Straight talker
Democrats ask themselves:
"What do people see in that guy?"
Well, for one thing, Trump is a clear and blunt talker.
He is decisive. He doesn't try to have things "both ways."
A case in point is Trump saying flat out he won't sign a GOP loyalty oath, promising to support the GOP nominee whoever it is.
I wouldn’t sign the pledge. Why would I sign a pledge if there are people on there that I wouldn’t have? I wouldn't have certain people as, you know, somebody that I endorse. So they want you to sign a pledge. I can name three or four people that I wouldn't support for president.
There. Was that so hard?
Apparently so, for most Republican officeholders when asked about supporting Trump. Even people who openly say that Trump is unfit to be president, that he is a danger to American democracy, that he intentionally incited an insurrection to overturn an election, and that he lied about losing an election, still cannot bring themselves to say they wouldn't support his return to the Oval Office.
Former Attorney General Bill Barr, who says that the DOJ's prosecution of Trump is well-founded and that Trump certainly appears to have flagrantly carried out felonies in the Mar-a-Lago documents case, still could not say that he wouldn't vote to return him to office.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who says Trump made the treasonous decision to put himself above his duty to the Constitution, still avoids saying he wouldn't vote for him again.
Even Chris Christie, the supposed blunt, truth-telling critic of Trump, tangles himself in deflection when asked the direct question if he would support Trump if Trump were the nominee. Christie retreats to the rambling response used by other Republicans: I'm sure someone other than Trump will be the nominee.
This past week Ron DeSantis reluctantly made a partial acknowledgement that Biden is the president. He had this exchange with NBC reporter Dana Burns:
Burns: "But respectfully, you did not clearly answer that question. And if you can’t give a 'yes' or 'no' on whether or not he lost —"
DeSantis: "No, of course he lost. Joe Biden’s the president."
So Trump lost the election, but maybe, sort of, shouldn’t have, DeSantis said. Biden took the oath of office. Trump lost, but the election wasn’t perfect. Will DeSantis support a person who conspired to stay in office despite having, as he now says, lost? DeSantis still refuses to say.
What mealy mouths.
Liz Cheney is the exception. She is clear, saying Trump "clearly can never be anywhere near the Oval Office ever again." For her, conspiring to overthrow an election is a deal killer. Period.
The tiny shift in message happening with DeSantis and Trump's other opponents agreeing that Trump did lose the election and is lying about it, makes things worse, not better, for American democracy. It digs the GOP deeper into an anti-democratic hole. By agreeing that Trump lost the election and is lying to overturn it, but is still not unacceptable to them as president, they validate that overthrowing an election isn't a deal killer in a democracy.
Trump is profoundly dishonest. Profoundly selfish. He is openly hostile to the institutions of democratic government. There is a lot to dislike. But give him his due. Trump does not pussy-foot around. He speaks and acts with boldness and clarity. He says what he wants. He gives direction. He acts like a leader -- a bad and dangerous leader -- but a leader.
That is what makes him both dangerous and popular. He won't be replaced in the GOP by mealy-mouths.