Originally Posted by
JasonEvans
The GOP field now includes 6 very legitimate candidates who are holding rallies and appearing on cable networks.
Apologies to Larry Elder... I guess there are maybe 7 legitimate candidates if we count Elder.
Donald Trump - former President
Nikki Haley - former UN Amb, fmr SC Gov
Vivek Ramaswamy - businessman
Asa Hutchinson - fmr Ark Gov
Larry Elder - talk-radio host, former CA Gov candidate
Tim Scott - SC Sen
Ron DeSantis - Fla Gov
Interesting that we only have 2 people in the race who are currently in office. Also interesting that despite the saying, "every Senator wakes up in the morning and sees a President staring back in the mirror," we only have 1 GOP senator running thus far. I saw an excellent article in Politico about how the anti-Trump forces seem really divided between Tim Scott and Ron Desantis and how that might be a real boost for Trump.
This is all delightful to Trump, who is thrilled about the prospect of more candidates carving up the opposition. Never one for subtext, the former president responded to Scott’s entry by gleefully saying the primary “is rapidly loading up with lots of people.”
There was one other sign this week of Trump’s unique strength in the GOP, but you may have had to look for it. It was when former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley used an appearance before reporters in New Hampshire to target DeSantis for “copying Trump” with his speaking style and even “his hand gestures.”
It was an admission from Haley, the first candidate after the former president to enter the race, that she’s not breaking through and must dislodge DeSantis to take on Trump. It was also an illustration of how little regard the other Republicans in the race have for DeSantis and the risk the Florida governor faces of these candidates cutting a deal with Trump to stay in the race and divide up the vote in exchange for some promise of, say, the vice-presidency or wokeness czar.