Yes, we “lept forward” this month, for daylight savings time. But we’ve also lept toward the 2024 election (yes, 2024)—21 months from now. Most people think Donald Trump will be the GOP nominee—despite losing by three million votes in 2016 and then seven million in 2020. He’s just “larger than life,” and most Republicans are scared to death of crossing him.
But not all.
Specifically, Mike Pence, Ron DeSantis, and Tom Cotton are standing up to Trump.
Over the past few weeks, three would-be presidential candidates who hail from the conservative wing of the Republican Party — Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, former Vice President Mike Pence and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — have prodded at or even outright criticized the former president’s record. After spending years lavishing praise on Trump and touting his policies, they are zeroing in on key moments from his tenure in office, from his pandemic response, to his words and actions regarding Russia, to the prison reform legislation he signed into law. . .
One of the most striking and direct breaks came last week, when Cotton hammered Trump’s First Step Act. . . “the worst mistake” of Trump’s tenure. . . “What I predicted then has come true many times over: Criminals released from prison under the First Step Act have committed many more heinous crimes,” Cotton added.
Then, there’s former Vice President Mike Pence, whose life was threatened on January 6. He has increasingly criticized Trump for Trump’s refusal to accept his loss in the election. But that’s not all. Pence is also criticizing Trump regarding Russia.
Turning to Russia, the former vice president contended there was “no room in this party for apologists for Putin” — another not-so-veiled jab at Trump, who only days earlier had called the Russian leader a “genius.”
Pence followed up the next week by venturing to the Poland-Ukraine border to meet with Ukrainian refugees. . .a move that senior Republicans again viewed as an implicit contrast with, and swipe against, Trump.
And finally, Ron DeSantis. He and Trump had an extreme “mutual admiration society” until recently. When Trump saw that DeSantis was gaining in popularity, Trump began to criticize DeSantis. Now, DeSantis is returning the favor. . .
DeSantis, meanwhile, has second-guessed Trump’s handling of the coronavirus. Asked to identify a regret from his time as governor on a recent appearance on the conservative “Ruthless” podcast, DeSantis picked one that reflected on Trump, saying he wished he had spoken out “much louder” against Trump’s support for restrictions during the opening days of the pandemic.
“I never thought in February, early March” of 2020 that the outbreak “would lead to locking down the country,” DeSantis said. “I just didn’t. I didn’t think that was on the radar.”
The remark escalated tensions between DeSantis and Trump. Only days earlier, the former president appeared to take a swipe at the governor, when Trump ripped “gutless” politicians who refused to say whether they’d gotten the Covid-19 booster shot — a question DeSantis had dodged. . .
To some, the criticism of Trump from within his own party — cautious as it may be — indicates that Trump’s support has begun to soften.
It’s not unusual for any candidate to have opponents. Even Hillary Clinton had token resistance before she was crowned as the candidate in 2016. But in this case, the nascent challenges are from the right, where Trump was thought to have total control.
Other challengers include former Gov. Chris Christie, who garnered hatred for embracing Barack Obama, after Obama’s assertive support for New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
Nevertheless, Christie made a solid run for the presidency in 2016, then later, became a Trump apologist. And has changed again. . . specifically, criticizing Trump vis-à-vis Putin
“How can anyone with any understanding of the world call Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine ‘genius’ and ‘very savvy’ as we watch him unite the rest of the world against Russia in nearly an instant,” asked Christie, referencing Trump. . .
How can anyone with any understanding of the world call Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine ‘genius’ and ‘very savvy’ as we watch him unite the rest of the world against Russia in nearly an instant,” asked Christie, referencing Trump.
There’s also Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, according to Axios.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said on Sunday that he is “certainly going to take a look” at the possibility of running for president in 2024. . .
“I’m concerned about the direction of the party in the country. And I’ll make a decision about 2024 after I finished this job,” he added. “We are certainly going to take a look at it after January 2023.”
Hogan says whether Trump runs won’t matter to him.
“If I decide that I want to run for president, it certainly wouldn’t stop me that he’s in the race, that’s for sure,” Hogan said.
Within much of the Trump-dominated party, however, there is skepticism that Hogan would be a serious contender, despite his sterling electoral record in Maryland. While polling indicates a portion of Republican voters would like to see an alternative to Trump emerge, there is consensus that the nomination would be his for the taking should he run.
There are other prospective challengers to Trump.
Other Trump critics, including Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse and Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, have been mentioned as possible candidates, though they have so far been less aggressive in positioning themselves for a national run.
Would-be Republican 2024 hopefuls are already crisscrossing the country to campaign for congressional candidates, make trips to early primary states and set up vehicles to raise money and increase their national profiles. Hogan supporters have launched An America United, a nonprofit group that’s been churning out slickly produced web videos promoting the governor as a bipartisan problem-solver.
It’s likely that most eyes will be on the GOP in 2024. Biden has said he plans to run again, despite his age. But if his poll numbers don’t improve, he may face opposition. However, in American politics, position and experience matter.
In the way that Hillary ran, basically, unopposed in 2016, Vice President Kamala Harris would likely succeed Biden for the nomination. She’s a woman, and she’s a “woman of color.” It would be very difficult for the “party of inclusion” to pass her by.
At this point, it looks like Trump will stroll to the nomination, for better or worse.
Donate Now to Support Election Central
- Help defend independent journalism
- Directly support this website and our efforts