They should have gone right at him, confronted the public with the facts, confronted MAGA with the facts, and repeated those facts again and again. They needed to do it as a group, not just Christie hanging his ass out there. The Republican candidates should have been supported by a choir of elected Republicans, federal and state, that joined in, repeating the facts about Trump, telling people over and over why he is a weak and disgusting candidate.
If they all were doing it, if many elected Republicans were joining in, well, that message would have been repeated on TV over and over by people these voters are much more likely to listen to...fellow Republicans.
Christie tried to push his fellow candidates to join him but they fought him tooth and nail. He looked on in disgust when they all pledged onstage to support Trump if he were the nominee. Haley only really went at Trump for his cognitive decline when they got to New Hampshire because he made the mistake of mentioning her name over and over saying she was the reason the people he sent to the capitol were allowed to riot and attack the place. So, she finally told the truth about him and said he has been in a state of mental decline for some time. That we can't have a man that can't recall simple facts become the president.
The Republicans needed to stand up as a group and say "Hey, this guy is not a Republican, not a conservative, not a person that can be trusted, he is a blatant liar, and a rapist that is quoting Hitler on the campaign trail!"
They should have pounded the 91 felony charges brought against him, slammed him for inciting an insurrection, and slammed him for doing nothing to stop it.
They all should be slamming him now for saying he hopes the country has an economic crash and for asking them not to do the strictest border deal ever proposed in the country's history (including under Trump) when they have been screaming that is their biggest priority. Now, McConnell, Hawley, Johnson, all of these supposed border policy people are saying "No, we should not do anything to fix the border because Trump says he wants that to be his issue."
It's a joke.
If they had all spoken up together, as a large group, all the candidates running against Trump and a contingent of elected Republicans, right from the beginning of primary season...yes, I think it would have got through to their voters and it would have done harm to Trump.
They are not speaking up because MAGA people issue death threats against them and their families if they do, and none of them want to go through that, and they are afraid if they lose the MAGA nuts, they will lose elections.
