GOP operative: Trump is 'like Journey who won't stop playing Don't Stop Believing'

Donald Trump.
(Image credit: Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty)

President Trump is apparently best described as a past-its-prime '80s rock band, and his midterm strategy is like the hit single that just won't go away.

As the midterm elections approached, Trump kept firing off tweets on the same subjects — immigration, fake news, jobs — that continued to pump up his already excited base. Those tweets, a GOP operative tells CNN, make Trump "like Journey who won't stop playing 'Don't Stop Believing.'"

The source went on to explain that Trump "only plays the same song to his base, every tweet is basically the same," and said "he only trusts what got him the presidency in unique circumstances in 2016." That could explain why, along with playing one Journey hit, the president has humored ongoing "lock her up" chants at rallies two years after he beat Hillary Clinton.

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But this source may want to be careful comparing Republican messaging to a band that Trump nearly tore apart. When three Journey bandmates visited Trump in the White House last year, the only remaining original member didn't go, Billboard writes. Guitarist Neal Schon faithfully stuck by the band's creed to "never be used and exploited by anyone, especially band members for politics or any one religion," he later wrote in Facebook post.

Perhaps it's best if Trump sticks with some tried and true favorites for his rallies and metaphors. May we suggest that one single hit by Kid Rock?

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Kathryn Krawczyk

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.