Trump’s return to the political stage makes Republicans clash

Donald Trump returned to the national political scene Saturday night at a county fairgrounds in the small town of Wellington, Ohio, where residents had lined the streets and decorated their homes in red, white and blue. to celebrate the arrival of the former president of the United States.

“Lorain County is absolutely at the helm of Donald Trump. It’s a place where they love it, ”said Doug Deeken, president of the Republican Party in nearby Wayne County.“ Whether it’s historic Democrats or historic Republicans or historic people who haven’t given a shit and never voted long before, they like it. “.

Political agents said Trump’s decision to do so celebrate your first the post-White House rally in Lorain County – a region west of Cleveland that includes both old steel towns and vast tracts of rural farmland – was an obvious choice given the affinity of working-class voters white by the former president. Despite losing the national election, Trump won the state of Ohio in the Midwest in November with eight points over Joe Biden; he was the first Republican to win Lorain County since Ronald Reagan in 1984.

Thousands of supporters of the former president loosened the fairgrounds, covered in pro-Trump merchandise and eager to tell reporters that the 2020 election had been stolen from their favorite politician, whom they implored to run again at the White House in 2024.

The one-time reality TV star, who has not ruled out another White House nomination and enjoys overwhelming popularity in most national polls of Republican voters, was delighted with applause from the crowd of “Trump he won!” and “four more years”.

But he also had another reason to fly northeast of Ohio: revenge.

Trump shared stage in Wellington with Max Miller, a former White House aide who has launched a Republican challenge against Anthony Gonzalez, the incumbent local congressman who was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to charge him with incite the deadly January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Trump was later absolved in a Senate trial after only seven Republicans in the upper house voted to convict him.

“Max’s opponent is a guy named Anthony Gonzalez,” Trump said in the boos of the crowd, calling the congressman “great Rino,” just a Republican name.

“That’s not the reason I’m doing this, but I just thought I’d say it’s a character trait that’s not so good. . . He is a salesman, he is a fake Republican and a disgrace to your state, ”he added. “He’s not the candidate you want to represent in the Republican party.”

Trump’s comments highlighted the strong divisions in one Republican Party fighting how to move forward under a Biden administration – and noted the role the former president intends to play in the interim periods of next year, when Republicans will try to regain control of both houses of Congress.

He has already backed several Conservative candidates who are loyal to him – moves that allies say will energize the Republican base, and critics warn that they could alienate moderate voters who want to leave the Trump-era tumult in the rearview mirror.

The support of more centrist voters is critical in statewide races across the country, including Ohio, where Republican Gov. Mike DeWine will seek re-election next year and a broad Republican camp is vying for the nomination. party to replace retired Senator Rob Portman. Neither DeWine nor Portman appeared Saturday alongside Trump, citing personal obligations.

“Some Republicans would prefer it [Trump] he would be a king and not the king himself for the future, “said Bryan Williams, former president of the Ohio Republican Party. But he added,” It’s not a large number of people who think Trump should leave the stage. “.

Alex Roth, a Republican consultant working on campaigns in northeast Ohio, said most candidates in the Democratic Republic of Congo were now very keen to prove their affinity for Trump.

“Republicans running in the primaries right now are showing up to show their loyalty to the president and he is shaping the way we are running our campaigns,” he said.

The desire to get Trump’s favor was palpable Saturday night, with the presence of all Republican candidates in Portman’s Senate seat.

Trump has not yet approved a candidate in this race, but the campaign of Jane Timken, a former president of the state party, handed out leaflets calling her “the only true candidate in favor of Trump, America First.” At one point during his 90-minute speech, the former president asked the crowd to cheer on the candidate they wanted him to support.

He is not exempt from his criticism of the Ohio Republican establishment. John Kasich, a former Republican state governor and one-time presidential candidate, backed Biden ahead of last year’s election.

But few Republicans in Ohio are willing to record criticism of the former president, illustrating the long shadow he continues to cast on the party and its future.

Brad Kastan, a longtime Republican donor based in Columbus, is a rare exception.

“For conservatives and Republicans to be successful, we can’t depend on any person or personality, and I’m worried if we get entangled in what sometimes divides. . . we’re going to end up with a Georgia in our hands, ”he said, referring to the only Republican southern state he now has two Democratic senators.

A Republican agent, who asked not to be named, said: “The party must consider the fact that voters are not just voting because of President Trump. They are voting for the things he did. I think that message is being lost. ”.

Another Republican Party member, who also asked for anonymity, said they were not Trump fans. But they admitted the former president would inevitably play an important role in Republican politics.

“Do you want to ask a doctor what they think of the femur?” they asked. “Trump exists. He is part of the political reality of both Republicans and Democrats. The phenomenon he creates is just something we need to address. You can’t get rid of people’s femurs. “