Ex-adviser assesses Trump’s chances in 2024 – RT World News
The former US president would bring with him many candidates of the Republican Party, warns John Bolton
Not only may former US President Donald Trump not win a second term, but he could also hurt many Republican Party candidates with his re-election bid, his former national security adviser John Bolton has warned.
“There are a lot of reasons to be against Trump being the nominee, but the one I’m hearing now…is how many people just turned Trump off in their brains,” Bolton, a veteran diplomat who worked in Trump’s White House between 2018 and 2019, told the Guardian newspaper on Saturday.
Bolton argued that those who had passionately supported the 45th president in the past now had second thoughts, especially after the Republican Party’s disappointing performance in midterm elections this month. They fear that “If he won the nomination, not only would he lose the general election, but he would drag a large number of Republican candidates with him,” he said.
Although the former White House official thinks Trump’s endorsement could help a candidate win the primary, being associated with him would be “Toxic in the general election.
There’s no doubt that Trump’s endorsement in the primary can be invaluable to a GOP candidate. But relying on that endorsement or bragging about being Trump’s endorsed candidate is toxic in the general election. So if you really want to win an election, Trump is not the answer.
Trump announced his re-election bid on November 15. The move came a week after Republicans failed to retake the Senate, despite favorable polls. They also took control of the House of Representatives by a much thinner margin than many had expected.
Bolton pointed to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a rising star in the Republican Party who had won a second term despite heavy criticism from Trump. “A lot of people see him as the next generation candidate. That’s one of Trump’s biggest problems – his act is old and tired now,” he said.
Billionaire and new Twitter owner Elon Musk said Friday he would support DeSantis’ candidacy, adding that in 2024 he would vote for “someone sensible and centrist.”
Bolton is just the latest former Trump administration figure to have his re-election chances questioned. Former Vice President Mike Pence said this month that Americans are looking for “a new direction” and that the Republicans would have “best picks” for candidates in 2024.
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