editorials
The Trump Eff ect
ven as an increasingly thick cloud
of investigations swirls around
him, Donald Trump continues to exert
a remarkably strong infl uence on the
Republican Party.

His reach is national and his impact
is being felt at almost every level
of government. Most of the candi-
dates he has endorsed have won
their Republican primary contests.

According to NBC news, of the 204
candidates Trump has backed since
his own election defeat in 2020, a
whopping 188 have won, 14 have lost
and two dropped out or were disqual-
ifi ed before Election Day. That’s an
impressive win rate of more than 92%.

Many of the Trump-backed victors
in Republican primaries are part of
the chorus who claim Trump was
robbed of victory in the 2020 pres-
idential election because of fraud.

That includes Republican guberna-
torial nominees Dan Cox in Maryland
and Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania.

And in Arizona, 12 Trump-endorsed
candidates made a clean sweep in
the primary, including gubernato-
rial candidate and prominent elec-
tion-denier Kari Lake.

But Trump’s most decisive pri-
mary win was in Wyoming, where
Republicans overwhelmingly repudi-
ated Rep. Liz Cheney, who received
less than 30% of the Republican vote
— an unheard of in-party rejection of
an incumbent offi ce holder.

Cheney, who voted for Trump’s
impeachment after the Jan. 6 insur-
rection, and who serves as vice chair
of the House investigation into the
insurrection, has been the face of
Republican rejection of Trump. And
though her actions were resound-
ingly rejected, she remains unbowed,
as she promises to “do whatever it
takes to ensure that Donald Trump is
never again anywhere near the Oval
Offi ce, and I mean it.”
Trump exerts his infl uence in
the same manner as he defends
against mounting accusations of
impropriety — openly, aggressively,
provocatively and pointedly. He con-
tinues a now-familiar shredding of
the conventional playbook with what
appears — to his detractors, at least
— to be a total lack of self-aware-
ness, humility or introspection.

Neither the recurring criticisms nor
Donald Trump
the mounting investigations seem
to aff ect Trump’s infl uence. Indeed,
Trump’s base is more riled up than
ever, and the Republican Party has
obediently followed. How else does
one explain Trump’s success in turn-
ing Liz Cheney, an ultraconservative
who voted with Trump 93% of the
time during his presidency, into a
folk hero for liberals?
And now Cheney is exploring a
presidential run in 2024. She says
her goal is to keep Trump out of
the White House. But where does
an accomplished and conserva-
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming)
tive, pro-gun, pro-small govern-
ment, pro-defense spending and
anti-abortion politician call home if
she is rejected by Donald Trump’s
Republican Party?
There is a lot at stake in the com-
ing November elections. And a lot
will happen between now and then.

But if Trump and his provocative
narrative continue to dominate press
coverage and political discussion
around the country, there is no tell-
ing just how much of an impact this
one man may have on our electoral
process. JE
The Threat of Itamar Ben-Gvir
A s Israel heads toward elections
in November, it is hard to ignore
a new reality: The country’s domestic
political agenda has practically
disappeared. Very little of the public debate in
today’s Israel revolves around traditional
domestic issues which helped defi ne
the diff erences between the country’s
political parties. Instead, current news
out of Israel highlights the continuing
expansion of the country’s international
relations, and the increasing focus on
the building of governing coalitions
either supportive of or opposed to for-
mer Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
following the next election.

In some respects, this new reality
is not surprising. The government of
Prime Minister Yair Lapid is a temporary,
caretaker government. It does not have
suffi cient Knesset support to direct pol-
icy or promote an agenda. As a result,
there is little point in Knesset members
14 or their parties advancing proposals
that seek to address social, economic or
other domestic concerns that have little
or no chance of passage.

Instead, party survival and party
prominence is the focus, with each
political announcement of affi liation,
partnering or merger being weighed
by how it might impact the pro- or
anti-Netanyahu numbers.

So it was with particular interest
that we watched the rise, and then
the fall, and now the uncertainty
of the possible merger of Itamar
Ben-Gvir and his hard-right, ultrana-
tionalist Otzma Yehudit Party with
Bezalel Smotrich and his traditionally
more moderate, but still right-wing,
Religious Zionist Party.

According to reports, negotiations
fell apart over Smotrich’s demand
for six of the eight projected seats
that the unifi cation would achieve
and Smotrich’s reluctance to expand
AUGUST 25, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
opportunity to politically like-minded
candidates who are not tradition-
ally religious. And there was also
Ben-Gvir’s claim that Otzma Yehudit
is more popular than the Religious
Zionist Party, and his conviction that
Otzma Yehudit will receive more
votes in the coming election than
the Religious Zionists.

The right-wing politics and decla-
rations of Smotrich present a num-
ber of challenges. But the politics
and positions of Ben-Gvir are down-
right frightening. The prospect of
that toxic mix in a prominent position
in the next Israeli government is
cause for concern.

Ben-Gvir is an unapologetic follower
of the outlawed, racist Kach Party and
its founder, Rabbi Meir Kahane. But
whereas Kahane was shunned in the
Knesset, Ben-Gvir is treated like a rock
star. He is photogenic and engaging,
and his popularity continues to grow,
particularly among younger voters.

And at least among some of his sup-
porters, Ben-Gvir’s ultranationalism
overshadows his racism.

Thus, his followers tolerate his pro-
motion of a Deportation Law that will
require the deportation of anyone
who acts against the state of Israel,
including those who throw stones
at soldiers. No one seems to have
asked where he comes out with
regard to haredim who throw stones
at police or soldiers who violate the
Shabbat, but he does say that Jews
who throw stones at Arabs should
be jailed but not deported.

In a political environment where
issues and policies are no longer
debated or vetted, and where the
only real focus is on building a major-
ity governing coalition, the likes of
Ben-Gvir and Otzma Yehudit bring
strong political value. But that’s not
the Israel we want to see. JE
Trump and Chaney photos: Commons.Wikimedia.org
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