Trump loses political ground in races

It was the classic “Trump take” on current events.

After Ed Gillespie, a former national Republican Party operative and a man on the GOP scene for decades, lost his race for governor of Virginia, President Trump promptly kicked him over the side with no life preserver, reckoning that Gillespie lost to Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam because he didn’t “embrace” Trump’s “agenda,” whatever that is, warmly enough. And in New Jersey, a Democrat, Phil Murphy, took the governorship that had been Republican Chris Christie’s for eight years.

And in Maine, Democratic voters led the way in approving expansion of Medicaid over Republican objections. Democrats also took a number of other local races across the country.

The president may try to cast the losses in any way he likes, but the facts are plain: President Trump’s approval ratings are sinking along with his political clout, and Trump’s bombastic behavior and his weakness in getting his message across to a wide range of citizens aren’t likely to help him out of the political doldrums.

Republicans will increasingly try to separate themselves from Trump to save their own political interests, and that will never be more evident than in the time when the 2018 elections approach. That’s when American voters will deliver their reviews on the GOP’s performance. The early tally isn’t looking good.

This story was originally published November 8, 2017 at 12:37 PM with the headline "Trump loses political ground in races."