This is a good, serious point that Lowry, and David Axelrod before him, makes:
...he never thought through the rather crucial question, “So you’re a candidate — now what are you going to do?”
Right? Like, candidates run and say I'm gonna do this, that, the other. What's Trumpie's raison d'etre, "I'll overturn the 2020 election?"
There’s been no media blitz. There’s been no tour of the country. There’s been no rollout of policy or any unifying theme. It’s been Trump sitting in Mar-a-Lago, just like before...
Yes, that's the thing that puzzled me for a moment, then went away, and now is back again. He is the only Grand Old Phascist to announce. You can argue he has kept others out, fine. But why isn't he barnstorming? He LOVES his rallies! Why isn't he calling up congressmen like that guy in South Dakota and asking for their endorsement? THAT would help keep others out. You can argue, "Why campaign when the GOP base is with him?" Well...see polls today and yesterday.
If it’s too early to make too much of the polls, Trump is still in a uniquely vulnerable place. Let’s assume that the latest surveys are in the ballpark. It’s one thing to be trailing if you are a new figure on the national stage who still has room to grow; it’s another if you have universal name ID and everyone already has an extremely well-formed view of you.
...
His signature, of course, are his rallies. They were fresh and new in 2015 and 2016, and quite powerful throughout his presidency and immediately afterward. Now, they are as old and familiar as a Rolling Stones concert.
What is the evidence for that? I don't know. It's not like I attended one in 2015 and can compare to the one I attended in 2022. Has he held rallies aside from his campaigns with his chosen candidates? I don't know the answers to these questions.
