Category: 2024

Anti-Trump Republican Liz Cheney Refuses To Rule Out Running For President

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney refused to rule out a future run for President of the United States when asked by the New York Post.

“I’m not ruling anything in or out — ever is a long time,” she is quoted as saying.

Her coy remarks may not be referencing 2024 though, as she believes the GOP already has a number of solid contenders in the next presidential election cycle.

“I think we have a huge number of interesting candidates, but I think that we’re going to be in a good position to be able to take the White House,” Cheney said.

RELATED: Liz Cheney ‘Would Not’ Support Trump In 2024 — We Can’t ‘Embrace Insurrection’

Cheney Blasts Fellow Republicans Planning To Run For President

Cheney, the lead Republican of 10 in the House who joined Democrats in the impeachment of Donald Trump following the Capitol protests in January, continued her fixation on that singular event.

Cheney said any of her colleagues who participated in questioning certification of the electoral college results should not be eligible to run.

“I do think that some of our candidates who led the charge, particularly the senators who led the unconstitutional charge, not to certify the election, you know, in my view that’s disqualifying,” she told the New York Post.

Senators Ted Cruz (TX) and Josh Hawley (MO) both took part in objecting to the certification of the 2020 election results for President, something Liz Cheney and the media have claimed led to an “insurrection.”

RELATED: Trump ‘Very Seriously’ Considering A 2024 Run, Says He Misses Helping People

Keeping Focus On The Capitol Riot

Just weeks ago, Cheney again attacked former President Donald Trump, whom she voted to impeach because he allegedly incited the Capitol protests in January.

“I think that it was the gravest violation of an oath of office by any president in American history,” the establishment Republican declared in an interview with Fox News’ Neil Cavuto.

“For us as a party, we have to be the party of hope and aspirations, and we cannot embrace insurrection and can’t minimize what happened January 6.”

The Wyoming Republican has said she would not support Donald Trump if he were to run in 2024.

Meanwhile, in an interview with Fox News personality Sean Hannity, the former President insisted he is “very seriously” considering a run for the White House in 2024.

Liz Cheney running for president will be difficult, but she has enough trouble on the horizon in her next primary.

Cheney is already facing a primary challenge and has faced multiple calls to resign following her vote to impeach Trump.

The former President’s son, Donald Trump Jr., joked that Cheney’s presidential aspirations must involve “a primary challenge to Joe Biden for the Dem nomination because God knows she’d be lucky to break 5% running in the 2024 Republican primary.”

Former Clinton campaign adviser and political pundit Dick Morris predicted Cheney will lose her re-election campaign in 2022 due to her decision to impeach Trump.

“She has a snowball’s chance in hell of getting reelected,” he told Newsmax.

 

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GOP Sen. Toomey Says Trump Can’t Be The GOP Nominee In 2024 Because He Cost Republicans Senate And White House

Posted on by LifeZette

Retiring Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) spoke out on Friday to say that former President Donald Trump should not be the Republican presidential nominee in 2024.

It should be noted that Toomey was one of the Republican senators who voted to impeach Trump in his second impeachment trial last month.

Neil Cavuto Questions Toomey

Toomey made his latest comments on this while appearing on Fox News Channel’s “Your World with Neil Cavuto.”

“I know you’re leaving the Senate,” host Neil Cavuto said. “You got into a storm of controversy with your own state GOP because you voted to convict the president in the impeachment trial in the Senate.”

“Do you look back at that and have any regrets and the wrath you have received for that vote and the criticism of the president and others?” he asked. 

Toomey Responds 

“I did what I thought was right,” Toomey replied.

“Over time what Republicans will do is we’ll acknowledge and recognize, as most already do, that there were some tremendous accomplishments by the Trump administration during those four years, but in my view, the behavior of the president after the election, culminating on January 6, was completely unacceptable,” he added. “And I think I did the right thing.”

“Do you believe he should run and deserves to run for president if he wants to? Would you support him if he were your nomination?” Cavuto questioned.

“I don’t think he can be the nominee,” Toomey responded. “Look what happened. He won the election in 2016, and then we lost the House.”

“And then he cost us the White House, which was a very winnable race,” he added. “And then he cost us control of the Senate by what he did in Georgia. I think with that kind of track record. It’s not likely that he’ll be the nominee.”

“If he were, would you support him?” Cavuto asked, to which Toomey replied, “I don’t see that happening.”

Related: Trump Not Considering Replacing Pence On Potential 2024 Ticket, Jason Miller Claims

Jim Jordan Endorses Trump

This comes days after Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) officially endorsed Trump, should he run again in 2024.

“[H]e’s the leader of the conservative movement,” Jordan said of Trump. “He’s the leader of the America first movement, and he is the leader of the Republican Party.”

