We are almost a hundred days into the Trump presidency, and the mainstream media is still struggling to come to terms with the fact that Donald Trump is our president. They continue to rage and rail against a president whom they cannot understand, and they dismiss the people that elected him to office. They deny that people are fed up with the Washington establishment and that Americans have buyer’s remorse.
This narrative started during the election, but has recently been kicked into high gear with two special elections to replace House Republicans that have taken roles in the Trump administration. The most recent happened this past week, where Democrat Jon Ossoff, running to replace Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, jumped to a commanding lead in the polls in a district that hasn’t elected a Republican to the House since 1979. The media, in its obvious effort to tie Trump to anything negative, immediately jumped on this, claiming that it was a referendum on President Trump and that even in ruby red districts, his support has waned. With bated breath and obvious glee, the media closely watched the election, and it soon became apparent that Ossoff would not win the election outright. Ossoff claimed a moral victory, but in reality, it was a failure. Ossoff’s campaign spent over $8 million, almost all of it from outside donors, and went up against a total of 11 Republicans. This fractured the Republican vote, and he still couldn’t come away with 50% of the vote. So, with all the help Ossoff had, the fact that he still couldn’t outright win shows that this race was anything but a referendum. Now, Ossoff will have a run-off against a consolidated Republican vote. His chances there are not looking great.
There was also the special election in Kansas to fill the seat vacated by the director of the CIA, Mike Pompeo. Late in the race, polling showed Republican Mike Estes in a virtual tie with Democrat James Thompson, forcing the Republican party to pour cash and attention into the race. The Republican won the race by seven points, and even the right-leaning Washington Examiner claimed this was a warning sign to the Republican party. However, Estes was running for the open seat while serving as the State Treasurer for Gov. Sam Brownback, a Republican who is deeply unpopular. Much of the local media tied Estes more to the unpopular Gov. Brownback than to Trump. Also, a seven-point victory is not a small margin by any means. If a Democrat had won by seven points, we would be hearing talk of a landslide victory. This race was clearly not a referendum on Trump, either.
The Republican National Committee announced on Friday that it raised $41.5 million in the first three months of 2017, the strongest-ever total for the first quarter following a presidential race.
“Our record-setting fundraising pace has been fueled by grassroots enthusiasm for President Trump and the Republican Party,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel said in a statement.
This is further proof to counter what you hear from much of the media. There was — and still is — tremendous support for what President Trump is doing amongst his base. The same people that told us that Trump could never win are telling us that Trump is doomed not even 100 days into his presidency. They jump on anything that they can spin to show coming doom for Trump and the Republican party in order to make themselves feel better for the election loss. Really, all they are doing is setting themselves up for another shock in the mid-term elections.