beast analyst Jake Lahut, "Cracks have begun to emerge" between the former president and his avid supporters.
The Beast's Lahut wrote, "It’s highly unusual for Trump to break with his base like this, especially when his campaign is strapped for cash and in dire need of an uptick in small-donor enthusiasm. And while MAGA-minded Republicans aren’t showing signs of mass revolt over abortion or Ukraine just yet, there’s still the question of why he’s taking such risks in the first place."
According to one Trump insider, the former president has finally realized that he needs to take the risk to make himself attractive to a wider array of voters — or face a loss in November.
“Politics will always be about addition, not subtraction. We understand that,” a Trump campaign insider admitted.
The report adds, "While political conventional wisdom suggests Trump’s base always follows him, the reverse can often be true — making his moves all the more risky in terms of inviting backlash. But clearly, Trump’s team is aware that remaining in lockstep with the core MAGA movement on extreme positions, like a national abortion ban, could ensure his loss in November."
You can read more here.
