MAGA world

Let’s talk about the MAGA world.

Trump tells a Republican Congressman ‘Vote for this’ and even though the Congressman thinks it’s a bad bill he votes the way Trump wants.

How did Trump get that kind of power?

Let’s take a look at North Carolina: We have 10 Republican Congressmen, all elected in ruby-red Republican districts. No Republican Congressman running in a red district has lost a general election in years. Decades. So only one election matters to them – the primary. Not the general election. To stay in power they need to win the primary.

Here’s another factor: A big block of Republican primary voters march in lockstep with Trump. When Trump points to a candidate, like he did with Thom Tillis, and says to Republicans, ‘He’s got to go’ – that’s a deadly blow.

Did Republican primary voters do that in past elections, before Trump?

No. The people who vote in Republican primaries have changed. A candidate’s loyalty to Trump now matters more to them than where a candidate stands on issues.

Beyond that, Congressmen, not bold, avoid risks. That adds to Trump’s power.

How did Trump get primary voters to put loyalty to him ahead of issues? He didn’t. Trump didn’t create MAGA world it created him. He mirrors it.

So what did create MAGA world? That’s long story. For now, let’s leave it at this: The MAGA world’s there. And it has teeth.

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Telling stories, in his memoir Carter Wrenn follows The Trail of the Serpent twisting and turning through politics from Reagan to Trump. Order his book from Amazon.