Even Michael Savage, who has been politically backing former President Donald Trump for a decade, is now calling for Trump to step aside following the Republicans’ underperformance in the midterm elections.
According to the Daily Wire, Savage made the case for Trump to step aside during Thursday’s broadcast of his podcast. He titled the episode, A black eye, not a red wave – the morning after pill.
“I believe . . .”
During the opening of Thursday’s broadcast, Savage argued that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), not Trump, is the future of the Republican Party, at least if the Republicans want to be successful.
“I gotta tell you this, and many people are mad at me now – we all know what’s coming – I believe that DeSantis is the future of the Republican Party if they are to have a future at all,” Savage said.
These words have surprised many given just how much of a Trump supporter Savage has been. But, Savage went on to explain his position.
“Let me tell you why before you jump down my throat and say, ‘Oh, you stabbed Trump in the back,'” Savage said. “I care more about the country than I do about a man. I’ve said before — this is about a nation, not about any man.”
Savage went on to provide some reasons why DeSantis would be a better 2024 candidate for Republicans than Trump, including that DeSantis is young and that Trump has been “wrongly” made “toxic” by the mainstream media. Savage also criticized Trump for a number of his pre- and post-midterm decisions, including some of the candidates that he endorsed who failed.
He’s not alone
The simple fact is that Republicans seemingly underperformed in the midterm elections and now, looking for someone to blame, many are pointing the finger at Trump.
Many, additionally, are taking this a step further suggesting that the outcome of the midterm elections is proof that Trump ought not to be the Republicans’ presidential candidate in 2024.
Trump, himself, has adamantly pushed back against this whole narrative. He has insisted that the candidates that he endorsed, by and large, succeeded and that, therefore, the midterms were a success. Accordingly, he has made it clear that he intends to move forward with his plan to seek reelection, a plan which he is expected to officially announce in the coming week.
Overall, Republicans now appear split on Trump. There are well-known Republicans who are sticking with Trump and there are well-known Republicans, who previously supported Trump, who are now arguing that it is time to move on from Trump.
At the moment, there’s no telling how this is going to turn out. But, at the very least, it appears clear that there is an impending battle over the future of the Republican Party.