After just one Trump rally, Democrats will have plenty of sound bites and offensive content to make the case that Trump has learned nothing during his time out of office surrounded by yes men at Mar-a-Lago. And while Trump's unhinged claims to be the president of the United States in exile may energize MAGA fundamentalists, they reaffirm to independents and moderates who rejected Trump that he has, if anything, grown more detached from reality in defeat.
The disagreements within the Democratic Party look marginal when compared to a former president's openly fanning his supporters' most extreme conspiracy theories. And however frustrating Democratic policy fights feel to progressive activists who have so far failed to pass a $15-an-hour minimum wage or abolish the Senate filibuster, or however worrisome they are for moderates who think President Joe Biden is going too far left with his massive spending plans, they provide none of the over-the-top invective Washington journalists grew addicted to over four years of Trump rallies. Trump's rhetoric will bury any coverage of Democratic disharmony.
Indeed, Trump's return to the political stage gives Democrats a rare opportunity to set aside the disagreements that come from governing just as Biden's honeymoon period is ending. Despite growing impatience among progressives at the obstructionist tactics displayed by Democratic Sens. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Trump's summer tour will be a bracing reminder that things could be far worse.
Advertisement
Join the conversation as a VIP Member