Patterico's Pontifications

1/26/2023

Republican Leaders Worry Trump Can’t Win in 2024

Filed under: General — Dana @ 8:46 am



[guest post by Dana]

When Donald Trump announced his 2024 bid for the presidency back in November, he of course positioned himself as the savior America needs: “In order to make America great and glorious again, I am tonight announcing my candidacy for president of the United States.” We’ve heard very little from him since then – with regard to his campaign, that is…

Unfortunately for the former president, it looks like some members of the Republican National Committee have at best, a “wait-and-see” attitude about yet one more Trump run for the presidency:

As Donald J. Trump prepares for his first public events since announcing his presidential campaign, dozens of members of the Republican Party’s governing body are expressing doubts about his ability to win back the White House and are calling for a competitive primary to produce a stronger nominee in 2024.

The 168 members of the Republican National Committee are gathering in Southern California to select their own leader on Friday, and interviews this week with 59 of them — more than one-third of the committee’s membership — found few eager to crown Mr. Trump their nominee for a third time. While they praised his policies and accomplishments as president, many expressed deep concerns about his age (he’s 76), temperament and ability to win a general election, often in unusually blunt terms.

“This isn’t 2016,” said Mac Brown, the chairman of the Republican Party of Kentucky. “People have moved on.”

Jonathan Barnett, an R.N.C. member from Arkansas who claims to have been the first member of the committee to endorse Mr. Trump’s 2016 campaign, said the party would benefit from its nominee being forced to navigate a crowded primary field.

“I’ve been a supporter of Donald Trump in the past,” Mr. Barnett said. “I just think that we need choices this time. We’ve got to look at all of our options.”

The motivation to leave Mr. Trump behind is not ideological but political, the party leaders said: They worry he can’t win.

This is interesting given that recent polling shows Trump leading President Biden:

Former President Trump holds a 3-point lead over President Biden in a hypothetical 2024 rematch, according to a new Emerson College poll released on Tuesday.

Forty-four percent in the poll said they would support Trump in the 2024 presidential election, compared to the 41 percent who said they would back Biden. Another 10 percent said they would support someone else, while 4 percent remained undecided.

Additionally, with regard to Ron DeSantis, who would likely be his strongest competitor, polling shows Trump with a strong 26-point lead over Florida’s governor.

Of course, it’s early days. Anything can happen. But it’s telling that Republicans are willing to go on the record and express doubts about Trump being able to win an election.

Meanwhile, the rumor mill is ramping up with guesses about who might be Trump’s running mate. I’m reading that the noxious Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is positioning herself for the spot. Without a doubt, her loyalty to Trump counts a whole lot in her favor. After all, he is a man who values fealty and unfailing loyalty to him above all else. Marge ticks off both boxes:

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., is angling to be Donald Trump’s running mate in 2024, according to two people who have spoken to the firebrand second-term congresswoman about her ambitions.

“This is no shrinking violet. She’s ambitious — she’s not shy about that, nor should she be,” said Steve Bannon, the former top Trump aide who hosts the “Bannon’s War Room” podcast, on which Greene has been a guest.

“She sees herself on the short list for Trump’s VP. Paraphrasing Cokie Roberts, when MTG looks in the mirror she sees a potential president smiling back,” he added in an interview, referring to Roberts, the late political reporter who worked for NPR, ABC News and other outlets.

A second source who has advised Greene said her “whole vision is to be vice president.” The source, who has ties to Trump and spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations, said he also believes Greene would be on Trump’s short list.

Just imagine a super-MAGA ticket with Trump/Greene…

I just did…and I’m already exhausted.

–Dana


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