BRACK: S.C. GOP should serve as Trump’s 2024 roadblock

By Andy Brack  |  South Carolina can do the nation a favor in its 2024 presidential primary by dumping former President Donald Trump as a candidate. Simply put, he’s a train wreck who is making America small. He doesn’t deserve to be president again.

In the Palmetto State where conservative Christian voters heavily identify with and vote for Republicans, how can anyone who follows Jesus continue to support someone who has broken most of the Old Testament’s Ten Commandments? 

He’s committed adultery (Commandment 7).  He’s cheated on past wives multiple times, according to a review of stories by Newsweek.  And then there’s the $130,000 hush money payment in 2016 to porn star Stormy Daniels which exploded into a 34-count indictment of falsifying business records related to the payment.  Supporters say the New York state charges are, ahem, trumped up, but they’re still on the books.  More than a dozen women also have accused him of sexual misconduct, according to New York magazine.

He’s stolen (Commandment 8). Hundreds have alleged that he doesn’t pay his bills, which essentially is stealing.  His campaign left Pickens County, for example, holding a $40,000 bag for unreimbursed costs for his July 1 campaign rally.  While there was no contract with the county, taxpayers should be outraged that they’re footing a campaign bill.

He’s lied. (Commandment 9).  The Washington Post, for example, tracked more than 30,000 false and misleading statements by Trump in his four years as president.

He has coveted. (Commandment 10).  What may have been Washington’s worst-kept secrets were Trump’s jealous rages and overwhelming yearning to possess more than anyone else.  “My whole life I’ve been greedy, greedy, greedy,” Trump said in 2016. “I’ve grabbed all the money I could get.”

He hasn’t been ever charged with killing anyone (Commandment 6). But his administration’s health and environmental policies – or lack of policies – contributed to the deaths of thousands, according to a 2021 study cited by Forbes. And he has put money before everything else, breaking the first commandment.  He’s worshiped the trappings of power, as highlighted in gold-plated toilets and the country clubs and hotels that flash his name in brazen letters, breaking Commandment 2.  He’s taken the Lord’s name in vain (3) and not kept the Sabbath holy (4).  

Now he wants to be president again to get over being a loser in 2020.  And three in four Republicans in South Carolina had a favorable view of him in April.  According to a Winthrop Poll:

“When it comes to Trump, 43% of South Carolinians have a favorable view and 48% an unfavorable one. The former president remains much more favorable in his own party with almost three-quarters holding a favorable view as compared to 17% an unfavorable one. Conversely, three-quarters of Democrats express an unfavorable view of Trump while 19% view him favorably.”

Let’s hope GOP primary voters in South Carolina will open their eyes to other candidates in the months ahead.  

Not only is Trump under two major criminal indictments with more expected, but he still thumbs his nose at the nation’s political heritage, continuing to fuel the flames of dissent to stroke his fragile ego.  

Just this week, for example, the Associated Press reported that Trump, who eventually condemned the Jan. 6 insurrectionists who stormed the U.S. Capitol, has changed his tune.  It reported, “any sign of regret or reprimand from Trump has vanished as he prepares to face federal criminal charges for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.”

As an early primary state, South Carolina’s Republican voters can serve as a roadblock to Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign.  Is he really the best that the Republican Party can offer to America?

Andy Brack, editor and publisher of the Charleston City Paper and Statehouse Report, last week was named first-place winner for political columns in the 2023 national contest by the Association of Alternative Newsmedia. Have a comment? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com.