Republicans Grapple with How to Take on Trump

Washington Post: “Trump’s team, for its part, believes the former president’s biggest weaknesses currently are fatigue with his chaos and controversies; his baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen; and the poor showing by Republicans in the 2022 midterm elections, one top adviser said. The personality-based attacks, this person added, are less successful because concerns about Trump’s character are already ‘baked in the cake.’”

Said a longtime Trump adviser: “The message I think works against him is that there’s only one person who could lose to Joe Biden in 2024.”

“Republicans looking to beat Trump have begun considering — and in some cases testing — other messages, including some based on Trump’s record in office, according to several people familiar with the different efforts. The possible attacks include that he empowered Fauci, who became the face of covid prevention efforts and a target of right-wing anger; that Trump never finished building a wall at the nation’s southern border; and that Trump hired and elevated ‘woke’ military generals.”