Democrat Congressman Predicts Trump Victory, Rejects His Party’s Extreme Rhetoric

U.S. Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) predicted that former President Donald Trump will win re-election in November. He also pushed back on his party’s rhetoric surrounding the supposed “threat to democracy” posed by Trump and “MAGA Republicans” in a scathing op-ed.

In an op-ed published Tuesday in the Bangor Daily News, Golden broke with his party and argued that Biden’s horrific performance in last week’s debate should not have been a surprise.

“After the first presidential debate, lots of Democrats are panicking about whether President Joe Biden should step down as the party’s nominee. Biden’s poor performance in the debate was not a surprise. It also didn’t rattle me as it has others, because the outcome of this election has been clear to me for months,” Golden wrote.

“While I don’t plan to vote for him, Donald Trump is going to win. And I’m OK with that.”

Golden — who represents an R+6 district according to the Cook Partisan Voting Index — went on to criticize his party’s rhetoric surrounding Trump’s candidacy. Mainstream Democrat thought leaders, pundits and elected officials, including President Biden, have long portrayed Trump as a “threat to Democracy” who could end the United States as we know it.

Biden has frequently compared his political rival to Adolf Hitler and used out of context clips to claim he wants to become a “dictator.”

“Democrats’ post-debate hand-wringing is based on the idea that a Trump victory is not just a political loss, but a unique threat to our democracy. I reject the premise,” Golden wrote. “Unlike Biden and many others, I refuse to participate in a campaign to scare voters with the idea that Trump will end our democratic system.”

The House Democrat went on to paint a more optimistic view of America with Independence Day fast approaching. “In that time, American democracy has withstood civil war, world wars, acts of terrorism and technological and societal changes that would make the Founders’ head spin,” Golden said of the nation’s upcoming 248th birthday.

He then framed the election as a referendum on core issues like the economy and immigration rather than a referendum on democracy. “Some of Congress’ best work in recent years has happened in spite of the president, not because of him. A handful of responsible Democrats, including myself and West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, rejected Biden’s bloated “Build Back Better” bill and instead passed a law that supercharged American energy production, saved Medicare billions of dollars and reduced the deficit,” Golden went on to write.

The congressman also reiterated that he believes Trump will be in the White House come 2025. “Maine’s representatives will need to work with him when it benefits Mainers, hold him accountable when it does not and work independently across the aisle no matter what,” he said.

Golden is currently attempting to survive what looks to be a difficult re-election campaign against Maine State Rep. Austin Theriault, a former NASCAR driver who has received Trump’s endorsement.

Trump carried Maine’s Second Congressional District by seven percentage points in 2020.