【Wen/Observer Net Wang Yi】79-year-old U.S. President Trump put on a performance of the elderly's memory loss.
In the state senatorial election held in Texas on January 31, Democrat Taylor Rehmet, 33 years old and running for the first time, defeated Republican candidate Leigh Wambsganss by 14 percentage points, ending the Republican Party's decades-long rule in this district. Just the day before, Trump had publicly expressed his support for this Republican candidate.
On February 1 local time, Trump was asked by reporters outside his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida: "In a district where you previously won by 17 percentage points, Democrats won a special election. What is your reaction to this?"
Trump replied: "I don't know, I haven't heard of it. Was there a candidate? Where?"
After being reminded that it was Texas, Trump shrugged and said, "I didn't get involved in this. It's a local election in Texas. Are you saying I won by 17 points, but this person lost? Things like this happen. I'm not on the ballot."
On February 1 local time, Trump was interviewed outside his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Video screenshot
When reporters asked if this worried him, Trump interrupted them, saying, "You don't know if this support is transferable. I'm not on the ballot, so you can't tell if it can be transferred."
Then Trump shifted the topic to crime issues and warned that if the Democrats take power, "crime will be everywhere, and there's no crime now." But when returning to the Texas election topic, Trump again said he was "not aware of it" and tried to completely disclaim any connection. "No, I don't know anything. I just know there was an election, and the result wasn't good. What else can I say? It has nothing to do with me," he said.
"79-year-old Trump claims he has no memory of the Republican defeat," sarcastically pointed out by the American news website The Daily Beast on the 1st. Just last Friday, he had posted on his own social media platform "Truth Social," personally endorsing Wambsganss in this election, urging voters to go out and vote for "a very successful entrepreneur and a firm supporter of our movement," and signed off as "President Donald Trump."
On January 30 local time, Trump posted on social media "full support" for Wambsganss. Social Media
However, the election results on January 31 showed that Democrat Taylor Rehmet defeated Wambsganss with 57% to 43% in the special Senate election in Texas' 9th district, flipping the Republican-held district blue. Subsequently, Trump also "reneged on his word," claiming "I haven't heard of this matter."
The U.S. "Congressional Hill" on the 1st stated that the Democratic victory in this deeply red state was a major win. The Wall Street Journal noted that in the 2024 presidential election, Trump had defeated Democratic candidate Harris by 17 percentage points in this district, while this state-level election saw a 31-point overall shift to the left, which could weaken the Republicans' hopes in the midterms.
Texas Deputy Governor, Republican Dan Patrick admitted after the election that this loss "was a warning to all Republicans in Texas," "Our voters can no longer be complacent about anything anymore."
Former Republican state legislator and current director of the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation Jason Villalba said that this result was a clear "bad omen" for the Republicans, and the party's support among Latino voters has begun to decline, "This not only affects Texas, but also the entire country."
The Wall Street Journal mentioned that Wambsganss received the endorsement of Trump and several top Republicans, yet still lost, and this happened despite her campaign's financial advantage. According to campaign finance reports, since late October, her campaign team spent over $1 million, while Rehmet spent only $177,000.
The Democrats were greatly encouraged. Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin said on social media that the Republicans "just lost in a Texas district where Trump won by 17 percentage points," which was not accidental, but a pattern forming, "The Democrats are continuing their historic unexpected performance, and the momentum hasn't slowed down."
More pressure was placed on the Republicans, as this was not the only gain for the Democrats in Texas recently. According to USA Today, on the same January 31, Democrat Christian Menefee won a special election for a U.S. House seat in Texas, further shrinking the already slim majority of Republicans in the House.
The report pointed out that this means the Republicans' majority in the House would shrink to 218-214, making any legislative progress more difficult. Recent special elections have gone well for the Democrats, these achievements have boosted the party's hope of regaining control of the House in November's midterms. At that time, all 435 House seats will be up for re-election.
A recent poll by The New York Times and Siena College showed that 56% of voters disapprove of Trump's performance. In a hypothetical midterm election matchup, 48% of respondents said they would support a Democratic candidate, compared to 43% for the Republicans.
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Original: toutiao.com/article/7602244804998726198/
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