You don’t get it.
President Trump is the popular incumbent, just like Reagan was in 1984. The 2020 election was stolen, so Trump’s incumbency rolls forward to 2024.
Any Republican who challenges Trump in 2024 is a fool, which is why Ron DeSantis has still not announced. He understands Trump is running for a well-deserved second term.
DeSantis is doing a fabulous job as ultra popular governor of Florida, and is in a great position for a 2028 Presidential run. In 2028, if DeSantis runs a MAGA campaign, every single Trump voter will gladly vote for him.
If he challenges Trump in 2024, he knows he won’t get the MAGA base, so he will have to look elsewhere - to the RINO wing of the Republican Party - and betray his own conservative base!
Why would he trade away all that just to become road kill in a primary challenge he can’t win?
DeSantis is way too smart for that.
Re: 38 - Actually I do get it. We just see the matter differently.
You make a lot of assumptions, but we all do when we predict.
I don’t believe President Trump’s incumbency does roll forward. He’s going to have to win the nomination. It’s just the way it is.
Looking at the multiple threads being posted about how Deep State types like Jeb Bush, etc, have nice things not say about DeSantis and the resulting comments from people that conclude that that means DeSantis is Deep State, it’s a bit of a stretch to conclude they will gladly vote for him in 2028.
And how big is the MAGA “base”? Please don’t say ~81 million voters as that is not the base. How big is the MAGA base?
You do realize that there’s FReepers that say they will vote for President Trump and no other Republican for President in 2024 - even if that means the Republican nominee loses.
I hope President Trump wins the nomination. But he has to win it.