Hey AMERICAblog readers,
I wanted to give you all a heads up that, as of today, we will be making a change to our style guide. While we have previously referred to Donald Trump by his name, Donald Trump, we will now switch to using the apparently more accurate nomenclature, [The Nominee].
After having spent the past week listening to Republican commentators, elected officials and even many voters, it is clear that they do not support the man, Donald Trump, for president. However, they still maintain that they fully intent to cast their ballot for some other guy, [The Nominee], in November. This being the case, we feel that we have no choice but to adopt the terminology that Republicans around the country are using to describe [The Nominee], as it appears that he, not Donald Trump, is the current Republican standard-bearer.
After all, it sure doesn’t sound like Republicans plan on voting for Donald Trump. Check out some of the things they’re saying about the guy:
Marco Rubio: “I believe that he would be best served (as Vice President) by someone who more fully embraces the things he stands for. And that’s certainly not me…My differences with Donald, both my reservations about his campaign and my policy differences with him, are well documented, and they remain.”
Paul Ryan: “There are lots of questions that conservatives are going to want answers to…I think what a lot of Republicans want to see is that we have a standard bearer that bears our standards.”
Paul Ryan, again: “I’m just not ready to do that (support Trump) at this point. I’m not there right now.”
Kelly Ayotte: “There’s no place in our society for racism and bigotry, and I found Mr. Trump’s response to David Duke and the KKK disgusting and offensive.”
Dan Sullivan: “Some of his rhetoric, some of his policy, certainly some of his instincts on national security and foreign policy…you’re looking right now the choice of someone who, I don’t think has fully formed ideas.”
John McCain: “Frankly, I have never seen the personalization of a campaign like this one, where people’s integrity and character are questioned…It bothers me a lot.”
John McCain, again: “I have strong disagreements with Mr. Trump on a number of issues…I’m not comfortable with a lot of the things that he has done.”
And yet, here’s what those same people are saying about [The Nominee], in the same statements and interviews:
Donald Trump, via Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons
Marco Rubio: “I signed a pledged saying I’d support the Republican nominee and I intend to continue do that.”
Paul Ryan: “I hope to support our nominee. I hope to support his candidacy fully.”
Kelly Ayotte, through a spokesperson: “Senator Ayotte intends to support the Republican nominee.”
Dan Sullivan: “I’ve had disagreements in terms of rhetoric used, in terms of policies stated, or lack there of. But, I plan on supporting the Republican nominee.”
John McCain: “I’m not one to tell him how to campaign except on the part of uniting the party…You have to listen to people that have chosen the nominee of our Republican Party. I think it would be foolish to ignore them”
John McCain, again: “I’m supporting the nominee of the party.”
As the Washington Post’s Alexanda Petri has deduced, the only possible conclusion to be drawn from this is that Republicans have hit upon a third option. They can withhold their support from both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump by gravitating toward [The Nominee], a person who shares all of their values and agrees with everything they have ever said. As she explained:
It is good that there is this third option. The Nominee sounds wonderful.
He seems to have a strong base of support. Senators who have nothing positive to say about Trump at all speak glowingly of the mysterious Nominee.
Very little is known about him, apart from the fact that he is probably statesmanlike and definitely not embarrassing to have at the top of the ticket, and probably Reagan would have liked to have a beer with him, or something, but what more do you need to know?
So there you have it. When we talk about Hillary Clinton’s opponent this November, we apparently aren’t talking about Donald Trump. We are talking about [The Nominee]. Apparently, we have no choice but to treat this race accordingly.
Cheers,
Jon
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