The Morning Briefing: The 'Trump 2024' Tease Needs Go On Until the Last Minute

Top O’ the Briefing

Happy Thursday, dear Kruiser Morning Briefing friends. Toasters were invented before Eggos, but obviously not without a reason.

Proving that I am not rigid in all of my opinions, I’ve had a change of heart about the 2024 presidential election. Heretofore, I’ve been saying that Donald Trump either needs to throw his hat in the ring or open things up for Ron DeSantis.

I’ve also been writing about how much I love the fact that Trump continually occupies the empty headspace of Democrats.

So here we are.

Donald Trump’s greatest value to the GOP is that he diverts the Democrats’ attention from the important thing. If American politics were a chess board, Trump would be the guy who’s distracting the opponent from making a good move.

That value exists because they — and we — think he might run again in 2024.

David Solway examines the Trump/DeSantis prospect for the Gop in his latest column. Here’s a bit of it:

DeSantis’ record as governor of Florida is not only stellar but conceivably unprecedented for wisdom, courage, moral fortitude, personal charm, and administrative effectiveness. He has made his state a beacon of hope and security for those fleeing broken and dysfunctional states under Democrat rule. Many believe he would be the best candidate to head the Republican ticket and would in fact be a shoo-in for the White House. My esteemed editor at The Pipeline, Michael Walsh, for example, has written several powerful columns advocating for DeSantis while casting doubts on Trump’s character and viability. And Walsh is far from alone.

But there is much to be said for Trump despite his critics. He may be or sound rough-hewn compared to DeSantis and would likely generate a certain amount of opposition among even party affiliates. Nonetheless, irrespective of his occasional naivety, his polemical outspokenness, and his polarizing personality, he was, on the whole, a first-rate president, and his “Make America Great Again” policies restored a post-Obama foundering nation to rising prosperity, energy independence, and its formerly pre-eminent position on the international stage. His list of achievements is a long one and remains to be completed. Tried, tested, and battle-scarred, he would be primed for the task.

Moreover, it has begun to seem increasingly likely that he may not have lost the 2020 presidential election, which was conducted under contestable auspices. As Dinesh D’Souza says at the end of his blockbuster documentary 2000 Mules, “Never before in history has a presidential election been as thoroughly corrupted by coordinated fraud across multiple states as we now know took place in 2020.” A rightful second term would allow Trump to pursue his governing agenda to the continued benefit of the country.

There are few things I would enjoy more than Trump getting a second term and going scorched-earth. It’s like a dream movie for me. Still, I have to deal with political reality. A Trump 2024 run would be both desirable for real Republicans and fraught with obstacles. It would be only about his personality, not his quite exemplary accomplishments as president.

I’ve written that Trump needs to you-know-what or get off the pot but now I’m doing a 180. I like him keeping everyone hanging. It makes the Democrats scramble. The longer they keep their focus on him, the better things are for DeSanti, if that is where the GOP ends up going.

And if Trump does run in 2024, we on the right can all just revel in the embarrassment of riches.

Everything Isn’t Awful

Abraham was adopted from Sierra Leone.

This week, he celebrated his first birthday with his new family.

We dare you to not cry.

Kindness wins. pic.twitter.com/jyDJCwEixt

— Goodable (@Goodable) June 8, 2022

Smells Like Onion

Still Too Early To Tell If Pulling Chain Turned Overhead Fan Off https://t.co/C5eTTnerCH pic.twitter.com/8qJUcWHJzY

— The Onion (@TheOnion) June 8, 2022

The Kruiser Kabana

Kabana Gallery

The Pont Boieldieu, Rouen, Sunset, 1896 #impressionism #danishart https://t.co/8C7AN5tLqj pic.twitter.com/yEW7idiXMm

— Camille Pissarro (@artpissarro) June 9, 2022