Conversations about 2024 usually center on whether former President Donald J. Trump is going to run again. But regardless of whether 45 throws his hat into the ring, there is another important question the left should be pondering: can they recreate the Orange Man magic?
It isn’t just the “ultra-MAGA” crowd that needs to worry about whether Trump can cast his spell on the country in 2024.
Since the 2020 election, Democrats have been trying to rekindle the hatred their base felt for the braggadocious billionaire and direct it at new targets. Unfortunately it is not as easy as it seems.
For example, just last week, the legacy media and the Democrats (but I repeat myself) were painting Elon Musk as the Stalin du jour. After all, nothing says evil dictator like a man who believes in freedom of speech.
In a particularly sad attempt at riling up some Musk Derangement, the New York Times published a hit piece that insinuated the Tesla CEO is racist because he grew up in South Africa during Apartheid. The headline read, “Elon Musk Left a South Africa That Was Rife With Misinformation and White Privilege.” However, instead of catching on like wildfire, the piece was widely mocked on social media for its absurdity.
These kind of outlandish smear campaigns worked during the Trump years. Unfortunately for the radical progressives, it seems that people’s hatred for Trump does not easily transfer over to an entirely new person at the drop of a dime. Americans were less skeptical of the media’s endless criticism of Trump. They won’t hop onboard the next hate train as willingly.
What makes matters even worse for Democrats is that they can’t pick a lane and commit to it.
During the pandemic, the media tried to convince Americans that the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, was a menace — not just to the Sunshine State but to the entire country.
CBS’s 60 Minutes accused DeSantis of foul play when they insinuated that Florida’s vaccine rollout had only begun in Publix grocery stores because the supermarket chain had donated $100,000 to the governor’s political action committee. The story went nowhere when even Democrats like Palm Beach County Mayor Dave Kerner came to DeSantis’s defense.
After social media starlet Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was caught sipping espresso martinis in Miami, she took shots at DeSantis on Twitter by asking, “Hasn’t Gov. DeSantis been inexplicably missing for like 2 weeks?” Yet there was an explanation for his absence: he was caring for his wife who was undergoing treatment for breast cancer.
Still, the journalists and pols, who are missing the fame and attention they received during the Trump years, continue to push a narrative no one is buying. Just last week, MSNBC wrote, “Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is a far more dangerous politician than Donald Trump.”
DeSantis is more dangerous than the most dangerous man on the planet? Wow. Someone should tell all of the millions of people who are moving to Florida from California and New York.
Alas, no amount of DeSantis shoutouts from Jen Psaki in the White House press room or from the anchors at CNN are having the desired effect on the masses.
The left is trying to capture lightning in a bottle. Trump Derangement Syndrome metastasizes as time goes on but it doesn’t transfer to entirely new people. The former president lives rent-free in a lot of peoples’ heads, and he is taking up a lot of room. There is simply not enough space for Elon Musk or Ron DeSantis to move in.
The left has been so focused on finding new villains in case of an emergency that they have neglected to find any heroes. If they can’t stir up the same fear and loathing for the new authoritarians in town, then they’d better pray Trump runs in 2024. He might be their only hope.
