Leftist Glee Over ‘Trump Is Dead’ Rumor Bodes Ill for the Democratic Party’s Return to Reality

That President Trump’s mere existence enrages foes is being illustrated by the “Trump is dead” hoax, with leftists celebrating the allegation through Labor Day. The fantasy is a symptom of Democratic exasperation, imagining that the president disappearing will solve their problems and save them from having to change.After noting that Mr. Trump hadn’t been seen for two days, social media exploded on Friday with rumors of his death. By Saturday, the topic was trending. Some on X promised cash for likes on celebratory posts, as if collective loathing could manifest the morbid reality.The story consumed leftists, and they began to see Mr. Trump’s actions through its lens. “Reports of Donald Trump’s death,” the Daily Beast reported on Saturday, “have been greatly exaggerated and he’s determined to make sure that you know it” with a “Truth Social blitz late into Saturday night.”Yet Mr. Trump lives on social media and there’s no evidence the rumor was related. On Sunday afternoon, the president posted, “Never felt better in my life,” in all caps on Truth, though it didn’t end the speculation. The MAGA movement’s success has Democrats groping through the political wilderness, lurching toward anything that might be an escape from their electoral fortunes.That Mr. Trump was shot in one assassination attempt and stalked in another didn’t squelch the flood of AI-generated images depicting him in a casket or showing his name on headstones. The fantasies expressed the same frustration King Henry II had when he asked, “Who will rid us of this meddlesome priest?”Last September’s poll by Rasmussen’s Napolitan News Institute found the same dark sentiment among Democrats. After the armed assassin was apprehended near where Mr. Trump was golfing, 28 percent said America would “be better off” if the president had been killed; 25 percent were “not sure.”Celebrating the Grim Reaper visiting the White House was long taboo. When President William Henry Harrison died in 1841, President Jackson “could barely disguise his delight,” Robert Remini writes in “The Life of Andrew Jackson.” Yet disguise it Jackson did, keeping private his belief that the Whig’s death saved “our glorious union.”Today’s Democrats, having criticized Mr. Trump for breaches of civility, would have done well to stake out that high ground by ignoring the rumor or condemning it. Governor Jay Robert “JB” Pritzker of Illinois was among those who played on the claims, posting that Mr. Trump ought to send “proof of life.”The remark evoked the opposite of Mr. Pritzker’s intent. “Proof of life” is requested for someone worthy of sympathy like a hostage or kidnapped child. The governor only succeeded in siding with what President Theodore Roosevelt called “the lunatic fringe.” Expect the remark to be cited if he runs for president in 2028.Mr. Trump’s barbs are often in poor taste, too. Republicans hold the White House and Congress, though, while Democrats are trending toward Whig-style irrelevance. Left-wing partisans can be stoked by rage against the MAGA machine, but there aren’t enough of them to win elections.According to analysis by L2 Data, the New York Times reported last month, Democrats “lost ground” in “every single one” of 30 states tracking partisan voter registration between 2020 and 2024. The Times called the swing of 4.5 million voters to the GOP “a deep political hole” and said climbing out “could take years for Democrats.”On Tuesday, Gallup found that 76 percent of Republicans “are satisfied with the direction of the country versus less than one percent of Democrats.” A Wall Street Journal poll in July rated Democratic unfavorability at 53 percent of voters. Only 33 percent had a favorable view of the party, its lowest number since 1990.“Voters,” the Journal reported, “overwhelmingly believe that Republicans” can better “handle key issues in Congress.” It’s clear that the Democratic Party’s problems will outlast Mr. Trump, just as the Whig’s problems lingered on after Jackson.Wishing for Mr. Trump’s death won’t help Democrats dig out of their political grave, and even the “providence” that Jackson praised for removing Harrison can’t do the job for them. The only solution to rid the Democratic Party of this meddlesome MAGA priest is to face that reality, and leave fantasies to the fringe.

Leftist Glee Over ‘Trump Is Dead’ Rumor Bodes Ill for the Democratic Party’s Return to Reality

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