Trump’s Brash Midterm Strategist Could Take the Blame

“President Donald Trump has nicknames for several aides; his moniker for the architect of his midterm strategy — Brilliant James — sometimes comes with an edge,” the Washington Post reports.

”James Blair has encyclopedic knowledge of voting minutiae, historical election trends and congressional maps. He’s won Trump’s confidence by delivering information to the president matter-of-factly. But as Trump’s tone sometimes suggests, smart people can sometimes outsmart themselves.”

”What happens to Republicans on Tuesday depends on which meaning of ‘brilliant’ applies this time. Will Blair’s strategic moves, including an unprecedented nationwide round of mid-decade redistricting, allow the party in power to defy history and hang on to control of Congress, or at least mitigate its losses? Or did it consume time and political energy for minimal gain? Did putting Trump at the center of the Republican campaign with multiple rallies in red states succeed in mobilizing his voters? Or did it backfire by motivating the opposition?”