Presidential campaigns are a four (plus) year thing and have been for a long while now. So it’s not too late to be looking ahead to 2028. Possible major Party nominees are weighing their chances and trying to build support for a run. And of course we have the chattering class weighing in with their own thoughts. DeSantis intends to run but let’s face it – he won’t do any better then than he did this cycle. Probably worse. As VP J.D. Vance would seem to have the inside track, and if Trump who is clearly in less than optimal health doesn’t live that long Vance would be the incumbent.
On the other hand when it comes to Trump who knows? He just might live, even if in an ever weakening state until it’s time for the 2028 primaries. I for one am better if that happens a sh*tload of conservatives who had themselves tons of fun pointing out Democrat’s concerns about an aging Joe Biden fretting if Trump tries to run again. And being Trump he might indeed find some way to get around the Constitutional question. If not, Vance might not be the “lock” he or others think. So let’s face it, there WILL be speculation on just who will lead the GOP in 2028.
As this article from Raw Story indicates Fox is touting none other than Cancun Ted Cruz and Sarah “Slanders” Sanders as top possibilities! Wow. Again, Fox’s pundits seemed to agree Vance is in the proverbial catbird seat BUT that assumption assumes things will go well for the country (and the current administration) in the next four years. If things don’t? Well, it seems all bets will be off:
With Carney suggesting a “possible rough four years for the Trump/Vance administration” would hand challengers to Vance “opportunities,” Fox’s Steinhuaser pointed to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX), Arkansas Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, 2024 runner-up Nikki Haley and far-right Sen. Tom Cotton, also of Arkansas, as possible candidates.
I’ve already stated my thoughts on DeSantis. Unless Elon Musk wants to invest heavily in upgraded animatronics the robotic DeSantis won’t be anything but a punch line. Again. It’s the placement of Cruz and Sanders that startles me. Cruz has long held the title of most hated Senator and that includes amongst his fellow Republicans. Yes, he just won re-election and by a wider than expected margin but he’s from Texas for chrissakes. We keep thinking Texans will finally get fed up but no, it’s a strongly red state and most Republicans won’t even consider voting for a Democrat. Much less actually do so. That’s why Cruz keeps getting re-elected.
As for Sanders she’s in Trump’s good graces. Because of her “service” to Trump (lying her ass off for him) she’s now Governor of her home state just like her P.O.S. father once was. That’s another state where a Democrat has NO chance. She can grift all she wants and screw up over and over and it won’t matter to Arkansans. Hell, for all its natural beauty (and it’s considerable if you’ve never been there) the place has been screwed up for so long how are the voters there supposed to figure out how much WORSE she made things?
Now, Fox did mention a couple of other names like Hawley and Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton. But it seems for the moment Cruz and Sanders are at the top of the ‘if not Vance then who?’ list. And with Vance likely to have issues of his own (ties to Trump and the upcoming administration) odds are the GOP will be looking for someone to step up. If Cruz and Sanders are the best they’ve got I like our chances. Cruz would lose every swing state Trump carried this past November. And might lose some other red states. Not many but picking off even one or two, say Iowa and Indiana might be possible.
Sanders? It’s hard to see the GOP nominating a woman. She DOES have the advantage I noted about loyal service to Trump and she’s a southern Governor. On the other hand she is a “she.” A woman. Even if the GOP could get past that it wouldn’t fly in a general election. Unless Democrats nominate a woman again. That my friends is the only way we’ll see a woman be sworn in as President of the United States.
Democrats are clearly in a ‘what do we do now?’, and/or ‘who is going to lead us forward’ mode. However the GOP is a lot closer to being in that same place than you might think. And Fox talking about ‘who’s next in 2028’ and clearly saying Vance isn’t a sure thing means plenty of conservatives are taking a hard look at their own long-term issues of leadership.
So it’s not too early to think about 2028. In fact, 2028 and Presidential ambitions are going to affect more of what happens during the next four years than it normally does. Hell, it already has. Trump is clearly worried about people with Presidential ambitions being part of his government and using said position(s) as a springboard to a 2028 candidacy! It’s likely why when the Hegseth nomination blew up he didn’t persuade the dude to withdraw and name DeSantis!
In the end all I can say is that we are going to see more ‘moving parts’ than we’ve ever seen before. From where I sit the GOP’s internecine warfare might be the best chance our country has to make it through the next four years only badly damaged instead of mortally wounded. So by all means Fox (and other RWNJ) outlets, keep up with panel discussions like the one referred to by Raw Story.
Should be easy to beat for a Democrat. oh yeah that’s right Trump was supposed to be easily beaten.
Uh…4 years from now? Better check into a clinic if you think Trump will allow another ‘fair’ election. Dictators in charge with NO GUARDRAILS…no morals…no sense of anything other than his constant craving…it’s funny to talk about what’s gonna happen. Here’s a hint…THE PREVIOUSLY UNIMAGINABLE! The law? That’s a phucking joke. REALLY A PHUCKING JOKE! The law is whatever the dictator says it is. FACT.
Well, Sanders does have to survive a second run for Governor in 2026 for her to have any chance of running for the White House. If she fails that (and, given how unpopular she’s been with her own party in the state, someone could step up to challenge her), she’d have to figure out some quick new grift that could manage to keep her in the public eye enough to make that White House run.
Self serving religious hypocrites are the bedbugs of society. They are blood suckers that seem to multiply in the dark, run to every crevice they can hide in when the lights are on, and seemingly are impossible to get rid of. Her smarmy family fits the bill. Add in, she’s hard to look at, because I feel like I’m in Young Frankenstein, looking at Marty Feldman, asking myself which eye do I focus on? Of course, it is an advantage to have eyes looking in different directions when you also speak with a forked tongue.