Dem
53
Ties
2
GOP
45
Republicans are getting more and more open about expressing their pique with Donald Trump. Among the vanguard in this area was Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), who represents an R+6 district, but is in danger because the Latino voters who put her in office are not pleased about the President's over-aggressive immigration policy. So, she recorded an ad where she criticized the policy (while blaming it on Trump's advisors and not Trump himself). She called for a more humane policy.
When we first wrote that news up, the official story, mostly from Salazar, was that she and Trump had talked about the ad, and he had largely accepted that she was doing what she had to do to save her hide. We found this a little hard to swallow, though. Any other top-level politician knows that part of the cost of entry is that sometimes your fellow party members have to throw you under the bus. Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), George W. Bush, etc., might not like it, but they accept that it's part of the game. Trump does not, and takes everything personally.
It turns out that we were right to be skeptical. Trump held his piss and vinegar for a few days, but over the weekend (the time when he seems to get bored, or lonely, or depressed, or all of the above), he unleashed his fury. On his social media platform for the childish and immature, he reposted more than a dozen messages attacking Salazar and calling for her ouster.
Truth be told, we don't think this is a "lesson" for other Republicans. They are getting freer and freer expressing their unhappiness with the President, particularly as Election Day draws nearer, and particularly as his approval rating keeps dropping (he slumped to 37% approval in the WSJ poll released yesterday, which is the lowest figure he's ever recorded in that particular survey). To the extent there is a lesson, it's "be a LITTLE less direct than Salazar was, particularly when it's Trump's signature issue."
The biggest news here is probably that FL-27 is most definitely in play. Salazar is already in trouble with people angry at MAGA, and now she's also aggravated the throne. The loyal MAGA voters in FL-27 aren't going to cross the aisle and vote Democratic, but they could stay home or leave that line blank on their ballot on Election Day. (Z)