Former GOP rep: Trump campaign ‘doesn’t quite have the spark it had in 2016’

Former Rep. David Jolly (Fla.), who served in the House as a Republican but later left the party, likened former President Trump to an “aging rock star,” as some pundits suggest voters are growing tired of his campaign strategy.

“He’s more like the aging rock star whose fans have kind of faded away, so it’s more like a reunion tour for him,” Jolly said Sunday on MSNBC. “It just doesn’t quite have the spark it had in 2016, and the lack of enthusiasm is there as well, and he’s not helping himself.”

Jolly, a staunch critic of Trump, was responding to reports of how some of the former president’s campaign rallies have featured him rambling, with some audience members leaving before the conclusion.

Jolly pointed to comments by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who said on NBC News’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that Trump “may not win” the election if he cannot focus on policy instead of personal attacks against Vice President Harris and his other opponents.

“Lindsey Graham is right,” Jolly said. “Donald Trump will likely lose to Vice President Harris as we stand here today. What the Trump camp needs to do is throw the whole kitchen sink at her, which is what they’ve been trying to do,” but “nothing’s sticking.”

Trump, known for his brash comments about his political opponents, has lobbed a series of insults at the vice president, calling her “incompetent” and even questioning her racial identity. He has since faced a growing number of calls from GOP members to focus his rhetoric more on policy differences with Harris — and less on personal attacks.

The Hill reached out to the Trump campaign for further comment.