Here's Why Never Trumpers Can't Shut up About Trump

Bonchie reporting for RedState

Browsing through various clips of the Sunday shows, a trend started to become apparent. While most Republicans have figured out that it’s downright idiotic to go on NBC News or CNN, ostensibly GOP figures like Larry Hogan and Adam Kinzinger were more than happy to oblige. Sure, they enjoy the back-slaps and being labeled “good” Republicans, but I think there’s something more to it.

Take Hogan’s interview with Chuck Todd, where the Maryland governor proclaimed that the Republican party has had its worst four years ever since Trump became president (see Larry Hogan Runs Into Chuck Todd’s Arms, Illustrates Everything Wrong With the Republican Party).

That’s objectively nonsense, given the party accomplished far more under Trump than it did under George W. Bush leading up to the 2008 drubbing. By the numbers, the GOP is also far better positioned for the next election than in the months following Barack Obama’s inauguration. There’s a reason even liberal prognosticators are basically conceding the House in 2022 at this point.

Now, take Adam Kinzinger’s rantings on “Face the Nation” as another example.

“I mean, right now, it’s basically the– the Titanic. We’re like, you know, in this– in the middle of this slow sink, we have a band playing on the deck telling everybody it’s fine. And, meanwhile, as I’ve said, you know, Donald Trump’s running around trying to find women’s clothing and get on the first lifeboat. And I think there’s a few of us that are just saying, guys, this is not good, not just for the future of the party, but this is not good for the future of this country.”

Just like Hogan, what Kinzinger is saying is easily disproven. The GOP holds a majority of governorships and state legislatures. They have also made major gains in the House, well-outpacing predictions, and setting themselves up for the probable easy lay-up in 2022. Even in the Senate, the split is only 50-50, again showing just how close the GOP came to winning a major victory in the last election. The idea that Republicans represent a sinking ship is simply not reality. Putting aside all bias, I’d much rather be a Republican in the next two elections than a Democrat — if we are talking about the probability of winning.

Regardless, do you notice the theme here? Every time these clowns run to these left-wing outlets, the narrative is always the same. They need to present the GOP as a dying force, giving its last gasp with the ouster of Liz Cheney from leadership (related Liz Cheney’s Latest Move Shows She’s Tone-Deaf and Needs to Go).

Why? Because if Republicans win in 2022 as it looks like they will, it will invalidate everything they stand for. Further, Never Trumpers don’t just need Trump to be repudiated, they need him to stick around in enough capacity to keep the cable news hits flowing their way. If their true goal was to get Republicans to “abandon” Trump, the last thing they’d be doing is yapping on CBS News or running to leak stories to The Washington Post.

That they keep doing that is evidence enough that they actually need Trump and feed off of him. In fact, they’d rather see Democrats remain in power than lose the cudgel of ranting about Trump being the bane of the Republican party. A 2022 win takes that away from them, and their grift would cease to exist.

Thus, you get what we see every Sunday. The same, tired talking points parroted on the same left-wing networks by the same Never Trumpers. All of this is calculated to keep these people in front of a camera and the cash flowing into their organizations (or in the case of The Bulwark and The Dispatch, their publications). Their obsession with January 6th and Donald Trump is a necessity. They need the GOP to fail, but the party doesn’t seem keen to oblige.