“And I hope, and you know, I hope — like I said yesterday, I hope on January 20, 2025 he’s, once again, will be the leader of our country,” he added. “I hope he runs, but he’s definitely the leader of our party.”

“We need to stay together, and the vast, vast, vast majority of our party supports President Trump as our leader,” Jordan said.

Full Story: Jim Jordan Defies Left To Say ‘I Hope On January 20, 2025’ Trump Is The President Again

This piece was written by James Samson on March 6, 2021. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

Read more at LifeZette:
GOP Rep. Moore Rips Biden As He Says He’s ‘Nowhere To Be Found’ – Predicts ‘Tremendous Landslide’ Wins For Republicans In 2022
Joe Scarborough Claims Senator Josh Hawley Is ‘Responsible’ For Capitol Riot
Mitch McConnell Is Asked Directly If He Regrets Condemning Trump After Riots – Desperately Dodges The Question

The post GOP Sen. Toomey Says Trump Can’t Be The GOP Nominee In 2024 Because He Cost Republicans Senate And White House appeared first on The Political Insider.

Trump Plans New Super PAC, Setting His Sights On 2022 Elections

Posted on by Becky Noble

Former President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he is planning to form a super PAC as part of his post-presidential footprint into Republican Party politics.

Trump confidante and advisor Corey Lewandowski has been named to head up the super PAC, which is still in the planning stages as we head into CPAC weekend.

Trump political team member, senior advisor Jason Miller, said, “MAGA supporters and candidates supporting President Trump’s America First agenda are going to be impressed with the political operation being built out here. We expect formal announcements of the full team in the coming weeks, which will include some very talented operatives not yet named.”

Forming A Trump Super PAC Plan

According to a report by Politico, the meeting took place on Thursday at Trump’s Mar-A-Lago resort in Florida.

In addition to Lewandowski and Miller, the meeting’s attendees included former Trump Campaign Manager Bill Stepien, former deputy Campaign Manger Justin Clark, former Campaign Manager Brad Parscale, former White House Social Media Director Dan Scavino, and attorney Alex Cannon.

Donald Trump already has a leadership PAC called “Save America,” which was last reported to have roughly $31 million in the bank. While there are limits to how much a regular PAC can raise, super PACS are not limited on how much money can be raised for a particular cause.  

In the short amount of time since Donald Trump left the White House, it has become very apparent that he will play a huge role in shaping the future of the Republican Party.

This development is much to the chagrin of people like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Sen. Mitt Romney, and Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), all of whom have been harsh critics of Trump.

RELATED: Mitch McConnell Says He Would Back Trump In 2024 If He Wins GOP Nomination

A Trump endorsement is likely to be coveted by many 2022 GOP candidates.

Some of these coveted endorsements could fall to the primary challengers to seven of the ten House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump.

Of course, Trump has already begun handing out endorsements for 2022.

So far the former President has endorsed his former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who has announced a run for Governor in Arkansas, and Sen. Jerry Moran’s reelection bid in Kansas. 

RELATED: Report: Squad Extremists Aggressively Trying To Eliminate Establishment Democrats

Trump To Give Major Speech At CPAC

In his first major appearance since leaving office, Donald Trump is scheduled to give the keynote address this coming Sunday in Orlando at CPAC, the large yearly gathering of conservatives.

Many expect that Trump will lay out his political vision and plans going forward for not just 2022, but possibly 2024 as well.

According to Fox News, the former president intends to address issues such as immigration, jobs, and energy during his CPAC keynote.

It’s no surprise that Trump intends to tackle immigration after President Joe Biden hastily halted building of the wall on America’s southern border.

Jobs and energy are also on the agenda in light of Biden’s EO halting construction of the Keystone XL pipeline project which has cost people their jobs, a good many of them being union jobs.

CPAC Chairman Matt Schlapp told “Fox & Friends” Thursday of Trump, “He knows it’s a very important reset for him and for the country and for half the country and so many people who are here in this ballroom.”

RELATED: Trump vs. DeSantis: 2024 Clash Of Heavyweights Starts Early 

Trump Ready To Move The Republican Party Forward

The Politico report goes on to say that Trump told his advisers that he is eager to “engage” in the outcome of the 2022 elections.

Said engagement reportedly includes plans to “exact revenge” on those that the former president feels were not loyal to him.

This could include House Republicans who voted to impeach, and possibly Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, who Politico says Trump criticized for not “overturning the election.”

The new super PAC could serve as a conduit for Trump to raise funds and funnel them to his favored candidate in key 2022 races.

Trump has also recently met with Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel, and former Senator David Perdue of Georgia.

However, it is not known if he intends to meet with any other possible presidential candidates who are attending CPAC including Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Tom Cotton (R-AR), former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota. 

