The Banter Brief: Republicans Are Turning On Trump

A very, very bad week for the president.

Welcome to this week’s edition of The Banter Brief!

IMPORTANT NOTE: The Banter will be donating 100% of all membership sales this week to Black Lives Matter. We will cover all transactional costs too, so all your money will go directly to the organization at the heart of the fight against racism. We’re also giving readers 50% off the normal price of a membership, so please sign up today, get a membership to the best newsletter around while helping an enormously important cause. If you are already a member, this would also be a great time to purchase a membership for a friend or family member!:

1. Most Important Story Of The Week

Republicans Are Turning On Trump

After Trump’s bible stunt outside St. John's Church in Lafayette Park that saw Black Lives Matter protesters “dominated” by the police (as Trump urged Governors around America to do), prominent Republicans appear to be turning on Trump in record numbers. Ordering the brutalizing of peaceful protestors and threatening to turn the military on American citizens may have been Trump’s version of crossing the Rubicon.

From Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to Senator Lisa Murkowski, John Boehner and Paul Ryan, major Republicans are spurning Trump in ways we haven’t seen before. Reported the NY Times:

Former President George W. Bush won’t support the re-election of Mr. Trump, and Jeb Bush isn’t sure how he’ll vote, say people familiar with their thinking. Senator Mitt Romney of Utah won’t back Mr. Trump and is deliberating whether to again write in his wife, Ann, or cast another ballot this November. Cindy McCain, the widow of Senator John McCain, is almost certain to support Mr. Biden…

And former Secretary of State Colin Powell announced on Sunday that he will vote for Mr. Biden, telling CNN that Mr. Trump “lies about things” and Republicans in Congress won’t hold him accountable. Mr. Powell, who voted for former President Barack Obama as well as Hillary Clinton, said he was close to Mr. Biden politically and socially and had worked with him for more than 35 years. “I’ll be voting for him,” he said.

Granted none of the Republicans mentioned above have ever been enthusiastic about Trump, but there is palpable change in mood in the GOP. The party is now reckoning with the fact that Trump will not only destroy himself, but erase their majority in the Senate.

(image via Bloomberg)

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2. Poll Analysis

As we’re fond of saying, never pay attention to national polls. If 2016 taught us anything, it is to always, always check the the swing states. And if you are team Trump, you would be very, very alarmed by what is happening across the country. From FiveThirtyEight:

It is worth noting that Trump has an inherent advantage in the electoral college given the disproportionate power of right leaning states, and should the polls narrow over the coming months, that advantage will increase. But for now, Biden’s lead over Trump in key battle ground states is growing, and new states like Texas and Florida are expanding Biden’s pathways to the presidency.

3. Quote Of The Week

“Chicago has been solidly Democratic in city government since 1931. For 89 years Democrats have owned the mayor’s office. Democrats in Chicago should take a knee and ask for forgiveness from the people they have failed in every aspect of life.”

- Newt Gingrich on why Democrats are to blame for police violence towards African Americans

4. What to Watch

Ok, so it’s what not to watch this week.

What: ‘The Last Days Of American Crime’, a dystopian action movie based on an adaptation of a popular graphic novel. ‘The Last Days Of American Crime’ is a masterclass in how to destroy a reasonably interesting storyline, bore your audience to tears, and potentially wreck the careers of decent actors. The film is needlessly violent, utterly charmless, and so badly written it is amazing any of the cast signed on to it. The film received an astonishing 0% on Rotten Tomatoes and deservedly so.

Why: Watch the first 20 minutes to feel better about your own chances of becoming a scriptwriter. If this can get made, whatever harebrained idea you’ve had during Coronavirus lockdown certainly can.

Where: Netflix. (Also, maybe ask them for a refund this month for spending your subscription dollars producing something this dreadful?)

5. Good News

Major advertisers are fleeing Tucker Carlson’s Fox Show like rats on a sinking ship. In response to Carlson’s latest campaign to deny racism in America and smear Black Lives Matter protestors (apparently, the movement “is definitely not about Black lives”), major brands have decided they cannot be associated with Trump’s premier White Supremacist intellectual. From the NY Times:

prominent companies including the Walt Disney Company, Papa John’s, Poshmark and T-Mobile have distanced themselves from “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” joining other businesses that have backed away from the show in recent years.

The flight of advertisers accelerated on Tuesday, when the watchdog group Sleeping Giants tagged T-Mobile in a Twitter post, saying that Fox News had aired what amounted to an “extremely racist segment scaremongering about the Black community.”

Does this mean Tucker Carlson’s truly abhorrent show is coming off the air? No. Not yet at least. But this is a good start.

Have a great weekend!

Read more for Banter Members:

REMINDER: We will be donating 100% of all membership sales this week to Black Lives Matter. We’re also giving readers 50% off the normal price of a membership, so please sign up today!:

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