Donald Trump is the most corrupt president in history. Every gas station sign you pass attests to the wreckage of his second term.
But sometimes you gotta hand it to him: Trump is very, very good at politics.
Forget about that Election Day column I wrote theorizing that a bad, or mixed, night for Trump-endorsed candidates in Indiana legislative races might signal a shift away from this whatever-he-says-goes era and away from the hedonistic leaders who’ve capitalized. Gov. Mike Braun, Sen. Jim Banks and Indiana’s cast of MAGA are victorious.
“Big night for MAGA in Indiana,” Banks said as results rolled in.
Somehow, that’s an understatement.
Trump-endorsed challengers Trevor De Vries, Brian Schmutzler, Michelle Davis, Blake Fiechter and Tracey Powell defeated Republican state senators who had voted against his mid-decade redistricting push, with margins ranging from 18 to 50 percentage points as of late Tuesday night — and a sixth Trump-endorsed candidate, Jeff Ellington, won an open seat in Senate District 39 previously held by Sen. Eric Bassler.
These results are easy to decode. Indiana’s primaries were a referendum on Trumpism. Trumpism prevailed. Simple as that.
Even if you want to discount the results by attributing them to the unfathomable $13.5 million ad blitz that hit state Senate primaries, you have to acknowledge Trump is a singular figure who can make it rain on obscure state legislative elections because they happen to be important to him personally.
Trump’s endorsement in Indiana GOP primaries once again carried tremendous weight, backed by millions in outside spending from political action committees tied to allies, including Banks.
On top of that, Indiana Republicans might wind up redistricting Democrats into oblivion sooner or later. The U.S. Supreme Court’s weakening of the Voting Rights Act is sparking another round of race-to-the-bottom gerrymandering that will compel red and blue states to extend their partisan advantages further than ever.
Assuming that happens, it’s hard to see how Indiana lawmakers could resist attempting to draw a 9-0 congressional map in favor of Republicans. A second try would not end in a principled stand.
It gives me no pleasure to envision intensifying populist warfare. A decade of Trump has been more than enough for me.
Regardless of preferences, though, elections are always wonderful. They bring the gift of clarity. You get objective winners and losers. Then you get to decide how to react.
That’s the reckoning that Turning Point USA organizers talked about, and which I wrote about in my pre-election column. I hoped that reckoning would reward integrity, moderation and courage. Instead, it reminded me of the occupational hazard of writing opinions for public consumption: Humility comes for us all.
Contact James Briggs at 317-444-4732 or james.briggs@indystar.com. Follow him on X at @JamesEBriggs.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Sometimes you gotta hand it to Trump | Opinion
Reporting by James Briggs, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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