Auguste Meyrat argues in a Federalist column that an authentic Donald Trump beats an inauthentic Democrat in most circumstances.
The days of the fabricated candidate are numbered. If it doesn’t officially end with next year’s presidential election, it will end soon after. When given a choice between an authentic, annoying candidate and an appealing candidate, the former will ultimately win.
This truth was illustrated in Texas with the failed candidacy of Beto O’Rourke in the 2018 Senate election. …
… [O]pponent Ted Cruz won in the end—not because he toned down his language or kept neutral, but because he stressed just how fake O’Rourke and all the Democrats were. Cruz may have many off-putting qualities, but he never pretends to be moderate or flexible. …
… The Democrats, being who they are and usually having bad or no records, have to fake their moderation and hope that a sycophantic media insulates them. Their most genuine candidate running for president is cranky old socialist Bernie Sanders, which probably explains why his supporters would vote for Trump over the other Democrats.
Despite this new political reality, many conservative writers and commentators still urge Trump to just stop tweeting and let these things go. …
… Trump could benefit from a little more reserve and wisdom, but if he fakes this in the effort to win over voters, he will lose. Trump’s best qualities are his humor, his honesty, and even his pettiness (as most recently seen in the John Bolton firing squabble). These things make him human, relatable, and authentic—unlike Barack Obama, who still lingers in admirers’ minds as some kind of demigod despite his mediocre legacy.
