I've said before (as recently as last weekend) that Trump remained the frontrunner for the Republican nomination in 2024. The disastrous dinner with Kanye West and Nick Fuentes did not "prove" that Trump is a bigot, because his record shows otherwise, but he clearly is not exercising his best judgment.
The primary process will sort some of this out. It will either produce a candidate who replaces Trump -- but without his enthusiastic following; or it will produce a weakened nominee in Trump who cannot win a general election, and who hurts the party along the way. There is also the distant possibility that a non-Trump candidate brings along the Trump base. Ron DeSantis has the best shot, if he runs; Nikki Haley will try, and she is, at least, not bashing Trump right now.
But here is the bigger picture. Trump showed the Republican Party how to win, how to expand its appeal, and how to govern effectively. The party lacks another leader. He is weakened, meaning the party is confused and somewhat chaotic.
That means there are huge challenges ahead. But the mess is also an opportunity for conservatives to examine what it is that they truly believe. And though Trump's victory in 2016 created a mystique that is hard to shake off, it is far better to sort through conservatism in the wake of that victory than it would have been had he lost that election and left a smug establishment in charge.
I should have noted in my message about the weekly Torah portion that this week is Shabbat Chazon, the Sabbath of Vision. We are about to mourn -- but see through that pain to something better that lies beyond, on the other side.
Wishing you the best vision -- and an incredible reality to follow. It happens!
We begin the final speech of Moses to the people of Israel before they enter the Promised Land. He relates the ups and downs of the years of wandering in the desert, before, finally, the people have the merit to enter the land itself.
This Sabbath always precedes Tisha B'Av, the Ninth of Av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. It is the anniversary of the destruction of both of the Holy Temples, and a catch-all for many calamities that befell the Jewish people.
A word on Tisha B'Av. This year I am leaving for an overseas trip during the afternoon of the holiday -- in the middle of a fast day. Not idea, but there was no other choice. But my flight is in the afternoon, which is significant.
We relax some of the harsh, mournful customs of the day in the afternoon. We start to pray normally; we sit on regular chairs; we start to have hope again in the redemption that will, one day, lead us all back from exile to our home.
I'll be taking a trip to a land where an important part of ...
President Trump is in Scotland, playing golf and making big trade deals -- a major deal with the EU, in fact. Meanwhile, there is a global outcry about humanitarian aid to Palestinians (not about the Israeli hostages, mind you).
On top of that, Democrats are at their lowest polling numbers ever -- so they are trying to win control of the House by redistricting in the middle of a 10-year Census cycle. Oh, economic optimism is up, so they have a tough road.
And Tulsi Gabbard's revelations about the Russia collusion investigation make it clear that Obama's lieutenants lied to Congress. How deeply was he himself involved? The media continue to ignore the evidence, but we certainly won't.
Special guests:
Nick Gilbertson - Breitbart News White House correspondent, on EU deal
Frances Martel - Breitbart News foreign editor, on Trump abroad and Russia
John Spencer - urban warfare expert, on humanitarian aid and war in Gaza
Bradley Jaye - Breitbart News congressional correspondent, on the ...