According to a report from “Morning Consult,” 59% of GOP voters say Trump should play a “major role” in the Republican Party going forward.

To the disappointment of the GOP establishment, that might be all he needs.

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With one word, Mitch McConnell again shows his allegiance to party before country

Posted on by Laura Clawson

Party before country, always. That’s how Mitch McConnell operates, and a little thing like an attack on the U.S Capitol is not going to change it. McConnell has said that “Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of” Jan. 6, but when asked if he’d support Trump for president in 2024 if Trump were the Republican nominee, the Senate minority leader said he “absolutely” would.

McConnell was answering a question from Bret Baier, having gone on Fox News for an exclusive interview probably intended to rehabilitate his standing with the Republican base a little bit after daring to criticize Trump. Never mind that McConnell’s criticism of Trump was clearly intended for media consumption and came after he first refused to hold an impeachment trial while Trump was still in office, then voted against even holding an impeachment trial because Trump was no longer in office, then voted to acquit Trump in the trial that happened over his objections. He criticized the golden idol of the Republican base, which meant he needed to do some sucking up to reconsolidate his power.

So when Baier first asked McConnell about 2024, he said “I’ve got at least four members that I think are planning on running for president, plus some governors and others. There’s no incumbent. It should be a wide-open race and fun for you all to cover.” But pressed directly on his position if Trump became the nominee, McConnell was crystal clear: “The nominee of the party? Absolutely.”

And that’s not just sucking up for McConnell. The Republican Party and its power is his first and foremost concern, always.

“Former President Trump's actions preceding the riot were a disgraceful dereliction of duty,” McConnell said after voting to acquit him.

If Trump is nominated in 2024, “absolutely” McConnell will support getting him into a position where he’ll again have a duty to derelict.

“The leader of the free world cannot spend weeks thundering that shadowy forces are stealing our country and then feign surprise when people believe him and do reckless things,” McConnell said.

But the Republican leader in the Senate can and will back a nominee who he knows for a fact will do exactly that, apparently. McConnell has told us that Trump incited an insurrection, but he is willing to subject the nation to that again out of loyalty to his party. McConnell may think he’s swearing loyalty now because he has a handle on things and won’t ever have to follow through on supporting Trump. He may not. But he’s also showing that, as Kerry Eleveld recently wrote, he doesn't realize the Republican Party as he knew it is dead. McConnell thinks he can reconsolidate his leadership, but all he’s done recently is follow the extremists of his party.

Report: Nikki Haley Isolated After Attacking Trump, Not Among GOP 2024 Presidential Hopefuls At CPAC

Posted on by Becky Noble

As conservatives gather for their annual conference known as CPAC, Nikki Haley will not be among the possible 2024 GOP contenders in attendance, with speculation that her rivalry with Donald Trump being a contributing factor.

According to one report, Haley is “isolated” after she attacked President Trump for the January 6 Capitol riot.

This comes in the aftermath last week of the former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. asking for a meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Her request was turned down.

Haley has a long history of attacking President Trump.

RELATED: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo Accused Of Sexual Harassment By Former Staffer Lindsey Boylan

Haley’s History Of Anti-Trump Comments

Nikki Haley has a history of comments critical of Trump, so it is not surprising that he would have turned down a meeting.

After the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and just prior to Tump’s second impeachment, in an interview Haley said of Republicans that “We need to acknowledge he let us down. He went down a path he shouldn’t have, and we shouldn’t have followed him, and we shouldn’t have listened to him. And we can’t ever let that happen again.”

In the same interview, she questioned “any political viability” he was going to have going forward. Haley said she did not believe Trump would run in 2024. “I don’t think he can. He’s fallen so far.”

Haley’s comments on Donald Trump go back much farther than January of this year.

In 2016, she gave the Republican response to President Barack Obama’s final State of the Union Address, when she stated, “During anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices.”

In an interview the next day on NBC’s Today Show, Haley said that she was specifying then front-runner for the Republican nomination Donald Trump, was one of the “angry voices” she was referring to.

Haley invoked the Jun 2015 shooting of nine black parishioners in a Charleston church when she stated that she thinks Trump’s rhetoric is “dangerous.” She went on to say, “I know what that rhetoric can do. I saw it happen.”

She even went on to repeat the lie that Trump had not disavowed the KKK. 

“I will not stop until we fight a man that chooses not to disavow the KKK,” Haley said. “That is not a part of our party, that is not who we want as president. We will allow not allow that in our country.”

Even PolitiFact acknowledges that Trump has disavowed white supremacists for decades.

In February of 2016, then South Carolina Governor Haley sounded every bit like a Never-Trumper.

Speaking to CNN affiliate WIS Television in Columbia, she said that candidate Donald Trump represented “everything a Governor doesn’t want in a president.”

