It seems plenty of Trump’s fellow Republicans are accepting his physical decline is real, serious and getting worse. So much so that they’ve joined the growing consensus that Trump won’t live long enough to instigate another riot to stay in Office. If you thought the GOP 2028 fight would be Vance vs. Rubio with a handful of fringe candidates that would drop out after Iowa and New Hampshire think again.
According to Raw Story while no candidate has officially announced a 2028 Presidential run dozens of wannabe GOPers will wind up vying to wear Trump’s MAGA crown. Former GOP operative and co-founder of The Lincoln Project Rick Wilson is as we know no longer part of the GOP consultant brain trust. However he still knows lots of GOPers and some, perhaps quite a few do still talk to him, albeit usually off the record. Wilson says GOP strategists have tipped him off about what’s coming:
“The number of Republicans who are planning to run in 2028 is growing by the minute,” Wilson told Raw Story.
“I would say a year ago, there was the presumption that Trump was trying to run again,” Wilson said.
But now it’s different.
“They think Trump is going to croak,” he said.
Wilson thinks as many as twenty will go after Trump’s job. Look, I’ll be the first to admit he’s smarter than I am and knows more about politics but only twenty? I think he meant to say 30. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if even more than that create exploratory committees and/or file the requisite paperwork. Wilson says we’ll see people from the House, the Senate Governors etc. making a run. Then of course there will be the outsiders, uber rich folks who will self-fund at least an initial candidacy hoping to gain traction. Imagine one of the ‘tech bros’ deciding THEY should be President! Wilson makes the point all of them will be vying to take over MAGA.
From where I sit nobody can do so. Someone might take over as King of a significant chunk of MAGA but Trump is unique and once he’s gone so is that big base of MAGAs singularly devoted to him and only him. That’s a different topic for a later time. Wilson’s point is what we’re talking about and I agree with his saying that lots of Republicans who crave sitting behind the big desk in the Oval Office will be coming out of the woodwork. He wryly notes “Ambition is a helluva drug.” I couldn’t help but think of a Dave Chapple show that did a sendup of back and forth between him and Rick James:
Replace the word cocaine with power/ambition and there you are. It’s been said power is more addictive than anything. That may or may not be the case but it IS ‘one helluva drug’ and with Republicans seeing Trump giving up the ghost sooner rather than latter they are making plans to grab Presidential power.
Now let’s be fair. It’s not like we won’t have a substantial field of Democrats vying for the Party’s nomination in 2028. There clearly isn’t a heir apparent to head the Party. IF Kamala Harris chooses to run again she’ll face formidable candidates, some with enough political and financial backing to mount a serious challenge. So there’s that. AND the group of ‘What the hell make him/her’ think they are Presidential timber elected Democrats. There could easily be a half dozen of such idiots out there. Not to mention the gadfly candidates. We could easily see a field of a dozen Democrats and perhaps even more.
Still, if Wilson is right and he probably is our field will pale in number compared to the GOP. I’m also pretty sure that while some ‘food fights’ will happen they’ll be pretty tame compared to what we’ll see from the GOP. Get ready because although ugly to behold it will be entertaining in a sick and twisted way. Terms like Cluster F**k and Sh!t show come to mind. Feel free to add your own in the comment section.
Here’s where it could get entertaining but also put the country in even more danger. Even if formal announcements of exploratory committees and the like aren’t made no credible run can be made without talking to enough donors and potential political supporters to keep word from leaking out. Trump could and would dismiss one or two such people with little comment. That might not kill their prospects anymore. More importantly if the number grows to four or five Trump is going to feel compelled to involve himself. He clearly wants to stay in office so imagine how crazy him trying to justify a Constitutionally prohibited with fending off potential successors. AND trying to at least pretend to anoint his preferred choice!
Wilson talked about how there are Republicans who’ve sat on the sidelines for a decade who clearly believe they should have become President. It seems Wilson thinks they they see big holes in Trump’s armor. But he goes on to talk about others that are currently in the DC fray who clearly have ambitions beyond their current status:
The number of candidates could present a problem for the GOP — and particularly Trump.
“I think we’re going to see a real mess starting in the spring of next year, where you’re going to have the Ted Cruzes and Josh Hawleys and all these other people running around, and it’s going to make Trump lose his damn mind. He’s going to go crazy,” Wilson said.
Wilson indicates Rubio and Vance are deluding themselves if they think it will be just the two of them trying to get Trump’s endorsement to take over as his successor. Trump is toying with the both of them. IF he continues to defy mother nature but realizes he can’t get away with another run there’s not a chance in hell he’d trust either Rubio or Vance to do what he’d expect – get HIS approval on any and every Presidential action. No, he’ll try to install a useful idiot who carries his bloodline. Wannabe Princess Ivanka seems to be attempting to work her way back into daddy’s good graces but there’s the Jared issue so Trump wouldn’t trust ‘Jarvanka’ to allow him to be de facto President. That leaves us with Fredo 1 (Don Jr.) and Fredo 2 (Eric) who would treat the Presidency just like the Trump Org. – consult their sperm donor on everything. Yuck but let’s face it, LOTS of GOPers are going to give it a shot.
Wilson says by 2027 we’ll have a better picture on the group of GOPers that will emerge from the fray. In the meantime:
“Watch the spring of next year, you’re going to see a lot of people suddenly visiting New Hampshire, suddenly visiting Iowa, suddenly announcing the ‘American Dream super PAC’ and writing terrible campaign books,” Wilson added. “That’s become sort of one of the things, the ritual.”
I don’t think we’ll have to wait that long to see a substantial number of Republicans telegraphing their intentions.
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This rocks, Denis! What a wonderful breakdown of what’s going to happen. This was great! It’s something we all should remember. Thank you.