An open letter to Mitch McConnell
You're going to settle for Donald Trump. Just accept it.
Hey there — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Over here, senator! I'm talking to you.
So, I read an article in The New York Times that said you're developing plans to drop Donald Trump like a "hot rock" if he wins your party's nomination. The reasoning, as I understand it, is that you've been convinced by your pollsters and consultants that a Trump nomination would lead to an inevitable victory by Democrat Hillary Clinton, but of more concern to you, a Democratic Senate in 2017, and you'd be out of a key job. In your thinking, it would be better to have a Democratic president with a Republican Senate than a Democratic president, backed by a Democratic Senate, who can nominate and confirm liberal judges and basically rule by executive fiat, just as the dreaded Obama has in his somewhat astoundingly successful second term.
And I hear you. You talk a little slowly for my ears, but I hear you.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
I also think that, in the end, you're going to change your mind. If Donald Trump is going to be the nominee of your party, I think you're going to learn to live with it. Here's why:
1. Trump could win
Many of your consultants are not very good. Some are, but most aren't. If any of these consultants have made millions off of televisions ads this cycle, don't listen to them. TV ads don't work. Donald Trump's rise and buoyancy, and the empty wallets of Jeb Bush donors, should suggest to you that a lot (but not all) of modern political consulting is a scam. And so, despite what the consultants tell you, Trump could actually take this thing. But critically, sir: He'd need your help to do it. He'll need your ground game, and your coordination, especially in those swing states with Senate races. He'll need the Republican Party's voter file, which, let's be real, you and Speaker Ryan have to share with him eventually.
If you help Trump register and turn out white voters without college degrees in Pennsylvania, in Ohio, in Wisconsin, he could win one of those states. If you begin to notice that he's actually competitive in these states by the end of the summer, when people begin to pay real attention, it is going to occur to you that he might be competitive elsewhere — and that this gut feeling you have about voters not electing a pompous bigoted blowhard might not be correct. A few percentage points worth of increased Republican enthusiasm in seven states could flip the electoral college on its ass. We just won't know until we know...
2. Hillary Clinton will concentrate the minds of Republicans who hate Trump
The elite of the party dislikes Trump, and many are debating whether he'd be worse than Hillary Clinton. But your party has decided for you already: They're going to dislike Clinton more than they dislike Trump. Enough Republicans who would never openly admit to voting for Trump will vote for Trump to avoid voting for Clinton. In this age of negative polarization, we get more pleasure out of beating the other guy than we do in savoring a victory anyway. That means that your voters will feel more intense about Clinton than they will about Trump. And if there's some evidence that the race might actually be close, they'll become giddy. And if they become giddy, they'll become motivated. Speaking of motivated...
3. Trump's rise is fueled by anger towards you
Surely you know this, right? So imagine what your party will do if you actively work against its nominee and cause him to fail. I mean, seriously? If you think Trump is a threat to the party, or you think you're uncomfortable now, just wait until you try to attend a state party meeting that's now controlled by Trump delegates. Think of how angry Republicans will be. Why would you risk that?
4. You won't risk it because Trump is the candidate you have
I know he's not the candidate you want. I know his image does not fit with the Republican Party's image that you say you're trying to build, but frankly, although you personally have a very solid record on civil rights, your party has done everything it could to bring about the type of revolt whose only logical consequence is a Trump-like candidate. He is an emergent phenomenon, not a created one. He understands the concerns of your voters and articulates them better and more bluntly than you do.
5. You know that he's not actually going to deport 11 million people or build a wall
You've been told that he sees these proposals as a vehicle to get elected. (He is, after all, a cynical creature). You know he's going to try and forge a comprehensive solution on immigration. It may not work, and he sure as hell seems like the worst possible forger of that compromise, but it's hard to see the party alienating people any more than it already has. Your martyrdom will not, in that instance, matter a whit.
So, in the end, I think you'll find a way to live with Donald Trump. But don't worry: You won't be asked to love him.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Marc Ambinder is TheWeek.com's editor-at-large. He is the author, with D.B. Grady, of The Command and Deep State: Inside the Government Secrecy Industry. Marc is also a contributing editor for The Atlantic and GQ. Formerly, he served as White House correspondent for National Journal, chief political consultant for CBS News, and politics editor at The Atlantic. Marc is a 2001 graduate of Harvard. He is married to Michael Park, a corporate strategy consultant, and lives in Los Angeles.
-
What is cloud seeding and did it cause Dubai's severe rainfall?
The Explainer The future is flooded
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
American Airlines pilots are warning of a 'significant spike' in safety issues
In the Spotlight The pilot's union listed 'problematic trends' they say are affecting the airline's fleet
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
6 star-spangled presidential libraries to visit
The Week Recommends These institutions provide insight into American leaders
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published