Rich Lowry’s recent appearance on The Megyn Kelly Show — where he talked about how the GOP can win back the so-called “couch sitters” once Donald Trump is no longer the center of the party’s politics — was exactly the kind of sober, strategic conversation Republicans need right now. Lowry argued that conservative leaders must sharpen their message and reach Americans who’ve grown tired of both left-wing promises and Republican infighting.
There’s nothing unserious about courting people who sit out elections because they feel ignored; those voters decide close races and they respond to real results, not performative culture wars. Conservatives should be honest: talk about stagnant wages, rising crime, broken schools, and the bureaucratic swamp that squeezes the middle class. If the GOP stops treating every disagreement as a purity test and starts offering real, common-sense solutions, couch sitters will come off their sofas to vote for a party that actually delivers.
But the discussion was overshadowed by a manufactured controversy when a clip of Lowry stumbling over the word “migrants” circulated and people claimed they heard a racial slur instead. The clip went viral and predictable voices on the left pounced, turning a clear mispronunciation into a gotcha moment. Lowry himself explained afterward that he had simply mispronounced the word and corrected himself on air, and the wider context of the discussion makes the leap to malice absurd.
Conservatives rallied quickly to Lowry’s defense, and Megyn Kelly publicly pushed back against the smear campaign, as colleagues pointed out the obvious possibility of a slip of the tongue rather than a revelation of character. The media’s reflexive rush to weaponize a bad syllable instead of engaging with the substance of Lowry’s point about outreach shows how easily the conversation can be derailed. The real story is how the left and its media allies will exploit any misstep to distract from their failures on the economy, immigration policy, and public safety.
This is exactly why Republicans must get back to basics instead of playing defense every time a clip gets slowed down on social platforms. Winning couch sitters isn’t about fashionable rhetoric or viral soundbites; it’s about delivering safer streets, better schools, lower taxes, and a government that respects hardworking Americans. Voters who have been “on the couch” will respond to competence and certainty, not to the perpetual online outrage machine.
If the GOP wants to survive the post-Trump era, it must translate smart commentary into a disciplined strategy: nominate candidates who can govern, speak plainly about restoring opportunity, and stop letting bad-faith actors define the cycle. The party that learns to make the case for freedom, prosperity, and pride in America will win those missing voters back.
Patriots should remember that one clipped sentence should not erase a lifetime of serious contribution to conservative thought. Stand with principled conservatives who aim to win by persuasion, not by surrendering to the left’s smear playbook, and let’s get to work bringing the couch sitters back into the fold.
