I am going to upset some people on the right today. I don't really apologize for that in advance, but just wanted to give you all a heads-up. Because I have been thinking about the 2024 election and I want to offer some advice (I have an overinflated opinion of myself that way).
On Feb. 20 in a town hall, Donald Trump, now the presumptive Republican nominee for President in the 2024 election, announced his current short list of people he is considering as his running mate. The list included all familiar names and no real surprises: Senator Tim Scott, Rep. Byron Donalds, former Democrat and now independent Tulsi Gabbard, Governor Kristi Noem, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy ... and his former chief rival in the Republican primary, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Of course, this being Donald Trump, his short list is likely to change any time he wants it to, but I was really happy to see DeSantis on this list.
But then, one day later, DeSantis spoke on the phone to a group of Republican supporters and said flat-out, 'I'm not doing that.'
Ron DeSantis says ‘not doing that’ of Trump VP slot, won’t rule out 2028 run https://t.co/k2ee5XLTLb pic.twitter.com/gzLQJ3FMeE
— New York Post (@nypost) February 21, 2024
I think this is a monumental mistake, both for DeSantis personally and for the future of the Republican Party.
Of course, I get that this could just be typical politics. DeSantis later said he was focused on being governor of Florida, that he hasn't ruled out a 2028 run, that he has no interest in auditioning for that job, etc., etc., etc. I am used to this from politicians. They say things. The next day, they say other things.
But regardless of what he says in a not-so-private phone call, I do hope that inside DeSantis' strategy rooms, he remains open to being asked. And if asked, that he will serve. (I also hope that Trump stays consistent in considering him.)
My reasons for this are simple. In fact, DeSantis himself laid them out on his call when he talked about who HE would have considered as a running mate:
'My criteria was, basically, I need someone who can do the job if it came to that, and I would have been the third-youngest president elected so chances are, actuarily I would probably be in pretty good shape, but you never know what else can happen, it’s happened before. So you need someone who can just go in, day one, no problem, they can do the job,' DeSantis went on, arguing that he would have been 'partial to governors' had his campaign advanced that far.
'I’m not sure that those are necessarily going to be the criteria that Donald Trump uses. I think he’s going to probably use different criteria. I’ve heard that they are looking more at identity politics. I think that’s a mistake. I think you should just focus on who you think the best person for the job would be.'
Hello, governor? I don't know how to tell you this, but you just described yourself in every way.
DeSantis is a highly capable chief executive, a fact he has proven in Florida, so he fulfills his own top criteria. And he is a sitting governor, another of his preferences. He is NOT an identity politics selection, he is the farthest thing from it. Furthermore, as he says, he is young. Donald Trump is ... not young. If, for any reason, a future President Trump was not able to fulfill his duties, who better to step in than a young, successful governor?
And even assuming that Trump IS able to complete his one term remaining? Well, governor, you said yourself you are still eyeing 2028. Can you think of a better position from which to run than as the sitting vice president? Face it, whoever Trump does choose, assuming that ticket wins in November, that vice president is pretty much already the presumptive Republican nominee for 2028. At the very least, he or she would have a huge leg up on any other challengers.
One other essential point. We all know that the damage caused by just one term of Joe Biden is not going to be fixed in a single term by Trump, should he win. It will take much longer. And even setting Biden's destruction aside, the larger damage that leftism has done to American society definitely will take longer than four years to fix. It will take longer than TWELVE years to fix.
But four years of Trump, followed by eight years of DeSantis sure sounds like a great way to start, doesn't it?
Yes, I know. There is an elephant in the room (no pun intended). I am not forgetting that. As brief as it was, the 2024 Republican primary was nasty. Not anywhere near 2016, granted, but still truly nasty. Trump called DeSantis names and either directly or indirectly unleashed his army of online support with some vile lines of attack against the governor and his family. But DeSantis wasn't innocent either. While he himself mostly focused on policy (and credit to him for that), some of his supporters, and I can't believe I am writing this, actually started to use Democrat talking points to criticize Trump.
The crazies -- like Laura Loomer or Alex Breusewitz on the Trump side and John Cardillo or Bill Mitchell on the DeSantis side -- created division among Republicans like it was their job (here's a hint: it is their job). But none of those people were official campaign operatives or insiders in either campaign. They're just 'influencers' and -- I cannot stress this part enough -- I DO NOT CARE about them. Any of them. Nor the armies of trolls who exist only to sling mud at other Republicans (just check out the replies to the New York Post tweet above for some examples).
Those people (assuming all of them ARE people) are irrelevant. They won't win anyone an election, but they sure can help lose one. What IS relevant is uniting the Republican party to give it the best chance to win in 2024. The primary division in Republican politics right now is Trump vs. DeSantis, even though the primary is over (sorry, Nikki Haley, but it is). A Trump/DeSantis ticket fixes a lot of that. Not all of it, nothing will ever fix ALL of it, but enough of it to make the electoral difference.
As for the candidates themselves, should either man harbor any personal animosity lingering from the primary fight? Here's my message to you: get over it. You are politicians. You play hardball for a living. If Trump's ego won't let him choose someone who could be as effective on any issue as DeSantis? Get over it. If DeSantis thinks Trump didn't play fair and the game was rigged against him from the start? Get over it.
What is more important to you? Harboring your indignation or what is best for America and the American people? (Whoo boy. I'm going to get some answers to THAT question in the comments, aren't I? LOL.)
This is nothing against Scott, Noem, Ramaswamy, Gabbard, or any of the others on Trump's short list. There are some fine people there. But the simple fact is that there is no way Democrats could beat a Trump/DeSantis ticket. Not even if they put senile Joe and giggling Kamala out to pasture and substitute in a Gavin Newsom or (God help us) a Gretchen Whitmer.
Trump almost certainly knows this. As does DeSantis. As does anyone who can set aside their anger from the primary and look at the bigger picture.
I hope she doesn't get mad at me for including her tweet (and I want to emphasize that what I am saying here is MY opinion, not hers or Twitchy's), but I think @PolitiBunny summed up my feelings very succinctly today (she's really good at that sort of thing):
Being 'always' or 'never' something doesn't help anyone. I say this as someone who was years ago 'never' myself. Somehow, someway, we all have to find a way to work together, and 'always' and 'never' make that really hard.
— The🐰FOO (@PolitiBunny) February 22, 2024
Pushing for this doesn't mean I 'sold out,' it means…
The rest of the tweet reads:
...it means I've accepted this is all bigger and more important than me.
I hope more people figure it out. :)
Exactly correct. The 2024 presidential election is bigger and more important than any single one of us. Even the nominee and his running mate. And it is certainly bigger than egos or hurt feelings.
If you are 'Always Trump,' get over it. Urge him to pick the person who is clearly the most qualified for the job.
If you are 'Never Trump,' get over it. Urge DeSantis to consider a spot on the ticket ... and accept it if offered.
If you look around at what is happening to America, at home and abroad, Republicans need to win this fall. And they need a win that will give them the best chance for more than just four years of Donald Trump.
As one of my favorite bands of the last 10-15 years sings:
'You bury it, bury it, bury it / And rise above
You bury it, bury it, bury it / And rise above.'
Cue those CHVRCHES synthesizers because the stakes for America absolutely could not be higher.
