The field for the race to derail Donald Trump and win the Republican nomination is about to get a couple of familiar — some would say worn out — names added to it. Over at Townhall, my colleague Leah Barkoukis writes that former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is going to jump in the race next week in New Hampshire. Also at Townhall, Spencer Brown has the story about former Vice President Mike Pence making his announcement in Iowa next Wednesday.
Politically, both Christie and Pence are so far beyond their expiration dates that their campaigns will be accompanied by the smell of sour milk.
And I’m sure that the internet is already flooded with variations on “Christie will really make the field crowded.” I apologize for nothing.
Both men will get some early love from the mainstream media because they will be positioning themselves as alternatives to Trump who appeal to non-MAGA Republicans. Let’s clarify exactly who each will appeal to — people at the Pence family summertime barbecue and people at the Christie family summertime barbecue. Probably not everyone at the latter because so many of them end up not eating because the food ran out so quickly (seriously, I’m not going to stop with this stuff).
The bitter irony here, of course, is that the more “anti-Trumps” who enter this race, the more likely it is that Trump will be the nominee. Screw the polls right now, I don’t believe any of them. They may say that Trump is ahead by 14 million points, but it’s garbage. I do believe he has a decided advantage at the moment, but most people aren’t paying attention yet. Ron DeSantis still has a shot at unseating Trump atop the primary field heap, and he’s the only one who does.
If the GOP gets a field that needs two broadcasts in one night to hold a debate — Trump wins the nomination in a runaway. It would appear, however, that a lot of the Republicans who don’t like Trump have forgotten every lesson from 2016. It’s a mass amnesia event.
The theory about candidates who run for president knowing that they don’t have a chance is that they’re positioning themselves for a job in the eventual nominee’s administration should the Republicans win the presidency, or they’re upping their profile for a run in future presidential elections.
I don’t really buy into that theory. Most politicians have outsized, almost professional entertainer-like egos. None of them are humble. There may have been a time when truly humble men ascended to the Senate or governors’ offices then ran for president, but that was when votes were delivered in sacks via horseback.
Even launching a presidential bid requires the support of political veterans and serious money people. When the candidate with the big ego is surrounded by wealthy people who keep telling him or her that he or she can be president, that candidate believes it.
If the theory were true, it’s going to get destroyed in this cycle anyway. We’ve all seen how Trump just wants to take his ball and go home whenever he feels that someone has been disrespectful or disloyal to him. There won’t be any Kumbaya hiring moments between Trump and anyone who opposed him in the primaries. His loyalty litmus test has gotten a lot stricter since 2016.
There is also the fact that — as I and many others have repeatedly noted — this is no ordinary presidential election. The republic is teetering on the edge of extinction. Four more years of a Democrat in the Oval Office (it doesn’t matter which one, they’re all awful) will bring about a catastrophic Kevorkian event. This is no time for political vanity projects in the hope of future gains.
The consensus among Republicans who would prefer that Trump not be the nominee is that he can’t win the general election. I don’t believe that, although the more erratic he becomes, the more my doubts grow. If those who are running against him truly believe that, however, then they shouldn’t run against him. Again, Ron DeSantis is the only Republican alive on planet Earth right now who has even a prayer of beating Trump for the nomination. Their presence in the race divides the non-Trump primary votes and all but guarantees a Trump nomination.
Pence and Christie won’t be serious candidates — they’ll merely be filler. One much more so than the other (told ya I wouldn’t stop). There are no people on the right clamoring to hear what either has to say about keeping the United States of America away from its death rattle. These two are so milquetoast (note the proper spelling, DJT) that I doubt even they’re interested in their own thoughts.
They are also the past of the Republican Party. Both Trump and DeSantis have legitimate claims to being the immediate future. Pence and Christie have, “Hey! Remember us?”
We do, but we’d rather not.
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