RELATED: Biden HHS Nominee Xavier Becerra Could Not Name A Single Abortion Restriction He Would Support

Haley’s Presidential Aspirations In Jeopardy?

According to a report from The Hill, a GOP source says that while Haley has been trying to position herself for a run for the White House, she is having difficulty in connecting with Trump supporters.

The source went on to say that “Haley has never understood the President and seems to not understand where the base of the Party is.” 

The Hill also quoted Alex Conant, a GOP consultant and former advisor to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) in reference to Haley’s comments:

“Trump might run again, so you have to treat him as a potential competitor. But even if he doesn’t, he wants influence over who the party picks, and loyalty is what he values more than anything else. So it’s hard to build your own identity separate from him while maintaining loyalty and his support.”

The fact that she may be seen as a flip-flopper may harm her presidential hopes. A week after the riot, the Charleston CBS affiliate reported that while Haley criticized the President for the riot, she “called for people to ‘give the man a break’.”

She also stated she did not think there was “basis for impeachment.” 

RELATED: Democrat House Set To Pass ‘Equality Act’, Critics Warn It Attacks Women’s Rights And Religious Freedom

CPAC Will Draw Other Possible Presidential Contenders

As usual, this year’s CPAC gathering will draw other potential presidential hopefuls. Some other names that have been mentioned include Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Josh Hawley (R-MO). 

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) is also scheduled to speak, and has even been mentioned as a possible presidential candidate recently by Trump ally Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).

Most of those mentioned have been strong supporters of Trump, not only of the direction he would take the Republican Party, but his “America First” platform.

Nikki Haley’s comments for and against Donald Trump may separate her from other would-be Republican candidates, and the optics may say that she may prove the sources right, that she is indeed out of touch with the base of the party.

Politco reported that Lee Bright, a former colleague of Haley and an “archconservative in the statehouse” in South Carolina, might have sounded the alarm about Haley.

“Nikki is willing to do whatever she needs to do and be whoever she needs to be,” he said. 

He went on to add more serious accusations, “The fact is, she doesn’t have a core. Adapting to the electorate is what keeps you around in politics, and she’s done it more effectively than anyone I’ve ever seen. She went from being an enemy of the establishment to being the face of the establishment.”

Nikki Haley’s first decision about a White House run should be which part of the Republican Party she supports.

The post Report: Nikki Haley Isolated After Attacking Trump, Not Among GOP 2024 Presidential Hopefuls At CPAC appeared first on The Political Insider.

Mitt Romney Admits: Trump Would Win GOP Nomination If He Runs In 2024

Posted on by Becky Noble

Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) says that if Donald Trump decides to run for a second term for president in 2024, it is likely he will get the Republican nomination. Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee himself, says that he thinks Trump will continue to play a big role in GOP politics. 

Romney said on Tuesday, “He has by far the largest voice and a big impact in my party. I don’t know if he’s planning to run in 2024 or not, but if he does, I’m pretty sure he would win the nomination.”

Romney went on to say that if Trump did run in 2024, he would not be voting for him. 

Romney was a leading “Never Trump” figure in the GOP during the 2016 presidential contest, and voted to convict Trump in his first impeachment trial.

Trump is set to deliver a speech at this week’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC.)

It will be his first public appearance since leaving the White House, and many expect that he will lay out his political plans for 2022, and 2024.

RELATED: AOC Slams Biden For  Reopening ‘Migrant Facility For Children’ But Doesn’t Call Them ‘Concentration Camps’

Very Interesting Things Are Happening In The Republican Party

A source close to the former president told Axios that the speech is intended to be a “show of force,” and that he will state that “I may not have Twitter or the Oval Office, but I’m still in charge.” 

Trump’s speech could just be a verification of sorts, of the transformation that is going on in the Republican Party that not all want to talk about or even acknowledge.

Donald Trump not only revealed the depths of the swamp, but that both sides of the aisle occupy it.

He also revealed deep fissures within the Republican Party. Even the most devout of the party cannot deny there is a Mitt Romney-Mitch McConnell-Liz Cheney wing of the party, then there is the Trump wing. 

In an appearance on Fox News Monday morning, Eric Trump stated the very reason for his father’s popularity.

“There’s 75-80 million people who would follow my father to the end of the Earth.” He added that they love Trump because he is not a traditional politician.

“There’s no question he will play a pivotal role in politics for a very long time to come.” Eric explained. “I really do believe he is the modern Republican Party.”

It is the assessments of people like Eric Trump that make the Romney-McConnell-Cheney wing crazy.

But as we move closer not just to 2024, but even to 2022, will they realize that the Trump wing is becoming the much bigger tent?

RELATED: Former Capitol Police Chief Contradicts Pelosi’s Top Investigator, Says Officers Were Not ‘Complicit’ In Riot

Looking At The Numbers

Numbers may tell the story of the future of the Republican Party.

