(TheLibertyRevolution.com)- Potential presidential political candidates are in somewhat of a holding pattern on the Republican side, as many are waiting to see what former President Donald Trump decides to do for the 2024 election.
Many of the potential candidates might not throw their hat into the ring if Trump does indeed decide to run for the White House again. And at the same time, the potential GOP candidates are balancing how much loyalty they should show Trump, in case they need his endorsement if he were to remain on the sidelines.
For now, it’s been reported that a lot of prospective candidates are starting to lay the groundwork for a presidential campaign in the background. This includes hiring advisers they can trust, meeting with potential donors as well as visiting key states in the GOP primary so they’re prepared for an all-out campaign if and when they make their intentions public.
For example, former Vice President Mike Pence is traveling this week to New Hampshire to meet with big GOP donors there as part of a state Republican fundraiser. He’s also been making the rounds at various speaking engagements to share his views on major issues such as abortion and overturning the Supreme Court Roe v. Wade landmark decision.
Pence, for one, has not indicated whether he would challenge Trump if his former boss decides to run in 2024. Other potential candidates have said they wouldn’t challenge Trump at all.
Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and Trump’s one-time ambassador to the UN, has said she “would not run if President Trump ran.”
Others who have taken similar approaches are South Dakota Governor Kriti Noem as well as Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott from Florida, Josh Hawley from Missouri and Tim Scott from South Carolina.
Just last week, Rubio said:
“If Donald Trump is going to run for president in 2024, he’ll be the Republican nominee. Of course, I would support him in that.”
And Rick Scott even said the former president “ought to do it again.”
Even with all this support, it’s a tenuous position many of these potential Republican candidates are in. If Trump does indeed run, it won’t pose a problem for them, since they’ll simply not become GOP candidates for president.
If Trump doesn’t run, though, they could find themselves behind the eight-ball — since the former president said he won’t make his intentions public until after the midterm elections next year. In the meantime, they could be setting themselves up for future failure.
As Chris Christie, the former Republican governor of New Jersey, said back in May:
“If you’re saying you’re deferring to someone, that’s a real sign of both weakness and indecision.”
Unfortunately, all potential GOP presidential candidates find themselves in this uncomfortable predicament, and it’s all because of the power, pull and influence Trump still has in the Republican Party and with Republican voters, even as he no longer holds political office.
