Yes, for the reasons that you cite. And, perhaps he will. We have yet to hear from the President. Only the pundits and the White House leakers have spoken, all Washington Establishment types. Trump has had 24 hours to gauge the temperature of the electorate, so he could surprise everyone and poke a stick in the eyes of the establishment. He'll probably name Barrett, but I can dream until 5:00 PM Eastern.
Yes, we can dream. And Trump could do a late swivel. But even setting up to not meet with Lagoa until yesterday looked like a planned consolation meeting. I think Barnes had it perfectly in part because he acknowledged that Rushing was the best constitutionalist available. She is still very young, and I could see her and the also young black KY AG as youthful picks in his second term.
However, Barrett could be a 40-year disaster who also derails Trump’s response to the Dems’ lawfare theft of this election.
Another possibility would be Barrett getting derailed early on and McConnell going for the ballsy bypassing of hearings, given that Lagoa was just confirmed by the Senate for her current position a year ago.
That could be a late, last-minute save of our republic.