By Tom Luongo - March 4, 2024

Now that the Supreme Court has unanimously destroyed the dreams of Davos to use January 6th as a means to keep him off the ballot, Donald Trump has passed the easiest of the hurdles in front of his returning to the White House.

Some things, politically, in the US still function.

This ruling was a lay-up. The SCOTUS had to rule decisively here.

Trump was never convicted of ‘insurrection.’ He was impeached and character-assassinated, sure, but none of that carries any weight of law. But, even if you somehow believe he was guilty of the crimes the Democrats accused him of, the facts of January 6th are so murky from that perspective, there was no way the SCOTUS could concoct a justification for his ballot disqualification.

At stake itself was the SCOTUS’ own validity as an institution. And if there is one thing I believe about organizations it is they always move to defend themselves if their leadership is honest.

Like it or not, the SCOTUS does not exist to enforce anyone’s opinion on reality. They exist to conclude whether an action is or is not constitutional. Did Trump ever lead an armed insurrection against the government? No.

Did he question a questionable election? Yes.

Is that unconstitutional? No.

Case closed.

But this case was an important first step to shut off the Nikki Haley insurgent strategy of handing delegates to her by default:

Take Trump off the ballot. She’s now the only “Repuglican” left to vote for. She gets to go to the convention with a bunch of unearned delegates to steal the election before November.

Oops. Now she gets further embarrassed on Super Tuesday.

Now the strategy backfires completely and he’s now Obi-Don Kenobi.

Unless somehow Jack Smith or the Fulton County Gang that Can’t Lie Straight put him in jail Trump is the GOP nominee.

So, now, how does Trump take this political resurrection and change the game completely?

With Biden’s disapproval rating reaching historic lows of 59% (6 out of 10 US votes HATE JOAH! Biii-Den!), the path to the White House for Trump goes through Vice-President Kamala Harris.

While conversations abound about subbing in Big Mike and/or Gavin Gruesome, the more likely threat from the DNC is Hillary, who is clearly angling back into the conversation as Biden falters.

But whoever Trump winds up running against, there is one person who Trump can leverage to drive even more people who hate him bat-shit crazy than he does.

And he knows who that is. So, as Primary Trump morphs, just like in 2016, into Candidate Trump, he will look to shore up his weaknesses.

Candidate Trump became a guy who preached bringing the US back from a dark place. He ran on a populist platform that incorporated the Bernie Bros (remember them) as well as the tradesmen.

He broke the Democrats’ Trinity of Victimhood – Unions, Minorities, young people — that was their base and squeaked to victory over The Hildabeast.

If you think it’s Trump’s team or even US ‘white hats’ pushing out this stuff about Biden, you may be missing the obvious player, Hillary.

If there is one thing I know for certain about Trump it is that he’s a master of media. He knows exactly how and when to push everyone’s buttons.

For that reason (and many others) Trump’s only real choice for running mate is Tulsi Gabbard.

At a minimum, right now, Trump is using Gabbard, bringing her into the VP conversation. She’s okay with this. She’s allowing herself to be used by him. It’s mutually beneficial.

I’m well on the record as being a Gabbard fan (some would say simp… whatever). It doesn’t matter whether you trust her or not. It’s not about you. It’s about perception. And, for better or worse, Gabbard has a now long track record of service to the country that is honest.

She was someone targeted from the beginning as someone the DNC could groom into shape. Young, attractive, woman of color, veteran. Boxes are ticking off left and right. And those are all attributes that she still has which Trump doesn’t.

When Hillary stole the 2016 primary from Bernie Sanders she resigned from the DNC. This is a woman who crossed Hillary Clinton and, so far, has lived to tell the tale. No mean feat in the 21st century.

Long story short, Gabbard has stones. Some would call them principles, but that’s a stretch to ascribe those to any politician. She told Davos to go scratch. She told Hillary to slag-off.

And in 2024, she’s an ex-Democrat ,on Fox News, headlining at CPAC etc. Is she a stalking horse for the establishment? I don’t think so. Is she a grifter who just wants to trade up from the collection of dead-enders that are the current Democrats? Maybe.

Again, I don’t care about these things, because here’s the real story.

Trump needs to run as a real Unity candidate. He’s destroyed the GOPe’s (GOP establishment) gaggle of neocons. Now, he needs to seal the deal with the emerging Radical Center I discussed in a recent article.

"That {being for something better rather than against what is} becomes a decision point for a lot of people. It’s the moment when the established idea, brand, etc. wakes up to the threat and fights back. This is what the 16% chasm represents, that gulf between opposition and affirmation.

This is also what Davos and their ilk are truly exceptional at managing. They keep the Overton Window framed over irrelevant side issues to ensure that a new majority doesn’t “cross the 16% chasm,” by uniting over that better solution that doesn’t include them.

I’m calling this group they are afraid of, “The Radical Center.”

And every time I bring Gabbard up in the VP conversation I hear a whole lot of side issues discussed without actually addressing the core goals of how to save the country from collapsing into conflict.

So, allow me to make one of my lists of reasons why Trump has only one real choice for VP:

- Former Democrat Congresswoman, veteran, former Trump critic.
- Loudly rejected the Democrats for becoming something unrecognizable
- Stood up to Hillary Clinton
- She destroyed Kamala Harris in a DNC debate
- Is fundamentally populist in most of her positions
- Is NOT dogmatic about key issues, having shifted off previous positions on guns, abortion, etc.
- Is not a warhawk, but rather supports Trump’s views on foreign policy
- She’s a negotiator and a moderate.
- She’s a patriot with a strong sense of honor and duty.
- Ran a pure grassroots campaign for President in 2020, no outside donor support.

If you look at the totality of Gabbard’s record you see someone who is the opposite of Trump, but who winds up in the same place he did.

Politically, she is someone who neuters all of the Democrats’ screeching about Trump hating women, being a Nahtsi, and dog whistling for the alt-Right.

If he picks Gabbard as his running mate he neuters all of those narratives with normies, softens Trump’s bombast, while leaving the media and Davos with nothing but “he’s pandering” as their fall back position.

That will backfire on them hard and they will take the bait, hook, line, and sinker.

And, like her or not, Gabbard is . . .

[SNIP]