It appears there are at least a couple dozen Republicans who think they could mount a viable presidential candidacy. It seems certain that none of them thinks it would be a good idea for Trump to be a 2024 candidate. And yet none at this point can publicly embrace that position. I think what we can expect is that all the potential candidates will enthusiastically back Trumpian policies, but you will never hear "Trump" from their mouths.
At some point, though, there will have to be a declaration of candidacy and that is where there will be some intense negotiations about who gets endorsed and what the price will be. Given his massive ego, Trump may still believe he could run in 2024, but it seems increasingly unlikely that his party will see that as an option if they want to win. Ultimately, it seems Trump must settle for the role of kingmaker with the promise of a pardon if the January 6 committee succeeds in mounting an indictment.
I suppose there is an outside chance that Pence could do an end run. That seems like the outcome that Trump would most want to avoid because Pence will not be looking for an endorsement and Trump will have no leverage to ensure a pardon. A couple other people may possibly also fit into that scenario such as Nikki Haley and Mitt Romney.
And then this from Wyoming:
Numerous Cheney supporters expressed hope that the congresswoman’s political career will merely enter another chapter if she loses to Hageman, managing their expectations for the near term while also predicting that she will run for president in 2024 no matter what.
Stay tuned.
2 comments:
Always remember: Ron DeSantis would be a vastly more dangerous person to have in the White House.
You could be right about DeSantis, but I think it is pretty hard to come to any kind of definitive conclusion at this point. I think a lot depends on the enablers around the person in the office. The world also presents challenges which are hard to impossible to foresee. I'm thinking about the example of George Bush, who at this point looks to be a liberal Republican compared the current crop of aspirants. He launched us into the Iraq disaster, but clearly had a lot of help and encouragement from enablers like Powell, and even a lot of Democrats.
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