Former Trump campaign advisor says ex-president wants "someone cut from the same cloth" as his 2024 running mate

Navarro said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis "should see the wisdom" of agreeing to a VP slot as a "Trump-DeSantis ticket would indeed be a juggernaut." Former White House trade adviser Peter Navarro has outlined who he thinks former President Donald Trump should pick as his 2024 running mate.Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images) Ex-Trump aide Peter Navarro says Trump should pick Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as his running mate. Navarro said a Trump-DeSantis ticket would be "unstoppable" and called on the pair to consider it. He also advised Trump to steer clear of "losers like Nikki Haley, Ted Cruz, and Josh Hawley." Trump-era White House advisor Peter Navarro weighed in this week on who his former boss should choose to be on the ticket with him in 2024. Navarro said on Thursday that he thinks former President Donald Trump should lock in a running mate early, highlighting who he thought was a good option. He recommended that Trump pick "high-probability targets" Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis while avoiding "danger zone losers like Nikki Haley, Ted Cruz, and Josh Hawley."Navarro then expanded on his choices in an opinion piece published by the Daily Caller on Thursday, in which he urged Trump to pick a running mate who is "not just MAGA-sympatico but a true populist economic nationalist cut from the same cloth."He wrote that, alongside DeSantis, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would also be a good vice presidential candidate.However, Navarro also spent many words elaborating on who shouldn't be running with Trump, slamming former Vice President Mike Pence, calling him an "et tu Brute RINO." He also eliminated from his list Haley, who he described as "ever-dangerous," and Cruz, who he called a "good 'conservative' in the narrow sense but simply does not have MAGA in his DNA." Navarro also ruled out Sen. Josh Hawley and Tom Cotton, saying Cotton lacked "the charisma and charm to campaign effectively as a vice president." The former Trump aide added that the prospect of DeSantis agreeing to be Trump's running mate before the primary would "likely clear the entire Republican field," and make the two men "unstoppable." "DeSantis should see the wisdom of accepting such an offer from Trump as it would similarly clear the field for DeSantis in 2028 and usher in what would likely be the beginning of an eight-year run of DeSantis as president through 2036," Navarro wrote. "Memo to Ron: patience is as patience does. Memo to the boss: lead with intelligence and not your chin on this one," he added. "A Trump-DeSantis ticket would indeed be a juggernaut." Representatives for Cruz, Cotton, Desantis, Haley, Hawley, Pompeo, Pence, and Trump did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider.Neither Trump nor DeSantis has officially declared if they will run in 2024. There has been speculation that Trump is looking at announcing his 2024 run early in a bid to stave off the wave of criticism against him in the wake of damning testimonies from witnesses called upon by the House panel investigating the Capitol riot.Since 2021, Trump has teased a presidential run multiple times. In January, a video emerged that showed Trump calling himself the "45th and 47th president."In October, DeSantis said he wouldn't consider a presidential run because he was busy "trying to make sure people are not supporting critical race theory — though there are indications that he has presidential ambitions.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Trump's pursuit of loyalty hangs over the GOP primary as Ron DeSantis weighs his future. Another Floridian can relate to Trump's plight. SOPA Images, Scott Eisen, CNBC / Getty image; Arif Qazi / Insider Trump calls DeSantis "disloyal" as he seems to be mounting a challenge for the 2024 nomination. The dynamics are similar to 2016, when Sen. Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush were in the arena together. Insider dove into the similarities and differences between the duos.  Donald Trump needs loyalty.His Oval Office command to FBI Director James Comey became one of the defining moments of his presidency. Rejected by the American people in 2020, Trump lashed out at lawyers, Cabinet secretaries, and ultimately his vice president who had stuck with him through his chaotic term but wouldn't support his unconstitutional effort to cling to power.It is then fitting that the characteristic the former president says he prizes the most is already defining the 2024 Republican presidential nomination fight. One former Cabinet secretary, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, is opposing the former president. Another, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, is openly flirting with a run. So is former Vice President Mike Pence, who, in Trump's eyes, may have committed the most disloyal act imaginable.None of them has the story of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Few Republicans tied their primary fortunes to Trump in the way the now two-term governor did. Trump is already fuming about the perceived betrayal, even though DeSantis has yet to formalize his intentions for 2024. Trump's team is even branding DeSantis as "the apprentice," a nod to the reality TV show where Trump once aimed to crown his next business consigliere.Trump's campaign paid minimal amounts for a series of ads bashing DeSantis, including this one that nods at Trump's "Apprentice" past.Team Trump Facebook/InsiderWhile Trump has been more open than most about how he sees the rivalry, he isn't the first politician living in Florida to go through