If you thought Republicans are excited that Donald Trump may be their nominee once again in 2024, a report from Politico makes clear that there are more than a few in the GOP who would welcome the failed former president making an early exit via a massive heart attack.
And yet, Trump remains the single largest factor among Republicans, with polls showing that he could even siphon off nearly 30% of GOP voters if he loses the 2024 nomination and runs as an independent.
“Despite his difficulties since he left office, about a third of Republicans and Republican-leaning voters still consider themselves supporters more of Trump than the Republican Party, according to a recent NBC News poll. Many of them aren’t going anywhere. Fully 28 percent of Republican primary voters are so devoted to the former president that they said they’d support him even if he ran as an independent, according to a national survey last month from The Bulwark and longtime Republican pollster Whit Ayres. Indeed, the ‘Always Trump’ component of the party is so pronounced that it’s affecting how Trump’s opponents operate around him.”
Damned if they do and damned if they don’t, to borrow a well-known phrase, which is causing GOP insiders to silently pray that Donald’s heart will stop beating.
Fergus Cullen, the former chair of the New Hampshire Republican Party, had this to say about the whispering taking place among some in the GOP:
“All these folks are just hoping that Trump’s going to have a heart attack on a golf course one day, and that’s going to solve the problem for them. Not much of a strategy.”
It certainly isn’t, though it could well happen given that Trump has recently looked heavier than ever and sweats like a hog when he so much as walks a few steps:
No matter what happens between now and 2024, one thing seems certain: Donald Trump will remain a drag on the GOP and could wind up dooming their chances no matter what happens to him in the months ahead.
