Twice impeached Donald Trump is politically done, conservative commentator Ann Coulter said on her podcast Unsafe this week.
Coulter, the author of In Trump We Trust: E Pluribus Awesome!, went from one of Trump’s biggest fans to breaking with him over his failure to complete his promised wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Early polls suggest Republican primary voters prefer Trump as their 2024 nominee but with some indications that Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is gaining steam. Nonetheless, Coulter was adamant that the ex-president’s political career is over.
Coulter acknowledged she has made similar arguments in the past but now says there are data to back up that “he really doesn’t have a lot of Trump die-hards anymore.”
“You don’t need to suck up to Trump anymore, conservative talk radio hosts, talk TV hosts, Republicans running for office,” she said. “He’s done. He’s over.”
Coulter cited the “humiliating” defeat of former Sen. David Perdue, who had Trump’s backing, in his Georgia gubernatorial bid to challenge incumbent Republican Gov. Brian Kemp.
“He’s one of many Republicans sitting back now, saying, ‘Oh, I wish I hadn’t listened to Trump,’” she said.
She argued that Trump’s primary endorsements were often made after he figured out who would be the front-runner, and then he would “jump in front of the parade” rather than actually be a kingmaker.
Coulter also pointed to a recent FiveThirtyEight poll that showed most Republicans supporting Trump but indicated that broken down into individual demographic groups, many had negative views of Trump, including those from groups who might otherwise be inclined to vote Republican.
“They’re thinking to themselves, ‘Wow, I always thought of myself as a Republican, but if Trump is the Republican Party, maybe I’m an independent — that’s not quite me, bombast, insults, and no results.’”
“Republicans, it’s not the party of Trump, it’s safe to come back,” she added. “And it’s safe for Republicans to stand up and run without Donald Trump. Look at [Virginia Gov. Glenn] Youngkin.”
Coulter said conservative media also disproportionately boost Trump supporters and allies over Trump-skeptical or more neutral Republicans.
Coulter cited supposedly dwindling Trump rally attendance as another data point.
“They’re like Deadheads,” Coulter said of those who still attend Trump rallies. “They’re following him from place to place. He sings the same songs … I’m sure the Trump-heads are having a lot of fun, but it isn’t indicative of a movement sweeping the nation.”
