WATCH: Byron York claims Trump’s influence is still there, but ‘losing altitude’
Steff Thomas
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The Washington Examiner’s Byron York says former President Donald Trump is still influential with the Republican base, but that influence is slipping.
“I think it’s clear that we shouldn’t overstate this … [but] Trump remains very influential with a really substantial part of the Republican base, maybe as much as half of it,” York said on Fox Business’s Cavuto: Coast to Coast.
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“That’s the big deal. But there’s no doubt that he’s losing altitude both in the party and in the general electorate,” he told host Neil Cavuto.
The former president has received a surge in criticism following remarks early this month that some widely interpreted as a call from Trump to scrap parts of the Constitution.
“A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution,” he wrote in a post on Truth Social.
When asked what he thought about remarks from GOP Sens. Mitch McConnell (KY), Mitt Romney (UT), and John Thune (SD), York said that his sentiments likely further isolated Trump from the party.
“I think that was just too much even for some of his supporters — and is pushing him further and further into a situation where he has a real hard core of support, but everybody else is kind of ready to move on,” he added.
York pointed out that the bigger factor for Republicans, however, is the fact that he hasn’t been helpful in winning elections.
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“If you look at the Senate races, where Trump thought it was important enough to travel to the state and do a rally for an individual candidate, for the candidates who were newcomers, first-time Senate candidates that Trump endorsed and pushed hard, there were 7 of them, and he lost 5,” he explained.
Trump won in Ohio and North Carolina but then lost in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada, Alaska, and most recently, Georgia.
“So Republicans are saying, ‘This is a losing path,’ and I think that has more influence on Republican feelings about Trump than anything,” York quipped, adding that this could also have an influence on his 2024 run.
“There was a belief in some of the early states like Iowa a while back that if Trump were to declare his candidacy, it would clear the field. And that just seems not to have happened now,” he added.
Referencing recent Marquette University polls, York said Trump’s numbers have been weak compared to President Joe Biden and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has been floated as a potential Republican candidate to challenge the former president.
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“They did a head-to-head matchup between Trump and Joe Biden, and Joe Biden won by 10 points, 44-to-34. They also did a head-to-head matchup between Joe Biden and Ron DeSantis, and it was tied 42-42,” he said.
“So that’s an indication I think of other candidates, other figures, growing in influence in the Republican Party, even as Trump struggles to stay on top,” York added.