Republicans Have Some Lessons to Learn From the Tories
As the GOP gathers for its convention in Milwaukee, party leaders should remember why British conservatives lost the confidence of voters.
Donald Trump and Boris Johnson in 2019.
Photographer: Peter Nicholls/AFP/Getty ImagesThe Republican faithful are gathering in Milwaukee with two very different emotions. The first is the same deep shock that everybody feels following the bloody assassination attempt on Donald Trump on Saturday. The second emotion, though, is increasing confidence that victory in November is in the bag. After all, the Democrats are feuding over whether to replace Joe Biden with a less geriatric candidate, and the coming contest is being fought on friendly territory for the right: the economy, immigration and the perils of a dangerous world. There might even be a clean sweep, with the presidency, Senate and House all coming their way.
Pointing out to Republican revelers that Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives just lost the British election to Keir Starmer’s Labour Party in a historic landslide might seem quaint, irrelevant or downright rude. What on earth has the fate of the hapless Tories got to do with a Republican Party which believes the White House is within its grasp?