Super Tuesday’s warning signs for Trump, Biden and democracy

This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a clean sweep of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. Sign up here. Super Tuesday was a bore. Minnesota is at the [Bloomberg]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a clean sweep of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - Super Tuesday was [a bore](. - Minnesota is at [the fore](. - Tim Scott [helps]( Trump score. - Brian Kemp has [been here]( before. Who Wears the Pants in This Election? For a moment there, it looked like [Super Tuesday]( was going to be a complete snoozefest, which would be a cause for concern, by Frank Wilkinson’s [estimations]( (free read). But then I saw Steve Kornacki got a pair of new pants, which is as shocking as any primary vote could be. Out with the [infamous khakis](, in with what looks to be a pair of navy trousers: Will he keep rocking the navy for the general election?? Your guess is as good as mine. But enough speculating about slacks. Let’s get to Kornacki’s real pride and joy: the results. The outcome was unsurprising for both candidates, with Joe Biden and Donald Trump securing nearly all of the available delegates. But there were a couple things worth noting: Dean Phillips [got his soul crushed]( by none other than Marianne Williamson. In American Samoa, meanwhile, Jason Palmer — [who?]( — beat the current president, 51-40 (those are the actual vote totals, not percentages). And Nikki Haley? Well, she is planning to drop out today, the Wall Street Journal [is reporting](, but she managed to [bruise]( Trump’s ego by squeezing out a GOP win in [Noah Khan’s]( home state of Vermont. Although I can’t say what Haley’s Spotify Wrapped looked like last year, [my money]( is on [Burlington](. Now, neither Trump nor Biden can fully claim a clean sweep. Biden’s most notable rival wasn’t an actual candidate but a ballot line in several states: uncommitted. It got almost 20% of the vote in Minnesota. “Biden’s weak Super Tuesday showing in Minnesota’s Twin Cities — a stronghold of his in 2020— should be a flashing red warning that his message isn’t reaching voters in the way it must if he is to win in November,” Patricia Lopez [writes]( (free read). The war in Gaza is hurting the president’s ability to capture all Democratic voters. In Minneapolis alone, more than half a dozen legislators urged their supporters to vote “[uncommitted](” — an effort that was [kickstarted]( last month in Michigan. The tea leaves for Trump’s positioning are just as murky. Haley may be suspending her presidential bid, but she is not endorsing Trump right away, the Journal reports, and he will continue to struggle with Republican voters who aren’t fans of [insurrections](. “Her race with Trump has provided new proofs of the descent of the GOP into White identity politics and cultural reaction,” Frank writes. In exit polls, some voters said that if they couldn’t vote for Haley in the general, they’d turn to Biden or just stay home — further evidence that we’re headed for a punishingly long election cycle. As for the gubernatorial races, North Carolina’s new GOP nominee for governor was the big story of the evening. The state’s Republican voters (no doubt including [this misogynistic charmer]() went for Mark Robinson, a [Holocaust denier]( who thinks [gay people and maggots]( are distant cousins. Of course, Trump [says]( he’s “better than Martin Luther King,” but I am sure you’ll see plenty of outrage about that today. Trump’s New BBF Now that we know that Trump will [almost certainly]( be at the top of the GOP ticket in November, let’s talk VP. Although South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has been [auditioning]( to be his running mate, Nia-Malika Henderson [notes]( that South Carolina Senator Tim Scott is “all the rage among the GOP chattering class.” That’s because Nia says Scott ostensibly ticks a lot of boxes for Trump: The Senate’s lone Black Republican is viewed as a kind of [“magical African-American friend”]( able to solve Trump’s electoral math and demographic problem. In one fell swoop, Scott, with his Black face and [“cotton to Congress”]( story, can accelerate Trump’s appeal to Black men. But more importantly, Scott can assuage White voters who might be concerned that a vote for Trump is a vote for racism. It’s what political scientists call an “indirect appeal.” This, at least, is the theory. Yet, as the Republican primary has shown, the idea of Scott is likely better than the reality. While Scott has on occasion [broken with his party]( on the issue of race (see this [op-ed]( he wrote in 2019), he’s mostly turned a blind eye to Trump’s race-baiting behavior. In December, when Trump said immigrants were “[poisoning the blood]( of our country,” what did Tim Scott do? Nothing. Three months later, when Trump said that [“the Blacks”]( like him because of his four criminal indictments, was there any rebuke from Tim Scott? No. What about when Trump [said]( the Black population “embraced” his mug shot? Nothing but crickets from South Carolina. “If Trump, who didn’t tap a single Black person for a top cabinet position, picks Scott as his running mate, you can be sure that Scott will be called upon to answer and rebut every crazy thing Trump says,” Nia writes. Who wants to spend four years being a sycophant for a man who belittles your every move, including your [marriage proposal](? Georgia’s Anti-MAGA [Tightrope]( Photographer: Bloomberg One of the more interesting no-more-MAGA case studies is Georgia Governor Brian Kemp. “Although Georgia has a vigorous MAGA base, Kemp keeps taking shots at the former president — raising doubts about his electability and obsession with perpetuating election lies — and has not only managed to avoid injury, but he has kept the Trump-endorsed MAGA forces from taking over state government,” Mary Ellen Klas [writes](. Trump, for his part, sees Kemp as a lost cause. The former president has called him a [“turncoat” and a “coward”]( for [refusing to meddle]( in Georgia’s 2020 election results. Given all that, Mary Ellen says Kemp — and all the other Reagan conservatives fighting to regain a foothold in Trump’s Republican Party — should end their fence-sitting in 2024. “The stakes are too high this time around,” she writes. No more saying voters deserve to “[have their say](” while also [giving a nod]( to Trump. As Haley has shown, there is a faction of Republicans that is hard against Trump. Kemp needs to double down on his efforts to make that all the more clear. Super Tuesday After Party Results are in, but what did you miss? Let Tim O’Brien, Nia-Malika Henderson, Mary Ellen Klas and Patricia Lopez [break it down for you]( — and tell you what this all means for the upcoming election. Political Kickers I’m with [her](. A [centrist extinction]( looms. [Kyrsten Sinema]( had a rough one. Time to ditch “[junk food](” election coverage. Mark Cuban says Trump is a “[snake oil salesperson](.” California [won’t have a female senator]( for the first time in 32 years. Life [starts at conception](, unless it’s an election year. Notes: Please send pizza ([what else](?) and feedback to Jessica Karl at jkarl9@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Threads](, [TikTok](, [Twitter](, [Instagram]( and [Facebook](. Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? 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