This is not good.
In the face of what some are calling former President Donald Trump’s “political obituary,” those within the GOP are readying themselves for the party’s 2024 Presidential nomination.
Rather than defend Trump against the damning testimony and allegations emerging from the Jan. 6 Select Committee public hearings, GOP lawmakers like Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) — who previously ran a Presidential campaign in 2016 but placed second behind Trump — are positioning themselves to capitalize on Trump possibly being too compromised to make his own bid.
Senators Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) and Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) seem to be embracing this same tactic, alongside former Vice President Mike Pence.
Pence has remained silent on the Jan. 6 public hearings, choosing to focus his attention on Biden’s shortcomings.
Trump’s most notable competition, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R), who beat the former President in a recent New Hampshire poll, has mentioned he believes the panel is “beating this dead horse” but — like others — hasn’t expressly defended Trump.
With Trump’s star within the GOP quickly fading, the list of potential 2024 candidates has grown. Names like Florida Senators Rick Scott (R) and Marco Rubio (R) and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott (R) have emerged, with the caveat to these candidates being Trump’s inability to run in 2024.
Former New Hampshire Senator Judd Gregg (R) is adamant the “nomination is going to be very wide open,” adding that he believes Trump cannot sustain “his position as a majority leader of the party even if he wants to into 2024. There are too many people out there who want to run for President.”
