Trump loss is 'best possible outcome' for Republican Party's future: column

Politico senior columnist Jonathan Martin declared that former President Trump losing the 2024 presidential election would be the best thing for the Republican Party.

In a new column for Politico Magazine, Martin argued that with Trump gone, the GOP can finally move on and usher in a "post-Trump party." 

"The best possible outcome in November for the future of the Republican Party is for former President Donald Trump to lose and lose soundly. GOP leaders won’t tell you that on the record. I just did," Martin declared in the piece published on Wednesday. 

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Politico columnist Jonathan Martin argued that former President Trump losing in November would be the "best" outcome for the Republican Party. (Ian Maule/Getty Images)

The columnist stated that the better Harris does in the general election in November, the faster the GOP can move on. "Trump will never concede defeat, no matter how thorough his loss. Yet the more decisively Vice President Kamala Harris wins the popular vote and electoral college the less political oxygen he’ll have to reprise his 2020 antics; and, importantly, the faster Republicans can begin building a post-Trump party," he wrote.

He then went on to make the case that the GOP would likely fare better under a Harris administration than a Trump one, predicting that the Republican Party would compel Harris to be moderate, and there will be a return to routine gridlock in the government.

"Harris is less a doctrinaire progressive than she is up for grabs on policy, but any liberal course she takes would be constrained by a GOP-held Senate," he stated, elsewhere adding, "Oh, and she would be the first Democrat to enter the presidency since 1884 without majorities in both chambers, should Republicans flip the Senate."

"That adds up to a recipe for gridlock — and perhaps some deal-making to fund the government and avoid across-the-board tax hikes — but not a Scandinavian social welfare state," he concluded. 

Martin expressed confidence that the GOP would be able to make gains under Harris, saying that 2026 "would be a promising midterm for the opposition." Additionally, a defeated Trump fading off into the background "would make it easier for Republicans to recruit Senate candidates," he added. 

MARGIN OF ERROR RACE BETWEEN HARRIS, TRUMP, AS CAMPAIGN ENTERS FINAL STRETCH 

Former President Trump and vice presidential candidate U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, appear on the first day of the Republican National Convention on July 15, 2024.  (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

The columnist suggested other races going better for the GOP under Harris, stating, "A Democratic House majority would also be far easier for Republicans to reverse under Harris than Trump. And the GOP would almost certainly find more success in the 36 governors’ races taking place that year if they were running against the so-called six-year-itch."

Martin also said he spoke to "one high-level Republican" who, even though he called it "wishful thinking," said that the best-case scenario would be "a Harris victory followed by Biden pardons of both his son, Hunter, and Trump."

"That would take the issue of both cases off Harris’ plate and, more to the point, drain the energy behind Trump’s persecution complex so that Republicans can get on with the business of winning elections," Martin wrote, explaining the anonymous party member’s reasoning.

The columnist reiterated that "moving past Trump" is "essential if Republicans want to become a viable national party once more." 

He noted the "down-ballot candidates" that Trump has "foisted on the party" that have "underperformed" in their elections in recent years and mentioned that the Democratic Party’s strength is it being able to unite against Trump as its "common enemy." 

"The day after Trump leaves the scene, Democrats will lose their best force for unity, fundraising and enthusiasm. But they’ll have the same challenges they do today with the Electoral College, the Senate and the House and the distribution of voters therein," he added, further noting how the GOP’s electoral prospects will grow once the former president is no longer in the spotlight.

Multiple conservative users on social media ripped Martin's argument. 

The Free Beacon reporter Joe Gabriel Simonson ridiculed it on X, replying, "Lmao."

Commentator John Carney ripped Martin's argument that Trump has cost the GOP the popular vote twice, stating that the columnist's point that the GOP hasn't won the popular vote in a while is more of the party's problem, not Trump's. He posted, "This is a weird way to follow up a tweet saying the best thing that could happen to the GOP would be for Trump to lose. If the GOP has been losing the popular vote consistently, I’m not sure how getting rid of Trump helps Republicans. They were a broken party long before."

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However, former Trump staffer-turned-Trump critic and co-host of "The View," Alyssa Farah Griffin, praised Martin's column. 

She wrote on X, "@jmart⁩ with some truth bombs."