President Trump on Wednesday night offered perhaps his first concrete acknowledgment of the trouble his 2020 reelection campaign faces, demoting campaign manager Brad Parscale and replacing him with Bill Stepien.
But when it comes to what ails the Trump campaign — and the Trump presidency — the answers are hardly so simple. And Republicans who might take heart in this personnel change have plenty of reason for continued pessimism, in light of recent events.
The 2020 election is nigh, and virtually all signs are bad for the GOP. Trump trailsboth nationally and in every closely decided 2016 swing state. The continued coronavirus pandemic, largely quashed in many Western European countries, is resurgent here in ways that both reflect poorly on Trump’s handling of it and rob him of his supposed electoral silver bullet: the economy. And polls and GOP strategists suggest Trump is not just struggling but also dragging down GOP congressional candidates across the country. Continue reading.