The kingmaker speaks
It鈥檚 as if Donald Trump never left the presidency.
He still holds those exuberant campaign rallies with a not-too-carefully concealed eye on an attempted return to the White House.
And he still holds court by becoming quite the kingmaker.
Something for which he seems to be well-suited.
Many Republicans are lining up to kiss his ring and swear their allegiance to him.
Don鈥檛 you wonder why these folks boast of their kinship for a fellow who came up short in two consecutive presidential elections by a grand total of nearly 10 million (9,921,456) votes?
But it is what it is.
When you run as a Republican, you jump whenever the kingmaker speaks 鈥� regardless of how tattered his pedigree has become.
Trump gets to exercise his power. The candidates get to worship at the altar of Trump for a little street cred.
It鈥檚 (supposedly) a win-win arrangement.
So far, Trump has officially endorsed 14 Republicans running for governorships, 17 for the U.S. Senate, and 71 of them running for the U.S. House.
There will be more.
He鈥檚 stepped into some pretty hot Senate races in Georgia, Ohio, and, of course, Pennsylvania, where political neophyte Dr. Mehmet Oz can鈥檛 seem to speak without mentioning he鈥檚 a Trump endorsee.
Good for him, he thinks.
Meanwhile, if you still haven鈥檛 gotten one of Trump鈥檚 sought-after endorsements, you might try to get into his good graces by frequently mentioning he鈥檚 the true president, because of all of that 鈥渨idespread voter fraud鈥� in 2020.
For the record, you know there鈥檚 never been any 鈥渨idespread voter fraud.鈥� But say there was, anyway 鈥� and cha-ching!
As a kingmaker, I鈥檓 sure Trump loves hearing that he鈥檚 still the real president.
These folks don鈥檛 even have to profess complete loyalty to Trump.
In the Ohio race for U.S. Senate, venture capitalist and author J.D. Vance has become a favorite of Trump鈥檚 (getting one of his prized endorsements) 鈥� despite having questioned if Trump was America鈥檚 Hitler back in 2016.
And after he once publicly said he was a 鈥渘ever-Trump guy.鈥�
And remember when Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Trump got snippy with each other during the 2016 Republican primary season?
Rubio publicly questioned Trump鈥檚 manhood after Trump called him 鈥淟ittle Marco.鈥�
Well, 鈥淟ittle Marco鈥� has been endorsed by Trump in his upcoming bid for reelection.
Rubio figured if you can鈥檛 beat 鈥檈m 鈥� join 鈥檈m, especially when there鈥檚 the possibility that his campaign coffers could get an injection of that highly sought-after Trump cash.
There鈥檚 a report that Trump is sitting on top of more than a hundred million dollars in campaign cash.
So far, he鈥檚 only doled out a fraction of it.
That means there鈥檒l be a lot more power to wield between now and the midterms 鈥� and beyond.
He鈥檚 even mending fences that seemed unmendable last year.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has been outed as somebody willing to leave the 鈥淭rump Train鈥� in the days right after the Jan. 6th insurrection.
He鈥檚 heard in leaked audio talking about the possibility that he was considering asking Trump to resign ahead of the Jan. 20 inauguration of Joe Biden.
But it appears Trump and McCarthy have patched things up after the release of the audio.
Trump, though, doesn鈥檛 seem to have been as forgiving about the harsh words Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had about him in the wake of the insurrection.
McConnell has been reported as telling a New York Times reporter the day following the insurrection that Trump had 鈥減ut a gun to his head and pulled the trigger,鈥� by fomenting the violence the day before.
And that it 鈥渃ouldn鈥檛 happen at a better time.鈥�
Of course, after those statements, McConnell still maintained he鈥檇 vote for Trump if he is the Republican presidential nominee in 2024.
McConnell knows it wouldn鈥檛 be nice to cross a newly reelected President Trump if Republicans retake control of the Senate.
So, he鈥檚 laying low for the time being.
He鈥檚 allowing the kingmaker to make as many kings as he can.
Edward A. Owens is a multi-Emmy Award winner, former reporter, and anchor for Entertainment Tonight, and 40-year TV news and newspaper veteran. E-mail him at freedoms@bellatlantic.net.