The growing number of Republican lawmakers who are willing to go against former United States President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential elections have the GOP worried about a divided party.
During the Republican Jewish Coalition conference this weekend, a plethora of ambitious GOP members showed potential for future campaigns for the White House. The lawmakers' tones and messages varied, with some calling out the former president by name, but collectively made clear that they would move forward with possible 2024 campaigns.
Opposition to Trump 2024
Trump's hand-picked secretary of State and CIA director, Mike Pompeo, warned that for Republicans to be victorious in elections, they cannot simply attend interviews or send tweets. On the other hand, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who ran the former president's transition, said that GOP members were losing because Trump put himself before everybody else.
The former president's UN ambassador, Nikki Haley, last year said that she would not run for president if Trump did, but has seemingly changed her mind. Haley conducted a speech on Saturday evening to announce that she was looking at running in a "serious way," while trying to call for a "younger generation to lead across the board," as per Politico.
The 2024 hopefuls' speech at The Venetian Resort displayed how little defense the former president has in the wake of his campaign announcement last week. Furthermore, there are many GOP members who see Trump as beatable.
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said that Trump was not going to have the same level of financial support that he had before or the same level of internal support. The lawmaker said that this meant that was an opportunity for many Republican hopefuls as political weakness is blood in the water for some officials.
According to the New York Times, Sen. Ted Cruz was among the potential 2024 presidential candidates. One of the most anticipated, however, is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who had received a raucous reception for a keynote address that outlined how his success in his state's election could be a nationwide formula for Republicans.
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Republican Presidential Hopefuls
The gathering over the weekend came after a disappointing midterms election for the GOP despite Trump claiming a "red wave" that would enable Republicans to gain a majority of the House and Senate. Many lawmakers blamed the former president for the situation and have started to distance themselves from him.
However, the rising number of Trump opposition raised the concern of a repeat of 2016, where Trump won the nomination due to his durable hold on a fraction of the party's base. Six years ago, the former president won, in part, because the anti-Trump vote was always split between at least two other candidates.
On the other hand, Trump's team believes that as there is a growing number of opposition lawmakers, anxiety among donors and Republican operatives are unknowingly recreating his 2016 environment. The former president won the nomination with only 35% or less of the vote in each of the three opening primary contests, Yahoo News reported.
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