GOP leaders are advising former President Donald Trump to play by the rules and put his party’s interests ahead of his own as he embarks on a third campaign – that is, to behave in a way he has seldom, if ever, done before.
On AWN’s “State of the Union” Sunday, Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel offered the strongest indication yet that 2024 GOP White House aspirants will have to commit to support the party’s presidential nominee if it isn’t them – or risk being barred from the debate stage.
“That seems like a no-brainer to me.” McDaniel told Dana Bash that formal criteria for the first debate in August have yet to be set. “If you’re going to be on the Republican National Committee debate stage asking voters to support you, you should say, ‘I’m going to support the voters and the nominee they choose,'” McDaniel continued.
Although recent research suggesting that excitement for him among Republicans isn’t what it used to be, the former president, who swore a loyalty pledge in 2015, responded with trademark arrogance on Sunday. “President Trump will support the Republican nominee because it will be him,” a campaign spokeswoman said in response to McDaniel’s forecast that candidates will be compelled to sign a loyalty pledge.
Trump has already stated that his support for someone other than himself as the GOP nominee in 2024 would be contingent on who the candidate was. Given his attacks on potential primary opponents, particularly Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the possibility of new party splits is looming.
Since Trump’s 2016 nomination and election, the Republican Party has virtually always capitulated to his wild tendencies and crushing of rules and conventions, most notably appeasing his radicalism through two impeachments. Several Republican politicians echoed his phoney claims of electoral fraud in the 2020 presidential election and sanitised his role in the January 6, 2021, uprising.
Yet, Trump’s interference in last year’s midterm elections, when several of his election-denying acolytes failed in battleground areas and helped to suppress a Republican red wave, demonstrated how his interests may differ from those of his party. Several Republican officials blame Trump and his alienation of more moderate, suburban voters for the party’s lacklustre performances in 2018, the Senate and the White House in 2020, and falling short of expectations in 2022, despite flipping the House. As a result, several senior Republican funders and opinion leaders have suggested that the party should move on from a candidate who is unpopular with many people and who could jeopardise the party’s chances of defeating President Joe Biden in his projected reelection effort. It remains to be seen whether this viewpoint is shared by Trump’s longtime supporters.
During a radio interview with Hugh Hewitt earlier this month, Trump was asked whether he would support DeSantis as nominee — or anyone else who might beat him.
“It depends. I’d give you the same answer I gave at the debate in 2016…. “That would have to be determined by the nominee,” Trump stated.
It would be a nightmare scenario for the Republican Party if Trump won the party’s nomination but then spent the general election raging against the party’s presidential nominee. Even minor defections from Trump’s loyal grassroots political base could be important in swing state races like the ones that swung the last two presidential elections.
Trump rarely follows the rules.
Trump acts as if he is entitled to his third consecutive presidential nomination from the Republican Party. This week, DeSantis, whom Trump has previously accused of disloyalty for exploring a presidential bid, will promote and release a new book, a rite of passage for future presidential candidates.
Trump has also slammed Nikki Haley, his former ambassador to the United Nations, who has launched a 2024 presidential campaign based on calls for a new generation of American political leadership. Trump and Haley are both scheduled to appear at the Conservative Political Action Conference this week outside of Washington, DC. Meanwhile, DeSantis will be in Texas and California for events.
While requiring debate contestants to sign a vow to support the nominee would be a show of party unity and an attempt to box Trump in, it would be difficult to implement if Trump did not win the nomination. Given that Trump falsely claimed the 2020 general election, which he won handily, was marred by voter fraud, it’s not a stretch to imagine he’ll trash any nomination process he doesn’t win.
However, McDaniel stated on AWN that she was confident that all of the candidates would sign such a commitment, citing Trump’s participation in the 2016 election as evidence of the party’s leverage in getting all of the candidates on board.
“I believe they are all eager to take the debate stage. I believe President Trump would prefer to participate in a debate. “That’s what he enjoys doing,” McDaniel explained to Bash.
The RNC chief, who just won her own fought reelection, also warned that the GOP has lost significant races in the elections “because of Republicans refusing to support other Republicans. And unless we address this within our party, unless we begin to work together, we will not win in 2024.”
McDaniel may also face problems beyond Trump, as some potential GOP 2024 candidates have warned that the ex-president is no longer fit to carry the party’s banner or run for president after his role in inciting a mob attack on Congress in one of the most damaging blows to US democracy in modern times.
On CBS last month, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson stated that Trump had “disqualified himself and should not serve our country again as a result of what transpired” on January 6, 2021. Hutchinson did not indicate whether he would refuse to endorse Trump if he became the Republican nominee. Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, another potential anti-Trump candidate, told Hewitt earlier this month that he would back the ex-president if he became the party’s nominee, but then tweeted, “Trump won’t promise to supporting the Republican nominee, and I won’t commit to supporting him.”
Indications of weakness in Trump’s campaign
One reason why the question of whether Trump will endorse someone other than himself in 2024 is so hot right now is that there are some early indications that the former president may not have as strong a grip on his party as he once did. His campaign hasn’t exactly taken off since it debuted last fall. Recent surveys, while too far out to be decisive, reveal that DeSantis is roughly matched with Trump, even if other contenders like Haley and possible candidates like ex-Vice President Mike Pence lag in single digits.
DeSantis is considered by certain party figures as a reflection of Trump’s populist, cultural, and “America First” values without the indiscipline and scandal that has followed the ex-president. Florida Governor Rick Scott has inherited Trump’s pugilistic partisanship, telling Fox News host Mark Levin on Sunday that he has turned “the Democratic Party in our state into a rotted carcass on the side of the road.”
But, it is unclear how DeSantis would respond to Trump’s venomous insults on a debate platform. Yet several once-heralded contenders, like as former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, have appeared strong in theory only to see their campaigns wilt out on the campaign trail.
Yet, McDaniel’s statement on Sunday demonstrates the depth of Republican Party fear that an unbridled Trump might jeopardise the Republican Party’s chances of regaining the White House and control of Congress.