After the never-Trumper Rep. John Katko announced his forthcoming retirement from Congress, Donald Trump took a much-deserved victory lap in front of a humongous outdoor crowd of tens of thousands in Arizona. Though the media rarely shows the extent of his audiences, the turnout was overwhelming despite unusually cold weather. Standing before a roaring crowd that kicked off more planned rallies like it, Trump declared that this “year we are going to take back the House, we’re going to take back the Senate and we are going to take back America. And in 2024, we’re going to take back the White House.”
Trump’s prediction is likely to come true, and the Republican Party will never be the same. In addition to the departure of Never-Trumpers from Congress, members of the Administration who turned against Trump a year ago have likewise vanished from the political scene. Prominent among them is the cabinet secretary Elaine Chao, wife of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who has disappeared from public view after lashing out against Trump while she herself was being investigated for misconduct. As Senator Lindsey Graham pointedly asked, “Can Senator McConnell effectively work with the leader of the Republican Party, Donald Trump?”
At Saturday’s spectacular rally in Arizona, Trump rattled off the conservative agenda that prioritizes election integrity, ending mask requirements for children, protecting freedom from vaccine mandates, holding China accountable for Covid, stopping the unfair invasion by men into women’s sports, protecting the unborn, nominating better judges, and helping our veterans. Trump praised the new breed of candidates whom he’s endorsed for office, and welcomed to the stage Kari Lake as the candidate for governor of Arizona. She declared that as governor she will build Trump’s southern wall to stop the flow of illegal aliens into our country through Arizona.
America does not need a Democrat takeover or a Republican takeover. Our nation needs a conservative takeover. As an unbroken procession of do-nothing Congresses has taught us, putting one party in office is not enough to see power restored to the people. The only way to drain the Swamp is to put real principled conservatives in office. Let’s take a hint from President Trump and demand real conservatism.
