60M

The goal of the Lincoln Project is to "defeat Trump and Trumpism." The goal of David Brooks' hypothetical "realist militants" is to save the Republic. You can only do that last and the latter of the first two if you erode that 60M into something less or overwhelm it in a blue tsunami so that it looks puny or maybe overwhelm it in the Electoral College. We can all agree that it in America it is mathematically impossible for President Biden to get, say, 120M votes, doubling Trump's vote. Which leaves convincing a substantial number of the 60M to vote for President Biden as the only sure path.

Comes now the top news story of the day:

How many insults will service members and military veterans take from Trump?

(New York Daily News)

That comes after The Atlantic published a report that its lede accurately summarizes:

Trump: Americans Who Died in War Are ‘Losers’ and ‘Suckers’

Trump and the White House deny of course. His words "according to  four people with firsthand knowledge of the discussion that day," at Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in 2018, were particularly brutal even for Trump:

“Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.”

Another was made with John Kelly when they visited Kelly's son's grave in Arlington. Kelly would  not comment.

The psychology behind that statement is kinda new, kinda not:

Trump rejected the idea of the visit because he feared his hair would become disheveled in the rain, and because he did not believe it important to honor American war dead...

That's kinda new and kinda not, it's his known vanity expressed in a newish way.

This is new:

“He has a lot of fear,” one officer with firsthand knowledge of Trump’s views said...Several observers told me that Trump is deeply anxious about dying or being disfigured, and this worry manifests itself as disgust for those who have suffered.

That is interesting. I hadn't heard that before so it is new insight but what is the cash value of "interesting," of "insight"? It is not going to significantly diminish that 60M number who will vote for him again. He was contemptuous of a Gold Star family. He was insensitive and dismissive in a phone call with the widow of an American ambushed and killed in Africa. He repeatedly showed nothing but disdain for John McCain. 6.2M Americans have been sickened by Trump Virus and 187,696 have died just since Feb. 6, an average of 885 every day, and Trump shows his "disgust" for them by being "bored" with them. They are "weak," "losers," "suckers," too. Chris Wallace said that if American voters blame Trump for the Trump Virus that there is nothing he can do to win and if they don't blame Trump there is nothing Joe Biden can do to win. Joe Biden is going to win this election but the Trump Virus is not going to diminish that 60M number by much.

The answer to the Daily News' headline question is an imprecise but accurate, "too many." Too many to turn this election into a route of Trump and Trumpism and save the Republic. The country is too far gone.