Wall Street Journalist Peggy Noonan recently penned two, scathing opinion pieces on Donald Trump. The first, dated June 16, titled Trump Voters Need a New Direction, urged the Trump MAGA crowd to find another candidate to support for President in 2024. “He might have been the only Republican who could beat Hillary in 2016. But he’s a sure loser in 2024,” writes Noonan.
The second column, titled Trump and Biden Both Face Rejection, dated June 23, focused on the Jan. 6th committee hearings, and the bad economic factors, as a reason why neither Biden or Trump will be their party’s nominee in ’24. “This is the big political story now: Both parties are rejecting their leaders, Donald Trump and Joe Biden. It’s a continuing tectonic shift and the story underlying every daily political story. It’s building and will only grow. Both parties are starting to scramble for what’s next, who’s next. Both are casting about,” writes Noonan.
The second column drew the wrath of Trump, who issued a statement that his PAC released which read, “I listen to all of these foolish (stupid!) people, often living in a bygone era, like the weak and frail RINO, Peggy Noonan, who did much less for Ronald Reagan than she claims, and who actually said bad things about him and his ability to speak, or Rich Lowry, who has destroyed the once wonderful and influential National Review, the pride and joy of the legendary William F. Buckley, or George Will, whose mind is decaying with hatred and envy before our very eyes, or Jonah Goldberg and Stephen Hayes, two people who are finally out of the conversation and of no relevance whatsoever,” Trump said. “Where do these people come from? They have no idea what the MAGA movement is, and even less of an understanding of America First, which is necessary, and even vital, to save our Country,” writes Trump.
Trump is wrong about Noonan, and the eloquent words she wrote for President Reagan, who had the ability to deliver them perfectly. Noonan’s words, delivered by Reagan, were so powerful that she is still relevant today.
But Trump is right about one thing: Noonan and the others that he named, Lowry, Will, Goldberg and Hayes, are indeed from a byegone era of the Republican party.
Rusty Bowers, the Arizona Speaker of the House, also appeared to be of that same bygone era of the GOP when he testified how he stood up to Trump and Rudy in the days before Jan. 6.
Unfortunately, the discussion about this split in the republican party, and the tiff between Trump and Noonan was overshadowed on Meet the Press over abortion and the recent overturning of Roe v Wade, when Noonan said that the GOP “should become a party that helps women.”
That comment drew laughs from the panel, and ridicule from the Social Media haters.
But Noonan hit a nerve when she wrote that Trump and Biden are done. It’s now DeSantis or Pence or Nikki Haley for the GOP. And if that happens maybe all of the never Trumpers can come home again.
Noonan, notably, wrote an op-ed for Thursday’s Wall Street Journal in which she argued that the Jan. 6 hearings are “sinking” Trump and Republicans are searching for his replacement.