A recent Suffolk University/USAToday poll showed that 46% of those that voted for Trump in 2020 would follow him to a third party if he were to start one. 

And something that should get the attention of the Romney wing of the party is that in a recent Rasmussen poll, 72% of Republican voters want their legislators to be more like Trump and less like establishment Romney, McConnell, Cheney types.

RELATED: House Democrats Want Biden To Relinquish Sole Authority To Launch Nuclear Weapons 

A Bad Ending For The GOP Establishment

A quick look at the numbers above show that things are not looking up for the establishment Republicans.

In addition to Mitt Romney saying he would not vote for Trump, Liz Cheney also said that, “Republicans must acknowledge the damage done by Trump’s false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him, and his encouragement of the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol.”

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) has begun a new PAC with the aim of “taking back the Republican Party from Trump.”

But like Liz Cheney, Kinzinger was among the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump, and has already got some pushback in the form of a primary challenger for 2022. 

Trump wing pushback has also come in the form of young guns like Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who has had words with Cheney, and even gone to Wyoming to campaign against her.

Gaetz has also called out Kinzinger.

Eric Trump also said of the Biden administration on Fox News Monday morning that “When you see some of these policies that are literally destroying jobs, that are destroying industries, that are causing Texas to freeze, that are cutting off our power to our energy grids and all these other nonsensical policies. Right now, the enthusiasm, it’s better than it’s ever been.” 

He added that, “I think every single day, Biden makes people miss Donald Trump more.”

If you are talking about those in the Republican Party, it depends on who you are talking to. 

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Is Trump Running For President Again? He Declares ‘Tremendous Support’ For 2024 Run

Posted on by Becky Noble

Amid much speculation about his future in politics and more specifically with the Republican Party, former President Donald Trump gave an interview to Newsmax indicating he could run for President again.

During an interview with Newsmax’s Greg Kelly on Wednesday, the 45th President would not commit to a second White House bid, but he did leave listeners with some juicy teasers.

After Kelly asked him if he would run again, Trump said, “Well, we have tremendous support. I won’t say yet, but we have tremendous support.”

“I’m looking at poll numbers that are through the roof. … I’m the only guy that gets impeached and my numbers go up. Figure that one out. … Typically, your numbers would go down. They would go down like a lead balloon.”

RELATED: Biden’s ‘Green Economy’ Will Be A Train Wreck

Lots Of Possibilities

Speculation about Trump running for President in 2024 – in the event that he lost the 2020 election – began even before Election Day.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), on an appearance on the Brian Kilmeade Show, laid out a sound road to a second bid, “I would encourage him to think about doing it. Create an organization, platforms over the next four years to keep his movement alive.”

While Democrats and the media might be fervently hoping that Donald Trump might just quietly retire to Mar-a-Lago, there is no indication that will happen.

If Trump decides not to run in 2024, other possibilities that have been mentioned are the idea of starting a third party as a challenge to never-Trump establishment Republicans.

Still another prospect for Trump is that he remains very active in the Republican Party. Trump has called out Republicans such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) after McConnell blamed him for the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Trump has stated on several occasions that he would focus on supporting any primary challengers to never-Trump establishment members in both the House and the Senate.

The numbers seem to bear out Republican voters wanting Trump to play a vital role in the future of the party.

In a Politico/Morning Consult poll, 53% would like to see Trump run again, and a Quinipiac University national poll show that “three out of four Republicans would like to see Trump have a bigger role in the GOP.”

RELATED: Public Schools Are Ignoring Science And Harming Special Needs Students

There Have Been Hints At The Future

As far back as October of last year, there have been hints that Donald Trump would not be done with the presidency, even if he lost in 2020.

Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon made what might now appear to be an on-point prediction. 

Bannon told “The Australian” that “2020 won’t be the end of Donald Trump,” and that “If for any reason the election is stolen from, or in some sort of way Joe Biden is declared the winner, Trump will announce he’s going to run for re-election in 2024.” 

At the White House Christmas Party in December, Trump himself teased during a live stream to the Oklahoma Republican Party that “We’re trying to get another four years,” in a reference to election litigation that was ongoing at the time.

Trump then added, “But otherwise I’ll see you in four years.”

RELATED: Biden Suggests Former Military, Police Are Helping To Fuel Growth Of White Supremacy

What Might Stand In Between Trump And 2024?

Recently, in an interview with the Associated Press, RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel stated that the RNC would remain neutral, and “not actively back” Trump should he decide to run again.

McDaniel said that her preference would to see Trump help the GOP “win back majorities in 2022.”  

There is a visible split amongst the McConnell wing of the party and the Trump wing.

