Trump with MAGA hat

Donald Trump may no longer be in the Oval Office, but he’s definitely making waves on the campaign trail. Trump endorsed a number of candidates in primary elections that began yesterday, most notably the Republican Senate candidate from Ohio, J.D. Vance. Vance was meandered along in regards to polling, although he was one of the more well-known primary candidates. Vance wrote the book that inspired the Netflix film Hillbilly Elegy, directed by Ron Howard and starring Glenn Close. A venture capitalist and author, Vance was behind in the polls (a mere ten percent said they were Vance supporters) until President Trump provided an endorsement for Vance on April 15.

Vance was predicted to win the Republican nomination among multiple other candidates, and he succeeded, beating former Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel by around 3 points.

Vance isn’t the only primary candidate who enjoyed a win after a Trump endorsement. So far, Trump is 55-0 in his endorsed candidates this election cycle, according to NBC News. Trump also endorsed Max Miller, a Congressional candidate from Ohio; Miller was also successful in his primary bid.

Tuesday’s primary was a measure of Trump’s continued influence in the Republican Party. Bill Kristol, who could never be described as a Trump fan (although he’s a Republican), said of the former president: “When Trump talks, Republicans listen.” Dave Carney, a national GOP consultant, said: “Anybody who dismisses Donald Trump as not a major factor in the party is crazy.”

Even NBCnews.com is saying that the successful endorsements of Trump show he still has enough influence in the party to “(possibly) secure its nomination again for president in two years.”

Still, the primaries are just heating up and Trump’s endorsements are only beginning to be tested. Trump has endorsed Dr. Oz in a Pennsylvania Senate race, and he’s endorsed David Perdue for governor in Georgia. These primary elections will also be highly contested. Perdue was a state Senator who was defeated by Jon Ossoff in the 2020 elections; he’s currently looking to unseat Brian Kemp, who is most definitely not a favorite of President Trump’s.

President Trump seems to have lost little of his popularity among his base, and it appears that many are realizing that Trump at the head of the party wasn’t nearly the crisis after crisis predicted by his critics.

On Wednesday, President Joe Biden spoke from the White House in regards to the latest economic report and the news that the Fed is raising the interest rate once again. During his speech, he called the MAGA movement “the most extreme political organization that’s existed in recent American history.”

Biden’s comments come one day after a Supreme Court opinion was leaked to Politico. The opinion is in regards to a Mississippi abortion case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. This case was heard by the Supreme Court in January. The opinion was confirmed yesterday as the first draft of the opinion, and it appears to overturn Roe v Wade. The draft was written by Justice Samuel Alito, who is considered one of the conservative justices on the court.

Biden also mentioned cases that had previously gone before the Court in the past, including Griswold v. Connecticut, reminding Americans that the case was struck down.

His remarks reflected comments made on Tuesday after news of the leak became public. Biden described an overturn of Roe v. Wade as the beginning of a falling of dominoes that would also mean the reversal of same-sex marriage, as one example of the fallout of a reversal of the case. He also tied the possible Roe reversal to the Trump administration and what he called the “MAGA crowd.”

This isn’t the first time Biden has derided the Republican Party; last month he described the GOP in not-so-complimentary terms: “this ain’t your father’s Republican Party; (it’s the) MAGA Party.” Biden also said that “right-leaning politicians who know better are afraid to act correctly” during primary season.

Biden has blamed much of the crises of his presidency on Trump; however, the American public – at least in Ohio – appear to still appreciate the opinion of the 45th president.