this.Eight years ago, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush found himself in a similar place. Like Trump, Bush has experienced what it's like to watch a younger man overshadow him, a man he worked hard to support. For Bush, that man was US Sen. Marco Rubio. Bush and Rubio were allies in Florida government, and Rubio was widely viewed as a Bush protége. Then, when both were in the ring for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination and Rubio outshined Bush, a complicated dynamic unfolded."It's not at all unusual for former allies to run against each other in presidential primaries — it happens virtually every cycle," Alex Conant, a founding partner at Firehouse strategies who was communications director for Rubio's 2016 presidential campaign, said. "There's no reason to think ambitious young politicians will 'wait their turn.'" To be sure, Rubio and Bush had a far warmer relationship than Trump and DeSantis. Also, Conant said Bush and Rubio attracted different primary voters, while operatives view Trump and DeSantis as being in the same "lane." But today, just like in 2016, both Florida men appear to have a path to the nomination. And despite differences, the underlying cliché is still stands: The student is becoming the master."It does feel like some archetypal plot lines are happening," Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber, who was the top Democrat in the Florida Senate when Bush was governor, told Insider. "It's almost Oedipal," he added, referring to the Greek tragedy in which a king unwittingly kills his father and marries his mother.  Then-Florida State Rep. Marco Rubio holds a sword presented to him by then-Gov. Jeb Bush in September 2005 in ceremonies marking Rubio's designation as the next speaker of the Florida House.Phil Coale/File/APA tale of two alliancesTwo decades ago, Bush was the leader of the Republican movement in Florida, spearheading school vouchers and fiscal conservatism. Rubio was a "lieutenant in Jeb's Army," skilled at articulating his positions, Gelber said.When Rubio became Florida's House speaker in 2005, Bush handed him a gold and silver sword and extolled him as a "great conservative warrior." Rubio, then 34, made history as the first Cuban American to lead Florida's lower chamber, and Bush said he was ready for the next generation of leaders. "To me it was beyond literal," Peter Schorsch, a former GOP political operative who's now the publisher of FloridaPolitics.com, told Insider. "It was King Arthur giving over a weapon to Lancelot. That was just the defining picture of that relationship."Bush encouraged Rubio to run for the US Senate and attended his victory party. When Mitt Romney was the 2012 GOP presidential nominee, Bush urged him to pick Rubio as his running mate. He told PBS he had a "close relationship" with Rubio and admired him. Despite this, Gelber told Insider he didn't think that either men believed Bush had been responsible for Rubio's ascent. "Jeb created a movement in Florida that Marco clearly was important in, and rose to prominence in, but you could say that about every Republican from 20 years ago who rose to prominence in Florida," he said. In contrast, the DeSantis-Trump alliance was more about political convenience, David Kochel, owner of Redwave Communications who was senior strategist on Bush's presidential campaign, said. "Jeb was much more of a mentor to Marco than Trump ever was to DeSantis," he said. "But that said, DeSantis definitely took advantage of Trump's standing within the primary electorate to help him." When Trump was in the White House and DeSantis was a congressman, he frequently defended the president on Fox News over the Russia investigation. When DeSantis decided to run for governor, he wanted Trump's support. In his book "The Courage to Be Free," DeSantis discloses little about the endorsement conversation with Trump. He credits the president for raising his name recognition, but then writes that a debate performance got him the GOP nomination against his better-known challenger. He also suggests Trump's name was a liability in the general election. Trump, for his part, describes DeSantis as having "begged" for his support, telling radio host Hugh Hewitt in February that the young, little-known congressman had tears in his eyes — a questionable account given that DeSantis is known for stoicism.Still, polling at the time showed that Trump's backing gave DeSantis a significant boost, and the president would go on to host numerous rallies for him. DeSantis ran a Trump-centric campaign that included a viral ad where he was teaching his children about Trumpism. "I can't think of a candidate in this country who has leaned in more to the presidential endorsement than Ron DeSantis," White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said on Fox and Friends in August 2018.When DeSantis became governor, he attended several events with Trump. Today, many political insiders still view DeSantis as Trumpian or working off the former president's playbook, pointing to examples such as his political stunt of flying migrants to Marthat's Vineyard."Trump was a cult of personality, and Jeb was a cult of policy," Gelber said. Rubio shrugged when Insider asked his thoughts about the changing-of-the-guard themes bubbling up now, in regards to Trump and DeSantis, and how that compared to 2016. "I haven't even analyzed it," he told Insider.Bush, through a representative, declined Insider's request for an interview, and the DeSantis team didn't respond to a request for comment. "President Trump's endorsement is the single, most power tool in political history and his America First movement has led to overwhelming victories across the country," Steven Cheung, Trump's campaign spokesman, told Insider "He received over 5.6 million votes in Florida alone in 2020, more than any other candidate or politician in the state's history. There is nobody who can even come close to generating the excitement and enthusiasm as President Trump has and will do in 2024."Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (left) embraces former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush during a Republican presidential primary debate in Iowa in January 2016.Chris Carlson/APFallout from presidential runs As member of the first family of Republican politics, Bush was an early big-dollar donor favorite in 2016. The political world readied for a showdown between two establishment candidates: Bush and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.In the end, Trump branding Bush as "low energy" wasn't the only thing standing between Bush and the nomination. The other was Rubio, who proved to be the better campaigner. It would be a bitter fight. Bush's team homed in on Rubio's missed votes. During a CNN town hall, Bush portrayed Rubio's youth as a vulnerability and called him a follower of his in Tallahassee.  Rubio hit back hard during a debate: "Someone has convinced you that attacking me is going to help you."Neither Rubio nor Bush would win the 2016 primary. The strategic misstep was that all the GOP candidates were attacking each other instead of Trump, Kochel said. "Somebody had to go take out Trump and nobody made the decision to do that because the consensus view — including in pundit class and media — was that Trump was going to blow himself up at some point," Kochel said. Assuming DeSantis formally gets into the race, the Trump-DeSantis rivalry is considered to be one of the most closely watched storylines for 2024. The breakage started between the two men after Trump left the White House. DeSantis gained the spotlight on his own, initially through bucking federal health advice on COVID-19 mitigation policies. By late 2021, articles citing anonymous sources began leaking that Trump was annoyed with DeSantis.The governor didn't seek Trump's endorsement for his reelection bid, and Trump nicknamed him "Ron DeSanctimonious." The back and forth has been heated since."No one has mastered the Trump relationship better than Ron DeSantis," said Schorsch, who supported DeSantis' Democratic challenger in the 2022 reelection race. "DeSantis is like the one person who has gotten more out of Trump than Trump has gotten out of them."Sam Nunberg, a former Trump 2016 campaign advisor who had a public falling out with Trump, laughed at the position the former president now finds himself in."Think about another time in Donald Trump's career when somebody in business that he really helped then outshined him, or in entertainment that he promoted or he brought up — then that person competed against him in the same arena and beat him," Nunberg told Insider. "Trump has always been the king of his own domain and the stage that he's put himself in."Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Only two Republicans besides Trump have so far made a White House run official, but numerous others are considering jumping in during the months ahead. Former President Donald Trump arrives to speak during an event at Mar-a-Lago on November 15, 2022 in Palm Beach, Florida.Joe Raedle/Getty Images Donald Trump, Nikki Haley, and Vivek Ramaswamy are the only 3 who have made a '24 GOP run official. But many others have been floating the possibility of entering the GOP contest. From Pence to DeSantis, here's how Republicans are laying the groundwork for presidential runs. Only three people are running for president in 2024 — at least officially. Former President Donald Trump, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy are the only Republicans so far who have formally announced a 2024 presidential run, but numerous others are signaling that they're toying with the same idea. They're doing all the things they're supposed to do to test their chances: Visiting early primary states, writing books, showing up on the Sunday shows, campaigning with other Republicans ahead of the 2022 midterms, and weighing in publicly on President Joe Biden's policies — and even Trump's latest controversies. The next step will be hiring teams in Iowa and New Hampshire, Doug Heye, a longtime GOP aide and strategist, told Insider."You have got a stable of people who are essentially putting themselves all in the starting gates and all have their own timetable about when and if they decide to run," he said. Over the next few weeks and months, candidates would be floating what Kristin Davison, vice president and general consultant at Axiom Strategies, called "trial balloons" — in which they publicly raise the prospect of a run to see how donors and the press will react. Whoever seizes the nomination will likely face Biden, though he has yet to formally declare his candidacy. But, Heye said, "it's a real possibility" that the GOP lineup will large, much like it was in 2016.The stakes for losing the nomination aren't all bad, even if Republicans might come out of it with an unforgettable Trump nickname. After all, one of the people running for president could get chosen as the running mate or get a seat on the new president's Cabinet.And there are other perks to formally seeking the White House, such as raising one's profile and having a better shot at the presidency during a future cycle. Candidates could also sell a lot more books or leave politics to get a prime TV or radio show. "It's a long, difficult process," Heye said, "and you're more likely to lose than not."Trump's legal, political, and personal liabilities have been piling up in the last month, leading many in the GOP to say the party needs not just a fresh face but to be led by a candidate who can