Jonathan Bernstein: “For starters, there’s a former president running for the first time in more than 100 years. And it’s not just that: He’s a twice-impeached former president, one whom seven members of his own party voted to convict.”
“That’s not all! He’s also facing serious ongoing legal troubles in New York and Georgia, and is being investigated by a special counsel appointed by the Justice Department. And while there’s plenty of Republican grumbling about Trump, including blaming him for the party’s poorer-than-expected 2022 election results, there’s been hardly a peep from Republicans about the fact that their frontrunner could be indicted — multiple times — even before the Iowa caucuses.”
“Then there’s Trump’s image. Eight years ago, he had no governing experience at all. Now he’s a former president. Back then, he was popularly known as a business-savvy billionaire from reality television. Now only his supporters view him that way; many if not most Americans see him as a liar about the election and a fomenter of the attack on the Capitol. Back then, many voters saw him as more blunt and more moderate than typical Republicans. Now? It’s hard even to understand half of what he says, unless you spend a lot of time immersed in the world of the Republican-aligned media.”
