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On Friday, Ann Coulter, the noted conservative pundit and longtime Donald Trump loyalist, had harsh words for the former president in the wake of the midterm election results.
With many predicting blowout wins for the Republican Party this election cycle, the midterms have been surprisingly and historically positive for Democrats. No so-called "red wave" materialized in most parts of the country, with Democrats tipped to retain and potentially grow their Senate majority, with only Nevada and Georgia still up in the air. Democrats also have a small path to retaining the House, with Republicans anticipating a troublesomely thin majority should they retake the lower chamber.
One of the consistent threads throughout the midterm results this week has been the failure of many candidates endorsed by Trump. Celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz lost a tight Pennsylvania Senate race to progressive Democrat John Fetterman. Every secretary of state candidate endorsed by Trump in a swing state also failed to win office. Democrats have also, so far, made significant gubernatorial gains in many states, with Trump-backed candidate Kari Lake still trailing her Democratic challenger Katie Hobbs as Arizona ballots are counted.
All these failures have many in the conservative world turning on the former president and declaring his continued influence on the party toxic. Some have begun to anoint Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as the new face of the party, given the strong performance of Republicans in Florida. Among the voices calling for Trump to move on from a position of influence is Coulter, who previously published a book titled, In Trump We Trust: E Pluribus Awesome! in 2016.
In a tweet posted Friday, Coulter wrote that Trump needs to "shut up," while also highlighting his failure to succeed despite presiding over a majority GOP Congress for two years, and the fact that he gave important government positions to unqualified loyalists.
"To Trump: You had your chance, with a Republican House and Senate," Coulter wrote. "You handed domestic policy to your son-in-law and Gary Cohn. You handed foreign policy to your son-in-law and a country that gave your son-in-law $2 billion. Shut the f*** up, forever."
Newsweek reached out to Trump's office for comment.
Prior to the midterms, Trump had been expected to use the predicted "red wave" to bolster his early announcement of a 2024 run for president. Many are now calling for him to delay or reconsider this announcement altogether, though reports indicate that he still plans to announce it sooner rather than later. It is widely suspected that Trump would use another political campaign as a means to avoid criminal prosecution.
Rumors are circulating in the GOP's orbit that Attorney General Merrick Garland is preparing to indict Trump within 60 to 90 days after the midterm election, before the 2024 campaign cycle closes off the Department of Justice's (DOJ) chances of prosecution.
The former president is involved in a number of state and federal probes. At the federal level, he is being investigated for the mishandling of presidential documents that ended up at Mar-a-Lago after he left office. He is also involved in the DOJ's probe of last year's Capitol riot. Despite these mounting woes, Trump has maintained his innocence.
About the writer
Thomas Kika is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in upstate New York. His focus is reporting on crime and national ... Read more