Trump recently attacked McConnell as being “weak,” and called him a “dour, sullen and unsmiling political hack.” Trump and McConnell have exchanged words in the past.

Average Republicans seem to be siding with Donald Trump, and are getting tired of establishment Republicans like Mitch McConnell.

An Axios/Ipsos poll shows large numbers of Republicans who are ready to vote for Trump again in 2024. 

Whatever Donald Trump decides to do in the future, he will have millions of MAGA Republicans behind him. It would be in the best interest of the establishment to pay attention.

The post Is Trump Running For President Again? He Declares ‘Tremendous Support’ For 2024 Run appeared first on The Political Insider.

Rep. Matt Gaetz: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Could Make Presidential Run In 2024

Posted on by Becky Noble

In a weekend interview, Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, a major Trump ally, suggested that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis might be a frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 should former president Donald Trump decide not to run.

On the Fox News Channel, Gaetz stated that “he was proud of” DeSantis, and went on to say that, “the truth is that the Biden folks know that if Donald Trump is not the candidate in 2024, the leader of our movement will be Ron DeSantis.”

RELATED: Global Warming Activist Matt Damon Travels In Private Jet For New Marvel Movie

Tackling COVID-19 In Florida

In recent days, the Biden administration has floated the idea of domestic travel restrictions, possibly targeting Florida, in the wake of a report from the CDC indicating that Florida currently has the highest amount of cases of a U.K. variant of COVID known as B.1.1.7.

DeSantis blasted the Biden White House, saying the idea of travel restrictions was “absurd” and “a political attack on the people of Florida.”

He also called out the Biden administration for suggesting the restrictions, saying it was “ridiculous to impose while relaxing restrictions on the U.S.-Mexico border.” 

While the nation is still feeling the effects of COVID, Ron DeSantis managed a state with minimal lockdowns and an elderly population that was taken care of first.

Because Florida is a state with a large portion of the population over 65, right now, it leads the nation with the highest vaccination rate among senior citizens.

Rep. Gaetz also stated, “people see that in Florida, businesses are opening, unemployment is dropping, home buying is increasing, and that type of prosperity is very attractive to people who are having to endure lockdowns in other parts of America.”  

RELATED: Trump Returns To Public Spotlight, Delivers Blistering Statement On ‘Political Hack’ Mitch McConnell

Is DeSantis A Name To Watch?

Ron DeSantis may become a name to watch simply for the fact that he takes on the media in Trump-like fashion.

Recently, DeSantis was criticized for Super Bowl celebrations that could possibly spread more contagious strains of COVID-19.

DeSantis fired back, “The media is worried about that obviously.” He went on, “You don’t care as much when it’s a peaceful protest, you don’t care as much if you are celebrating a Biden election. You only care about it if it’s people you don’t like.” 

DeSantis has long been a critic of what he says is a bias in the media against conservatives.

He supports a bill in the Florida legislature that would impose penalties on social media companies whose algorithms are perceived to favor one candidate over another.

RELATED: Biden Bans Use Of ‘Illegal Alien’ In Official Communications Involving Illegal Immigrants

Trump Would Be A Supporter 

There is much speculation that Donald Trump will run for a second term as president in 2024. Ron DeSantis is up for re-election for Governor in 2022.

Trump will almost certainly be an avid supporter of DeSantis’ gubernatorial re-election.

There has also been some speculation as to whether Trump may start a third party. On Saturday, seven Republican Senators voted to convict Trump on charges that he incited the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

While many of those Senators were just re-elected, one, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) is up for re-election in 2022. Trump could very well support a primary challenger should one emerge.

Rep. Liz Cheney, who voted to impeach Trump already has a challenger for 2022, who may also enjoy support from Trump and his supporters. 

Trump also lashed out at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) who recently made the comment that “Trump didn’t get away with anything yet.”

McConnell’s comments came after he voted against convicting Trump in his second impeachment trial.

The former president fired back, calling McConnell, “a dour, sullen and unsmiling political hack.”

If Trump remains popular in Florida – and doesn’t run for President in 2024 – it will definitely be an advantage for Ron DeSantis.

The post Rep. Matt Gaetz: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Could Make Presidential Run In 2024 appeared first on The Political Insider.

The Republican Party is destined to get exactly what it deserves: More Donald Trump

Posted on (Updated by Kerry Eleveld

Take some time to survey the barren landscape of budding 2024 GOP hopefuls and it's hard to escape the conclusion that Republicans have little choice but to stick with Donald Trump for now.

Following the devastating Jan. 6 riot, GOP lawmakers had the perfect inflection point to part ways with Trump on the most basic of principles—the U.S. commander in chief shouldn't launch an attack on the nation's seat of government and then gleefully watch it unfold. The only Americans who could argue with that logic are dead-to-rights seditionists.

