Following former President Donald Trump's dominant wins in the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich penned an op-ed in which he urged Trump to employ what he calls a "sandwich" strategy throughout the remainder of the presidential campaign.
As I read it, Gingrich was spot on.
In a Wednesday op-ed titled "The Longest General Election," Gingrich laid out the reality:
We are now living through the longest general election campaign in history.
With President Donald Trump’s victories in Iowa and New Hampshire — and his massive lead for the Republican presidential nomination in national polls — the Republican nomination was decided on Jan. 23.
No one has ever tried to have a national conversation for 286 days before an election.
[...]
There will be constant pressure to find something negative with which to attack and undermine the Trump campaign in particular – and Republicans in general.
Newt was right.
Moreover, a lengthy Republican primary season that would have undoubtedly provided the liberal media with a ton of self-created red meat isn't going to happen. As Gingrich sees, that means that the left-wing media sock puppets will be desperate for content.
When combined with a national audience "with a high capacity for boredom," Mr. Gingrich says the news establishment has fallen into a “state of shock” and that “there will be constant pressure to find something negative with which to attack and undermine the Trump campaign in particular — and Republicans in general.”
Gingrich also posited that the long campaign would also be a "significant challenge" for the Biden administration.
Joe Biden’s people would have loved to watch the Republicans tear each other apart for months (and cataloged every candidate’s opposition research on Trump). In the ideal Biden world, all political coverage for the next six months would be negative – and about Republicans.
Instead, the 2024 political drama will be about President Trump dominating the landscape and leading a political movement unlike anything we have seen in modern times.
A vigorous series of Trump rallies will be an amazing contrast with the passiveness, slow, meager Biden campaign effort. You aren’t going to be seeing 20,000-plus excited Biden supporters relishing a 90-minute speech by their candidate. The rhythm and pattern of the two campaigns is going to be a case study in asymmetry.
"The biggest advantage President Trump has is the ability to campaign in states where he can grow the party and strengthen candidates for governor, the U.S. Senate, and the U.S. House," Gingrich wrote, adding: "The second great advantage of being finished with the nomination campaign is Trump and his team will now have time to develop positive issues and themes throughout the country."
The 'Sandwich' Strategy
Trump's greatest advantage before the general election, according to Gingrich, is that he and his campaign team will have time to develop positive themes — setting the stage for a “sandwich” strategy.
For the bottom piece of bread, they can refer back to the achievements from Trump’s first term. As a former president, Trump is in a unique position to describe what he has done and what he will do.
His administration grew the economy. It made America energy independent while lowering the price of gasoline, natural gas, and heating oil. The Trump administration kept inflation under control. It controlled the border. It supported law enforcement and fought crime. It stopped terrorism and exercised effective power in the world. It rebuilt and strengthened NATO and negotiated with foreign governments on trade and other issues with great effectiveness.
The middle of the sandwich contrasts Trump’s achievements with Biden’s failures. Virtually, every public opinion poll shows that most Americans think Trump’s past policies worked better for them than Biden’s current policies.
For the top slice of bread, Trump and Republicans can project forward and describe a future of extraordinary opportunities that will strengthen America.
They can talk about increasing Americans’ standard of living, and stopping illegal immigration, drugs, and crime. They can describe a dramatically better education system. They can talk about a renewed and reformed military that can protect America, help our allies, and deter our opponents. They can outline breakthroughs in space, health outcomes, and artificial intelligence that will improve Americans’ lives.
While the former Speaker's "sandwich" strategy is well thought out and would no doubt benefit Trump's campaign, the question is whether the former president can maintain the discipline to stick to it. Surprisingly, even Axios believes he can:
Something shocking — and telling — has unfolded beyond Donald Trump's onstage, online, and courtroom theatrics: He's running a professional, well-managed, disciplined presidential campaign.
His 2024 operation is more sophisticated — dare we say traditional — than the slapdash improvisation of his White House and two previous runs.
Again, can Trump continue it?
I think this time he can. Mostly, anyway. Maybe old dogs can learn new tricks, after all. Let's hope so.
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