Donald Trump’s latest revamp of his failing American presidential campaign should tell Congressional Republicans two things. First, after weeks of embarrassing coverage, the only people still willing to associate themselves with the Republican nominee are the right-wing media, or more specifically, the alt-right media. The alt-right media, as it has become known, is that collection of media organisations that has been stoking a pro-white, anti-immigration, fear-based agenda since Barack Obama became president in 2008. In other words, the only people left actively supporting Trump are the mad scientists who created him.
The second thing Republicans should take away from this is that a majority of American voters are going to find GOP incumbents guilty by association. Current polling suggests that Republicans fighting for contested seats in both the House and the Senate are being caught up in the anti-Trump backlash. Many of these Republicans may not have been happy about the nomination of Trump, but they will face the anger of American voters just the same.
Trump shows no sign of slowing down either. His recent call for an immigration policy that employs “deep-vetting” of Muslims, to find out if they have values comparable with the West, is beyond laughable — not to mention completely unenforceable. His recent speech on the issue plays to general right-wing fears, but shows a complete lack of understanding of any problem, real or imagined. Furthermore, the addition of disgraced former Fox News chairman Roger Ailes and Breitbart News CEO Steve Bannon to his campaign means the train wreck will continue.
Ironically, some Republican elites have turned to mainstream media to denounce Trump. It’s too little, too late. Trump’s new Yes Men have spent their careers turning Americans against mainstream media. It’s delightfully ironic that media outlets such as Fox News and Breitbart are the only media channels available to reach many Republican voters. Incumbent Republicans would love to address their constituents to talk about their “true conservative” nature, but these outlets have cultivated a generation of voters who happily buy into rightwing-created conspiracy theories about Benghazi, Hillary Clintons’s emails and Obama’s birth certificate.
Thankfully, voters in the United States have largely become disenchanted with the Trump campaign and the over-the-top propaganda of alt-right media. Every reliable poll is now giving a clear lead to Democratic nominee Hillary and many believe the campaign is already over for Trump. But Trump is still on the loose. The only question left for Republicans isn’t just if they can stop him from causing damage to the party, but how to deal with the effects of a racist and xenophobic campaign that he has unleashed.