But instead of capitalizing on a golden opportunity, the nation’s three most-powerful elected Republicans melted into a telling puddle of uselessness. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy folded within weeks, rushing down to Mar-a-Lago to kiss Trump's ring. Vice President Mike Pence—the man Trump targeted for physical harm during the insurrection—refused to step forward and take a stand for himself or even his family members, who had joined him at the Capitol on Jan. 6 for certification of the election results. It's honestly impossible to think of anything more pathetic than that. 

But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is running a close second to Pence. After more than a decade of being celebrated by D.C. reporters as the Senate GOP's master puppeteer, McConnell followed his caucus rather than led it on impeachment. Despite putting on a show for corporate donors with a scathing indictment of Trump, McConnell voted to acquit because he didn't have the juice to convince his caucus that protecting a U.S. president who launched an attack on the homeland probably wasn't a great precedent. Senate Republicans have now left Americans to wonder, what on earth could possibly be an impeachable offense?

But yeah, three peas in a pod—Pence, McConnell, and McCarthy—demonstrating the complete moral bankruptcy of the Republican Party and sheer inability of anyone among GOP electeds to demonstrate something that might be mistaken for leadership.

Cue the Tuesday Politico/Morning Consult poll showing 53% of GOP voters would vote for Trump if a primary were held today. The closest second was Pence at just 12%—apparently that's what being a spineless loyalist gets you. That said, no one else even makes double digits at this point. The poll also found that 57% of Republican voters want Trump to play a major role in the GOP going forward. That represents a comeback of sorts for Trump since Jan. 7 when some 40% hoped Trump would play an active role.

What's both striking and problematic about recent polling among Republicans is that while Trump remains the most dominant figure in the GOP, he also divides conservative voters. For instance, while 57% of GOP voters wanted a major role for Trump, 17% favored a minor role for him, and 18% wanted no role for Trump at all. That's a deep split.

The latest Civiqs polling notes a similar phenomenon. Of the 43% of respondents who said they voted for Trump, about two-thirds (28%) said they think of themselves as "Trump supporters" while the other third considers themselves "Republican Party supporters." 

So while Trump is bound to continue his role as a dominant force in the Republican Party, he’s also bound to divide the party amongst itself. 

A whole bunch of reactions to the Senate impeachment vote

Posted on by Jessica Sutherland

Anger. Rage. Disgust. That is the vibe after 43 cowards and zealots within the Party of Trump opted not to convict their Dear Leader for inciting an insurrection on Jan. 6 in his historical second impeachment. Seven Republicans—a record-breaking 14% of the caucus—did vote “Guilty,” but it wasn’t enough to protect the nation from four more years of Trump rallies full of emboldened devotees. 

Minutes after the verdict was read, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who vowed to acquit ahead of the last day of the trial, had the rotten gall to state that Trump was absolutely guilty, but couldn’t be convicted due an extremely questionable “process” technicality of the Kentucky Republican’s own creation. 

Senate Republicans acquitted Donald Trump of high crimes and misdemeanors twice. So make them pay: Donate $1 right now to each of the Democratic nominee funds targeting vulnerable Senate Republicans in 2022.

How predictable this outcome may have been doesn’t temper the horror that Americans and our allies feel today. We can rage together.

The 43 (complete list here) will not be remembered fondly.   

To quote a friend, “Today tells me that there are 43 Republicans and 57 Americans in the US Senate.”

— Laura Anne Gilman (@LAGilman) February 13, 2021

Officer Goodman risked his life. The 43 wouldn't risk criticism from Fox News.

— Kurt "Masks Save Lives" Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) February 13, 2021

The precedent set is of concern.

43 Senate Republicans have endorsed the idea that a president can do anything in his last month in office, without facing any consequences. It is hard to overstate what a dangerous precedent this is.

— Robert Reich (@RBReich) February 13, 2021

Today, the Senate minority was large enough to establish a precedent that presidents may send hordes of raving followers to attack the Capitol building and commit murder in an effort to overthrow the outcome of a valid national election.

— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) February 13, 2021

Acquittal is not only approval of Trump’s effort to overturn the election and install himself in power, it is an invitation for him or someone else to do try it again.

— Adam Serwer 🍝 (@AdamSerwer) February 13, 2021

The cowardice of the GOP is palpable.

If Trump had incited two white nationalist insurrections, would that have been enough for Republicans to find their spine? What about four? Seven? What’s the number here?

— Public Citizen (@Public_Citizen) February 13, 2021

43 cowards put one man and their own political ambition ahead of the Constitution, the rule of law, and our democracy. Apparently, for them, there is no depravity too low.

— Rep. Gerry Connolly (@GerryConnolly) February 13, 2021

It’s remarkable that so few Republicans put their country first.

