Leonard Grunstein, a retired attorney and banker, founded and served as Chairman of Metropolitan National Bank and then Israel Discount Bank of NY. He also founded Project Ezrah and serves on the Board of Revel at Yeshiva University and the AIPAC National Council. He has published articles in the Banking Law Journal, Real Estate Finance Journal and other publications.
Mid-term elections are typically a time of change. For the most part, mathematically, the number of 2026 flipped seats was within the usual margins. For the most part, it was politics as usual, where the party out of power raged against the party in power and garnered a significant portion of the vote.
However, this was not uniformly the case. There was another seriously negative trend that must be reckoned with, if balance is to be restored. It involved young, brash, energetic and glib candidates, who not only raised the party talking points, regarding affordability, including the high cost of healthcare insurance and most visibly the price of gasoline at the pump; they also attacked the American way of life and free market system (calling for socialism and targeted confiscatory taxation), as well as attacking and libeling Israel and by extension the Jews.
The rogue forces also included master manipulators of social media, on both the extreme left and right, on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Switch, which reached untold millions of viewers with their toxic messages. Moderate voices, speaking for the overwhelming majority of Americans, were virtually invisible in the algorithmic world driven by engagement, including the armies of bots and others supporting the shrill voices spreading false narratives and conspiracy theories, contrived to inflame the listeners.
Unfortunately, this cannot be viewed as a mere anomaly. It proved too successful and ignoring the possibility that it expands virally is too perilous. Thus, in preparing for the finals in 2028, when the next Presidential election occurs, we must be prepared with the antidote. There is too much at stake and we must formulate a winning strategy.
I’m reminded of a similar political subversion problem faced by Biblical David, recorded in the Haftorah of Parshat Chayei Sarah we read this past Shabbat. It seems his young, very handsome and arrogant son, Adonijah, was out and about politicking to become the king and making alliances with powerful people who wanted change and could help him secure the office. David recognized that he was no longer in a position personally to take on the young challenger. His beloved wife Bathsheba (and mother of his son Solomon) and trusted counselor, the Prophet Nathan, advised him that he had vowed his successor would be Solomon and it was time now to fulfill that promise. The Nation and its sacred traditions had to be saved from the usurper Adonijah and his cabal; and so it was, as Solomon took over the reigns of power.
We are faced with a similar challenge of succession today. President Trump is term limited and he can no longer be the standard bearer in the fight to preserve our way of life. We must have new younger voices of moderation that can successfully run and win campaigns that engage with an otherwise fickle electorate looking for lower costs of living without forsaking our traditions.
The choices in 2028 cannot be limited to an aging old guard, as was the case in many of the key races in this years mid-term elections. It appears they were beaten by younger candidates, some of whom were even more flawed than Biblical Adonijah.
We need young, engaging, authentic, brilliant, dynamic, trustworthy, forward-thinking and truly knowledgeable candidates, who must also be consummate communicators. Having on staff a team of data driven whiz kids and communications experts, who are able to convert genuinely good policy prescriptions into effective messaging that can be leveraged on social media to achieve unparalleled dissemination and market penetration among voters, is essential.
Remember, it is no easy task to win the day against young, glib, energetic and brash contenders, who are well schooled in the art of deception and backed up by what amounts to a supportive mainstream media, as well as a virtual social media machine that effectively partnered the contenders with complicit mega influencers. Given the success they achieved in the mid-term cycle, it must be expected that there will be more of the same in 2028.
Obvious candidates to succeed President Trump in office in 2028, include the amazing Marco Rubio, who presently serves as the Secretary of State and National Security Advisor. He would be an outstanding candidate and he and his family could rightly project an image that integrates our best traditions of the American way and the forward-thinking theme of embracing the ‘New Frontiers’ of our times. Similarly, Ron DeSantis, the extraordinary current Governor of the great State of Florida, and his family; he too would make a great candidate or extremely able part of the team. Imagine, a Rubio-DeSantis ticket for 2028.
It is also critical to field an entire team of young enlightened candidates, with the exquisitely fine qualities outlined above, to retake the House and Senate. In the free-market of elections, the key is to run more able and appealing candidates. It appears the Adonijah model is the competition and, thus, Solomon-like candidates are a historically proven formula for winning.
May the members of the House of Representatives and Senate be guided by the voice of reason and moderation and work, on a bi-partisan basis, with the President and the Executive Branch, to do what is in the genuine best interests of the US and the American people. May G-d bless and protect the US and its faithful ally Israel, as well as all of us.