Choosing Donald Trump as its 2024 presidential candidate will do no good to the Republican Party
The party’s history - from Reagan to Bush - will, once again, lead to a political car crash if they select Trump as their nominee.
You thought he’d gone. I thought he’d departed the stage forever. No, I’m not suddenly awakening you to the news that Boris Johnson is actually planning to remain as Britain’s prime minister. It’s the man across the Atlantic who’s probably set for a return to the stage!
Since Joe Biden’s presidential victory in November 2020, there has always remained the looming threat of Donald Trump’s future in various formats, whether returning as a presidential candidate or retreating with family surrounded by the scorching Florida heat. But, as we all should know by now, Mr Trump should not be underestimated: on power; on policy; on complete unexpectedness. From the Democrats’ perspective, the question always begged: would Joe Biden run again in 2024 (then aged 82)? Would they be happy facing Trump for the third consecutive election? The 2020 candidates - Biden and Trump - have both indicated their intention to fight for their respective parties’ nominations … but it is not as straightforward as such. I don’t intend to be ageist here, but numerous gaffes from the current US incumbent has left me slightly uneasy about his ability to serve until 2029, then aged 87 (if he wins a second term, of course).
But the alternative is as terrible. If Biden is chosen as the Democrats’ nominee in 2024, who will he face? You’d think the Republican Party had learned from the kamikaze disaster that Donald Trump presided over, whether his reluctance to accept defeat or his inability to be at all graceful to his successor. You may think I’m being too traditional, but all outgoing presidents and prime ministers should welcome their successor, whatever political affiliation they may be: most recently, Barack Obama, despite fervent disagreements with the 2016 winner, welcomed Trump and his family upon arrival at the White House; George W. Bush did the same with Obama’s arrival in 2009.
Yet, Mr Trump found it too distasteful to do such a thing in January last year. He trashed tradition, diminishing the very principle that all presidents, past and present, should attend the inaugural ceremony to show a sign of unity, of the purpose of government. This very tradition is not based on Democrat or Republican; it’s based on basic values of decency, public service and contribution.
Surely the Republican Party has more talent amongst its ranks. A moderate conservative - less reckless than Mr Trump, but one who has a firm grip on economic policy, as well as global affairs; not the negligent, Twitter-style methodology of Mr Trump’s conduct when dealing with foreign leaders and officials. But finding that individual seems less like an easy task, day-by-day. Monday’s FBI raid of Mr Trump’s Florida home, Mar-a-Lago, seemed like a jubilant victory for the former president, another potent moment towards Mr Trump’s main goal - clinching the Republican nomination in two years time. However, maybe the main consideration we should take note of is not whether another candidate fills those qualities; it’s whether a candidate would feel it able to take Mr Trump on, if he runs, of course.
The challenge for the Republican Party and its membership is to stand up to Mr Trump; to tell him, no; or, even if he progresses in the nomination contest, to ensure he is defeated. The once-great Republican Party who proffered its loyalty to a set of values, beliefs and ideologies - rather than one individual - seems ever so similar to the state of the Conservative Party here in the UK. The adoration of Boris Johnson, coupled with the ‘he’s the only candidate that will be successful’ mantra that we saw in his final days, did the Conservative Party no good; with Mr Trump’s antics, the Republican Party were helped no further.
Only by standing up to Mr Trump can the Republican Party have any chance of claiming victory and winning White House power in 2024. If they fall into the calamitous trap of selecting Mr Trump as its nominee once again, America looks set for a prolonged disaster.