I've been involved in winning presidential races and races that lost. One common thread is that everyone seems to have a reason why you won or lost which usually reflects a personal perspective or agenda. So here's mine: I think VP Harris ran a very good campaign that operated at a high level. She had a great convention, crushed Trump in a debate, and put on a series of big event rallies that were the best I'd ever seen. As a Republican operative, I spent years pointing out flaws in the Democratic Party and I'm not here to say it doesn't need to go through a period of questioning and self-reflection. Those are much larger questions than one election and one campaign. But the Republican party is an anti-democratic movement, attacking the pillars of American democracy from elections to the judicial system. I understand those who say that if there had been a "normal" Democratic primary, the results would have been better. Maybe. But think about it. In modern political history, every time a sitting VP has run for the nomination, that VP has won. Perhaps it would have been different this time and the eventual nominee would have emerged stronger for the process. But more likely there would have been a bloody primary fight that left the nominee broke and trying to patch together a fractured party to face a Republican party that has become Donald Trump's party. In all probability, VP Harris would have won that primary and been in a weakened and vulnerable position when it was finally resolved in May or June. I would say to my Democratic friends to go through this post-election process with open minds and hearts but never doubt that the Democratic party is the only pro-democracy party in America. No one will have a position in Trump's administration who is not an election denier adhering to the Big Lie. That's toxic to a country's sense of self and the damage will take a generation to repair, if it is possible to heal. Losing an election does not mean that you were wrong and they were right. It means you lost an election. I grew up in Mississippi watching my parents back candidates opposed to segregation. When those candidates lost, and they did for a long time, my parents didn't question if they were on the right side. They didn't ask themselves if the majority who supported segregation had proven the justness of their cause by winning. The mid-terms start after the Super Bowl. It will likely be a good election for Democrats and then the 2028 presidential race will be upon us. After a loss, the days seem long but the months will pass quickly. Reflect, rest up, but come back prepared to fight. Fight not because victory is assured but fight because not to fight is to give up. And if we do that, we no longer deserve to call ourselves Americans. Read less

Saying it again 49.9% with a 1.5% margin is not an overwhelming majority. Stop feeding the narrative that he won overwhelmingly. The nation is split as it has been and he won on the margin. Half the nation said “no” and let’s not act otherwise

Where did Trump voters get their news? 📰 Yes, there's social and partisan sites, but there is another influential strategy that isn't getting enough attention: Manipulated, pay-to-play and all out fake news sites I've been covering a mix of those for years. Here's a primer 🧵

People can analyze, hypothesize, blame Dems till they are blue in the face. None of it matters. This is the game right here. Misinformation works. Those that believed misinformation voted Trump. Those that believed the truth voted Harris. There is NO candidate that can change this. Republicans have a well oiled propaganda machine that spans all media platforms and we do not. Period.

From Ipsos last month. People who answered factual questions about inflation, crime, and immigration incorrectly were "more likely to opt for Trump," while those who answered correctly preferred Harris. Disinformation and lack of basic education and knowledge are destroying us.

This is absolutely what sort of ish needs to happen. Relentlessly on message.

Important analog.

Yes. Do not disengage.

Starting to think that one simple way to understand this is that Trump won the two times he was the challenger to the incumbent party, and in both cases, he was seen as the outsider/disrupter of status quo, including the second time

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Trump votes for Florida’s 6-week abortion ban

Trump on RFK JR: Bobby is pretty much do what he wants… Do whatever you want.. Women’s Health. He’s so into women’s health. It’s such a passion

what

Trump’s Top General Mark Milley says Trump privately admitted he lost despite election lies “We were in the Oval, there was a discussion going on and [Trump] says words to the effect of ‘Yeah, we lost.’”

Trump: "A whistleblower released the information on the 18 on the 800,000 cobs plus."

RFK Jr.: Yes, I would sign a national abortion ban

Trump seems to forget where he is right now, telling the crowd in North Carolina “you have one of the best of all right here, David McCormick,” who is running for Senate in Pennsylvania. “David is here around some place, you know … we just left him.”

Texas OB-Gyns Release Letter After News of the Deaths of Josseli Barnica and Nevaeh Crain as a Result of Texas Abortion Ban

Trump says he “shouldn’t have left” the White House after the 2020 election: “I shouldn’t have left. I mean, honestly”

Trump on protection from assassination at a speech: “to get me, somebody would have to shoot through the fake news. And I don't mind that so much. I don't mind. I don’t mind that.”