Gov. Chris Sununu (R-N.H.), 48, a possible 2024 presidential candidate, emphatically said 76-year-old former President Donald Trump would not be the GOP’s 2024 nominees. Sununu echoes the views of the anti-Trump wing of the GOP, led by Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Ut.), 75, and 53-year-old former House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) who vowed never to support Trump even if he becomes the 2024 nominee. Sununu, who hasn’t announced yet, says he will support Trump if he’s the GOP nominee. Sununu and Ryan don’t have the same antipathy toward Trump, other than the fact they don’t think he get back to the White House. Without saying it, anti-Trump Republicans are ready to jump on the bandwagon of 44-year-old Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Trump endorsed DeSantis in 2019 he ran for governor, creating the kind of expected rivalry when DeSantis decides jump into the race.
Speaking to the Conservative Political Action Conference [CPAC] in National Harbor, Maryland, Trump delivered to keynote address Saturday night but there was no coronation with the GOP’s anti-Tax Club for Growth meeting at the lavish Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida. Many of the GOP’s biggest donors attended the Club for Growth meeting not at CPAC, hinting that they plan to get behind DeSantis. Sununu knows something about where the money’s flowing for the 2024 campaign and it’s not to Trump. Whether admitted to or not, GOP’s Trump fatigue is real, despite Trump still having his base show up at the CPAC meeting. Republicans want a fresh face in 2024 for the exact same reasons Trump said in his Saturday night speech: That 80-year-old President Joe Bidien was driving the country into oblivion. Republicans all agree Biden must go in 2024.
Listening to Trump, CPAC attendees know that DeSantis lurks in the background, not likely to announce anything until later this summer. Unlike Trump who jumped in Nov. 15, 2022, DeSantis can pace himself, building anticipation for the big announcement, likely to happen in the summer. Trump repeated many of his familiar themes but lacking the same punch in the past, with many CPAC attendees knowing that the Party wants someone new in 2024. Whether Trump gets indicted or not, there’s no novelty to Trump’s presence or message, especially knowing that the GOP wants something different in 2024. Biden looks poised to run for a second term, barring some unforeseen medical mishap. While Democrats and the press would like to see Trump run against Biden for the second time, the GOP wants to see Biden defeated, not give Trump his chance at revenge.
Sununu offers some inside hints at where the GOP’s heading in 2024. Trump has been the only leading GOP voice to come out against the Ukraine War. Biden unilaterally got the U.S. into a proxy war against the Russian Federation, throwing European security into chaos. No matter how much Biden wants to save Ukraine, the European Union wants to prevent WW III, avoiding getting dragged into a war with Russia. Biden has the U.S. in a proxy war with the Kremlin, spending over $100 billion to fund Ukraine’s bankrupt government and war with the Russian Federation. DeSantis hasn’t announced publicly his support or opposition to the Ukraine War. But when he decides to run, he won’t support any of Biden’s failed economic or foreign policies, including the Ukraine War. Sununu himself doesn’t have a prayer should he decide to throw his hat in the ring.
What’s clear from the CPAC meetings is the GOP doesn’t yet have its standard bearer for 2024. Trump looks-and-sounds like an aging politician, not all that much different from Biden. “As far as former President Trump, I think he’s going to run—obviously, he’s in the race. He’s not going be the nominee. That’s just nog going to happen,” Sununu said to NBC’s “Meet the Press” Chuck Todd today. Sununu is no fan of Trump but knows that the Party looks for a different direction in 2024, someone without the same baggage as Trump. Whether Sununu knows it or not, it doesn’t matter who the GOP picks in 2024, Democrats and the press will demonize any Republican. Democrats know that Biden is vulnerable in 2024 because of his age, especially if the GOP runs DeSantis, a candidate in his prime. Biden’s economic and foreign policy are his real problems getting reelected.
Democrats and the press actually prefer Trump as the GOP nominee because he’d be far easier to beat again than a new, exciting GOP candidate. Trump can’t accept DeSantis at the moment because he sees himself as the GOP’s last best hope to fix the horrendous problems created by Biden. Judging by how Trump couldn’t accept the outcome of the 2020 election, it won’t be easy for him to accept that he’s a has-been, no longer the GOP’s best option for the White House. “I think there’s a lot of opportunity to bring forward what the Republican Party—not what we’re were not, yesterday’s leadership or yesterday’s story, or crying about what happened in November of ’22. . .” Sununu told NBC’s Todd. Trump opted to run again in 2024 forcing the GOP to duke it out with the best man or woman standing in 2024. Competition, not social legacy, is actually a good thing for the GOP.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
