Republican strategists are laying out their key takeaways from the 2024 election results — and voters who yearn for the days when Donald Trump was a political pariah might not enjoy the “lesson” the party is gleaning from his victory.
“Trump embodies a middle finger to the cultural establishment,” Republican strategist Giancarlo Sopo told NOTUS. “So if you don’t like your corporate DEI department or the excessively politically correct HR lady, you’re going to channel that energy through him. He’s a proxy for those frustrations.”
Sopo said Trump also “draws people to the polls who would otherwise not vote,” telling NOTUS while “your typical podcast bro does not care about his local Senate race … he will show up and vote for Trump.”
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Still, Sopo and other Republican strategists warned candidates against outright copying the former-president-turned-president-elect.
“You can’t authentically replicate the Trump persona,” Sopo said. “But what you can do is take a look at parts of his policies that do appeal to people and embrace them.”
“If you model yourself on Trump, or try to be a mini-me, it’s not going to have the same authenticity,” former Trump campaign adviser David Urban warned. “It’s not going to be authentic.”
Republican strategist Alex Stroman likewise impressed that “candidates matter.
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“That’s the most important thing,” Stroman said. “Donald Trump is a super candidate and is finally maybe getting recognition for that.”
Read the full report at NOTUS.