“If the President tries to ram through a replacement with only six weeks to go to the election, I think it would backfire bigly on him with the American public.”
Well, it won’t be Trump ramming the replacement through, it will be the Senate. There’s nothing wrong with Trump quickly nominating someone.
On the other hand, the Senate could go on “formal recess” and let Trump temporarily fill the seat - and that may be more palatable to both the RINOs and the middle of the electorate.
I may be wrong about this, but if Trump fills this seat with a recess appointment that may only last until the end of the current Senate session — which is December 31st.