Opinion
Florida Representative Matt Gaetz shared his thoughts on the Republican Party’s realignment and its potential impact on future elections in an interview with the Newsmax host Carl Higbie.
Gaetz spoke about the results of the Iowa Caucus which delivered a resounding victory to former President Donald Trump. He noted that even through incredibly frigid temperatures, people came out in droves to carry Trump to an over 50% showing.
“These folks came out and voted overwhelmingly for the president,” the congressman said.
Gaetz then remarked that the GOP is becoming the party of blue-collar workers and suggested that white suburban women are no longer the focus because minority workers are turning MAGA.
“This is the blue-collar realignment of the Republican Party and what I can tell you is for every Karen we lose, there’s a Julio and a Jamal ready to sign up for the MAGA movement, and that bodes well for our ability to be more diverse and to be more durable as we head into not only the rest of the primary contest, but also the general election,” he said.
.@mattgaetz on the Republican Party realignment: “For every Karen we lose, there’s a Julio and a Jamal ready to sign up for the MAGA movement.” @CarlHigbie pic.twitter.com/0mGhNAcbB2
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) January 17, 2024
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Gaetz Downplays The ‘Karen’ Vote
We can appreciate Gaetz’s exuberance for minority voters and/or blue-collar workers lining up to support former President Donald Trump.
But, as Higbie points out in a follow-up comment, “When Trump was president, it was better for all people, not just people of certain races.”
All people. It’s not a good idea to eschew the white suburban mom vote by diminishing them as “Karens.” Republicans need all hands on deck for the 2024 presidential election – including suburban women.
As Duane Patterson at Hot Air writes, there are a lot of women voters who come from divorce, women with a disdain for Trump’s antics and approach to governing.
“25% of all Americans 18 years and older have gone through a marital split. That’s tens of millions of people,” Patterson writes. “To a whole lot of them, Donald Trump embodies everything they don’t like in their ex-husband. How does Trump overcome that narrative?”
Trump can start by making sure his surrogates stop referring to them as ‘Karens.’
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Embrace The Karen Vote
Some critics argue that Gaetz’s comment oversimplifies complex issues and could alienate potential voters. They believe that the Republican Party should focus on appealing to a broad base of voters rather than relying on specific demographic groups.
A Fox News poll from August of last year showed that neither Trump nor President Joe Biden was particularly appealing to suburban voters, especially suburban women. However, the numbers were more brutal for the former President.
Yet a Bloomberg News/Morning Consult Poll shows Trump gaining support, at least in the swing state of Michigan, with suburban women voters.
As to Gaetz’s point about minority voters swinging Trump’s way, a recent New York Times poll showed his support from black voters is approaching unheard-of heights.
“Black voters — long a bulwark for Democrats and for Mr. Biden — are now registering 22 percent support in these states for Mr. Trump, a level unseen in presidential politics for a Republican in modern times,” the Times reported.
But Trump doesn’t need to lose one “Karen” vote and replace it with two votes from a separate demographic. He needs to hold onto the “Karen” vote and bring some others into the Republican tent.
That is the only way to soundly and decisively defeat Biden.
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