It is truly sad and dangerous that only 7 Republicans voted to convict a president who is promoting a Big Lie, conspiracy theories and violence, and is aggressively trying to destroy American democracy.

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) February 13, 2021

But some did step up and do what was right. Remember, Sen. Mitt Romney was the first, in the first Trump impeachment, to vote to impeach a president of his own party. So the seven also matter.

Thank you,@MittRomney@SenatorBurr@lisamurkowski@SenatorCollins@SenBillCassidy@BenSasse@SenToomey History will remember u as courageous patriots who put country first. The other 43 Republicans, were a rigged jury, an embarrassment to the country. History will not forget. pic.twitter.com/mMOfisui3G

— Ana Navarro-Cárdenas (@ananavarro) February 13, 2021

This trial proved Trump’s high crimes against the Constitution. 43 senators put Trump first and failed the test of history. But history was also made with the largest bipartisan majority ever voting to convict a president. The rest of the story is ours to write.

— Senator Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) February 13, 2021

Donald Trump incited a mob of domestic terrorists to attack our Capitol and overturn the election. Even 7 Senate Republicans couldn’t stomach his act of insurrection. Our democracy must be stronger than the former president and the 43 senators who sided with him today.

— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) February 13, 2021

Unfortunately, they’re the minority within their own party.

Well that was a waste of time. Let’s get back to work.

— Senate Republicans (@SenateGOP) February 13, 2021

House Managers did an amazing job proving Trump’s guilt. Republicans did an amazing job proving that they don’t care.

— Irishrygirl (@irishrygirl) February 13, 2021

Republicans have a great gig in that they can just refuse to take governing seriously and gum up the works and everyone blames Democrats for it.

— Joshua Holland (@JoshuaHol) February 13, 2021

How can the Democrats ever work with these obstructionist cowards who answer to one man?

5 years ago—Republican Senators warned what would become of their party if Trump became their nominee. 5 years later—Trump tried to overturn the results of an election and provoked an assault on our government. And well over half of Senate Republicans decided to condone it.

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) February 13, 2021

Republicans: If you call witnesses we'll obstruct congress, you'll never get anything done. Democrats: Fine. No witnesses. You win. R: D: R: Just kidding. We're going to obstruct congress anyway and you'll never get anything done! Ha hah! Owned! D: Rats!

— Stonekettle (@Stonekettle) February 13, 2021

The demands to kill the filibuster might never be louder than they are now.

The danger of having Republicans in government is obvious.

— Secret Agent Number Six (@DesignationSix) February 13, 2021

Even an armed insurrection isn’t enough to persuade 10 Republicans to seek bipartisanship so nuke the filibuster and let’s get to work.

— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) February 13, 2021

If 7 Republicans is the most that will vote to convict a man who incited a mob that threatened their very lives — where the hell do people think 10 GOP votes are going to come from for anything in Biden’s agenda? We must abolish the filibuster. There is no other path forward.

— Kai Newkirk (@kai_newkirk) February 13, 2021

To: President Joseph Biden From: Every American who saw what the GOP did today Forget unity. Forget bipartisanship. Forget compromise. This is Trump's mob. Eliminate the filibuster and get everything America needs done now.

— Robert Reich (@RBReich) February 13, 2021

Beyond the filibuster, folks are looking forward.

Republicans have ZERO conscience. Remember in 2022. Pass it on.

— Chip Franklin InsideTheBeltway.com (@chipfranklin) February 13, 2021

The big winner from the impeachment is Biden. In 3 days he has divided the Republicans, destroyed Mitch McConnell & accrued huge moral authority The failure to convict will be an albatross around the Republicans’ neck. Not least because Trump isn’t gone

— Andrew Adonis (@Andrew_Adonis) February 13, 2021

Ppl saying this are overlooking how Republicans are already at work to prevent next election. Y’all think you’re going to defeat them electorally because Americans are outraged but they’re not trying to win electorally. It’s going to be a raw power grab w/ more political violence https://t.co/THxRNPIejT

— Unite in justice for the poor & oppressed (@BreeNewsome) February 13, 2021

Okay, the Senate trial is over. Republicans are traitors. Time for law and order to take over. DOJ, SDNY, DC and NDVA...whatcha got??? Bring it NOW!

— Kimberley Johnson (@AuthorKimberley) February 13, 2021

Then there was the limerick.

Republicans, making their pick, Concluded acquitting him quick. They have no dispute; They kneel at his boot; They want to continue to lick.

— Limericking (@Limericking) February 13, 2021

Feel free to share reactions that resonate with you in the comments, or even your own tweets.

Anger. Rage. Disgust. That is the vibe.  Republicans won’t hold members of their own party accountable, so we have to. Chip in $1 right now to each of these six Senate Democratic nominee funds to flip Republican Senate seats from red to blue in 2022.