Donald Trump has no platform on social media anymore, he’s a former one-term president who lost the House and Senate while he was in office, now he’s just a resident of Florida. In other words, to most of us, he has become irrelevant. A lot of News & Guts readers used to ask why we covered a lot of his tweets or statements while he was in office. At the time it was because he was President of the United States and therefore did matter in our daily lives. His words could move markets, impact world relationships and yes possibly start a siege on Capitol Hill. But now that he is out of office, his words no longer carry any weight.
VOX says this isn’t just hyperbole. There is actually concrete evidence that his mentions are far and few between now:
Many have noted just how little people have been talking about Trump — from cable news to Google searches — since he lost the election and was kicked off Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube four months ago.
New data Recode obtained from social media measurement firms Zignal Labs and CrowdTangle shows just how drastic the drop in conversation about Trump has been.
On Trump: This is not someone who can disappear gently into the good night. That said, it just doesn’t move people the way that it used to. And with every passing month, he’ll become less and less relevant.
— Kara Swisher (@karaswisher) May 7, 2021
This week, as the GOP gets ready to oust Rep. Liz Cheney from her leadership role over her refusal to bow down to the former president, questions swirl over why so many Republicans are still hitching their wagon to Trump. Senator Lindsey Graham summed up last week.
CNN political analyst S.E. Cupp, a Conservative, said, “All that matters now is one guy’s opinion… He is literally, by definition, a loser. And yet Republicans can’t seem to quit him.”
“He could easily be irrelevant. I think it’s more reflective of the weakness in the GOP. The other weakness and cowardice. And lack of ideas. Lack of creativity. The idea that they are not even looking at any other candidates to run and promote in 2024, that they are satisfied running the guy that lost, that lost huge gains for Republicans just shows how out of ideas they are and how beholden to Trump they are choosing to be. They don’t have to be. It’s a choice. and I think it’s a deleterious one both for the politics of the party and the character of the party.”
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, a Republican added:
“It bothers me you have to swear fealty to the dear leader or you get kicked out of the party. It just doesn’t make any sense. It’s sort of a circular firing squad where we’re just attacking members of our own party instead of focusing on solving problems.”
So why are so many Republican politicians still so focused on Trump? The answer may be that he’s good for fundraising. But in a Washington Post op-ed last week, Cheney herself said that is short-sighted:
While embracing or ignoring Trump’s statements might seem attractive to some for fundraising and political purposes, that approach will do profound long-term damage to our party and our country.
