Donald Trump could run in 2024. So do they. It’s getting awkward

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With all the efficiency of a bullhorn, former President Donald Trump’s former hint that he plans to run for office again in 2024.

And Republicans are far from treating him with the respect shown while he was in the White House as they waited to see if he moved.

On Saturday afternoon, Trump headed to Iowa for a rally at the state fairs, a long -term halt to the presidential campaign circuit. Joining him will be some of the state’s top Republicans, including Governor Kim Reynolds, Sen. Charles E. Grassley and the chairman of the Iowa Republican Party, Jeff Kaufmann a testament to former presidents enduring dominance.

Trump’s reluctance to pay attention cast doubt on the political futures of an entire group of Republican politicians who suggested they might want to run for the presidency. And while they want the rest of the country not sure what the notorious volatile former president can do, some of them are trying to stake their claims as party leaders.

That requires a great deal of delicacy on their part. And it’s been a bit awkward this week for the two of them.

First there was former Vice President Mike Pence, whose refusal to interfere with the counting of votes in the Jan. 6 election greatly angered Trump and helped provoke the deadly attack on the Capitol that day. Pence gave an interview this week to Fox News ’Sean Hannity and is sometimes heard to be a horrible like someone who wants to be president.

He attacked President Joe Biden for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. He also criticized presidents approaching domestic affairs for lectures by American citizens about vaccine mandates and launching what Pence called a massive, big-government, socialist bill before Congress that would expand the social net. net and address problems such as climate change.

But when Hannity broached the subject of Pences reportedly changing relations with Trump, the former vice president tried to deviate by accusing the news media of blowing events on Jan. 6 disproportionately, citing here obliquely at one point as a day in January.

They want to use that one day to test and denigrate the character and aspirations of 74 million Americans who believe we can be resilient and thrive again and support our administration, Pence said.

He did not specify the fact that many rioters in the Capitol called for his murder during the attack, demanding that he be hanged for failing to comply with Trump’s wishes. And Hannity didn’t bring it up.

Then there was a speech by Nikki Haley, another former Trump administration official whose relationship with Trump was damaged because she expressed disgust with him after Jan. 6 and predicted that she would lose any kind of political ability.

But Haley, who served as governor of South Carolina and ambassador to the United Nations, praised Trump in an appearance at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. He criticized Trump’s political opponents for accusing him of being compromised by the Russians, and said Bidens ’stance toward Russia was weaker in comparison.

Separately, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal this week, he praised Trumps ability to get strong people elected and insisted, I don’t want us to go back to the days before Trump.

So far, it doesn’t seem like an option for Haley or anyone else who wants to have a good future in the Republican Party. Trump continues to attack Republicans who ruined him after Jan. 6 and supported his impeachment, as did Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming.

His first rally since the day of the riot at the Capitol was in June outside Cleveland. He endorsed a local Republican challenge to Rep. Anthony Gonzalez in the next years primary election. Gonzalez, one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for his role in inciting unrest, announced last month that he would leave Congress instead of staying to face the Trump-approved challenge.

Polls taken over the course of the year show that Trump remains a massive favorite for Republican voters, indicating that he would be hard to beat in a major if he actually ran. Although his popularity somewhat suffered in the immediate aftermath of Jan. 6, most Republicans seem to have moved on. A Pew Research Center poll released Wednesday found that two-thirds of Republicans said Trump should continue to be a major national figure, an increase of 10 percentage points from January. Forty -four percent of Republican or Republican -leaning voters want him to run again.

The Pew poll also found little tolerance for dissent. Asked if their party should accept politicians who openly criticize Trump, 63% said no.

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