We can add Bob Woodward’s new book “Rage” to the growing library of pages devoted to Donald Trump’s malfeasance in office. But what will be interesting to watch is whether it moves the polls. If, and only if his numbers begin to tank (more than they’ve already tanked) will we begin to see Republicans abandon him. That would mean several points down in his approval rating, a number that may already be close to its floor. Twenty-four hours after the excerpts of the book were released, the GOP seems to be hanging with Trump. And one has to wonder, would there ever be a a breaking point? If the “suckers” and “losers” scandal didn’t do it, then what’s 200,000 casualties that might have been prevented? The most we’ve seen is a muted response from Senator Marco Rubio. The Florida Republican told Fox Business’s Maria Bartiromo, “Do I prefer that the American people had been told the more fully sort of the risks and the threat earlier on? Sure.” But that was bookended by Rubio praising the president’s response.
Then there was an embarrassing interview with Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) on CNN where he appeared to have memorized one talking point that he kept repeating, referring to the Woodward book as a “gotcha book.” We would argue it’s hard to be a “gotcha” when the “get-ee” agreed to the interviews.
Then there is the usual parade of GOP Senators pleading ignorance.
Predictably, Senator Lindsey Graham is one of the politicians defending Trump. But in a twist, he may not have seen coming, Fox News’ Tucker Carlson is actually blaming Graham for Trump’s interviews with Woodward.
Tucker Carlson spends about a minute talking about the Bob Woodward tapes.
Rather than discuss what Trump actually said about intentionally downplaying the virus, Tucker’s takeaway is that Lindsey Graham set up Trump by advising him to talk to Woodward. pic.twitter.com/Q6Rzf20iGX
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) September 10, 2020
Many people point out that during Richard Nixon’s final days, fellow members of the GOP party knew it was time for the 37th president of the United States to resign and they made it known.
Of course the lack of reaction from Republicans isn’t anything new. After all, we are still waiting to find out what they thought about allegations Trump called members of the military “losers” and “suckers.”
*This contains opinion and analysis