GINGRICH: The General Election Begins

The New York Times called President Donald Trump’s victory in South Carolina on Saturday a “crushing home state loss” for former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

For once, the New York Times was right. A 59.8 percent to 39.5 percent popular vote victory (and a 47 to three delegate count) is crushing.

In the first five primary contests, President Trump has won 110 delegates and Haley has won 20. Importantly, these were her best states. If she can’t beat Trump in Iowa, New Hampshire, or South Carolina, she can’t beat him anywhere.

The Koch fundraising system apparently reached the same conclusion and announced Sunday it was no longer going to fund the Haley campaign.

The best thing Haley could do is gracefully drop out and endorse Trump as preferable to Biden. The longer she stays in the race, the more she will alienate most Republicans.

Any notion that she is staying in so the party could turn to her if something happened to President Trump is delusional. In Nevada, Haley lost by 63.2 percent to 30.7 percent to “None of these candidates” (a term Nevada permits). If anything happened to President Trump, there is no possibility the delegates would turn to Haley. They would back virtually anyone against the anti-Trump candidate.

Every day she stays in the race makes Trump’s supporters more hostile toward her. Haley is also an impossible choice for the No Labels ticket because she has alienated so many Republicans.

So, the time has come to focus on the general election.

Gallup’s recent polls set the stage for a Joe Biden defeat comparable to the repudiation of President Jimmy Carter in 1980 (when Ronald Reagan won the largest electoral majority against an incumbent president in American history).

Consider the hole the Biden presidency is in according to Gallup.

Only 38 percent approve of the job President Biden is doing, and 59 percent disapprove. Only 40 percent approve of his effort to help Ukraine, while 53 percent disapprove. The Biden administration’s economic program (so-called Bidenomics) is at 36 percent approval. Sixty-one percent disapprove of it. On foreign affairs in general, Biden is at 33 percent approval and 62 percent disapproval. On his handling of the Middle East – and especially the Israeli-Palestinian war – 30 percent approve to 62 percent disapprove. Finally, on immigration, only 28 percent approve of his performance and 67 percent disapprove (and this was before Venezuelan illegal immigrant Jose Antonio Ibarra was charged with killing nursing student Laken Riley at the University of Georgia).

When your basic support on performance runs from 28 percent to 40 percent – and your disapproval runs from 53 percent to 67 percent – you are a candidate in deep trouble. It is going to take a lot more than good advertising for Biden to get re-elected.

The collapse in support for President Biden’s policies is reflected in other national polling data. According to the Real Clear Politics average, President Trump leads 46.7 percent to 44.8 percent. If there are five candidates splitting the vote, President Trump leads with 41.5 percent while President Biden drops to 36.8 percent.

Key swing states reflect the same advantage for President Trump.

• Michigan is Trump 46.7 percent to Biden 42.1 percent (Trump up by 4.6 percent).
• Georgia is Trump 48.5 percent to Biden 41.7 percent (a 6.8 Trump advantage leaving no margin for manipulation by Fani Willis’ friends).
• Nevada is Trump 48.7 percent to Biden 40.3 percent (Trump by 8.4 percent).
• Arizona is Trump 47 percent to Biden 42.3 percent (Trump by 4.7).

Every indicator points to the opportunity for President Trump to win by a margin big enough to help elect a Republican Senate and expand the Republican majority in the House.

Of course, if Biden collapses (as President Carter or Sen. George McGovern did) 2024 could turn into a rout of historic proportions.

The next stage will be for President Trump to campaign in all 50 states – and in every major city. There is a real opportunity to offer a vision of a dramatically better future for all Americans.

Just as candidate Reagan had a handful of themes in 1980, President Trump can focus on safety, prosperity, affordability, and American patriotism to build a huge majority.

Americans want to be safe at home and abroad. Biden is failing on both fronts.

Americans want an economy that is prosperous and affordable. Biden is failing on both fronts.

Most Americans want a restored and reinvigorated American patriotism. Biden’s attitudes and policies reflect opposite values.

The left knows it is in deep trouble and may not be able to defeat President Trump. That is why the liberal elites are destroying the rule of law and replacing it with a level of judicial corruption unlike anything we have ever seen in America.

However, the effort to destroy Trump through judicial warfare is becoming grotesque, unreasonable, and indefensible. It may end up helping Trump and hurting Biden.

If every citizen votes, this will be an historic moment in America – and could renew our civilization for a generation. If not, America could have a hard road ahead.

For more commentary from Newt Gingrich, visit Gingrich360.com. Also, subscribe to the Newt’s World podcast.

This article was originally published by RealClearPolicy and made available via RealClearWire.