actually win. Insider identified 15 people who have or could seek the Republican nomination in 2024, including Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Josh Hawley of Missouri, and Tim Scott of South Carolina who are up for re-election this cycle and will therefore be in campaign mode anyway. Each will have to effectively answer the "why I'm running for president" question and find their lane in the party, which will inevitably include defining — or redefining — their relationship with Trump. "I don't think you can discount any of them at this point," Heye said. "It's too early to determine who outside of Trump is a frontrunner." Scroll through to see the lawmakers who have either already declared or are potentially gearing up for run — and who has officially decided not to move forward:Former UN Ambassador Nikki HaleyFormer UN Ambassador Nikki Haley during a news conference in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, October 26, 2022.Matt Rourke/AP PhotoHaley, 51, made a run official on February 15. During her campaign launch in Charleston, South Carolina, she portrayed herself as a young leader who could win elections. "If you're tired of losing, put your trust in a new generation," she said. Her experiences in public office give her the coveted pairing of having both executive and foreign policy chops, which are often viewed as crucial to the presidency. Aside from Trump and Pence, few other contenders would have such a profile. As a woman of Indian descent, she could also help bring in suburban women voters who graduated from college and expand the GOP coalition among people of color. She embraced her unique background during her campaign kickoff, wearing suffragette white and and calling herself "a brown girl growing up in a black-and-white world." Haley has had a turnaround from last year, when she said she wouldn't run for president if Trump were to seek the White House in 2024. She started our her career working in the private sector, joining her family's clothing business before leading the National Association of Women Business Owners.She served in the South Carolina House for three terms then was the state's governor for six years. In that time Haley delivered the GOP response to Obama's 2016 State of the Union Address.She pushed for the removal of the confederate flag from the South Carolina capitol after a gunman killed nine Black people at Emanuel Church in Charleston. Also as governor, Haley would not support a bill requiring transgender people to use the restroom that corresponded with the gender on their birth certificate. But in 2021 she wrote a commentary in the National Review saying transgender inclusion in sports was an "attack on women's rights."Haley was UN Ambassador under Trump for two years, and successfully pushed for the US to move its Israeli embassy to Jerusalem and defended Trump's decision to do so.In 2019 she published a memoir, "With All Due Respect: Defending America with Grit and Grace." Haley campaigned and fundraised in high-profile races during the 2022 midterms, including in Pennsylvania and Georgia. Haley told the National Republican Committee the day after the January 6 riot that Trump was "badly wrong" in his speech to supporters and that his "actions since Election Day will be judged harshly by history." Tech entrepreneur Vivek RamaswamyRamaswamy founded the biopharmaceutical company Roivant Sciences.Fox NewsRamaswamy, 37, made his run official on February 22. Ramaswamy is an Indian-American tech entrepreneur who co-founded Strive Asset Management and serves as its executive chairman. He also founded the biopharmaceutical company Roivant Sciences."We're in the midst of a national identity crisis. Faith, patriotism & family are disappearing. We embrace one secular religion after another — from wokeism to climatism — to satisfy our deeper need for meaning," he said in a video announcing his campaign. "Yet we cannot even answer what it means to be an American." —Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) February 22, 2023 Ramaswamy wrote "Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America's Social Justice Scam" and "Nation of Victims: Identity Politics, the Death of Merit, and the Path Back to Excellence."The New Yorker nicknamed Ramaswamy the "CEO of Anti-Woke Inc." for his stance against environmental, social, and governance investing.In February, he delivered a speech about ESG at Trump National Doral, near Miami, before the exclusive and influential Council for National Policy at Trump Doral, where DeSantis was also a key speaker. Former Rep. Liz Cheney of WyomingRep. Liz Cheney, a Republican of Wyoming, campaigned with Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat of Michigan, at an Evening for Patriotism and Bipartisanship event on November 1, 2022 in East Lansing, Michigan.Bill Pugliano/Getty ImagesCheney, 56, is the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney and one of Trump's toughest Republican critics.She voted to impeach Trump after the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, and served as vice chair of the House select committee investigating Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election.Cheney's actions have come at a cost under the heavy weight of Trump's ire. House Republicans punished her by stripping her of her leadership post, and she lost her US House seat to Trump-backed GOP challenger Harriet Hageman during the state's August primary.But she hasn't been deterred. Cheney said on NBC's "Today" that she would do "whatever it takes" to keep Trump out of the White House in 2024, including "thinking about" running for president herself. "I wouldn't be surprised to see her run for president," Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah told Insider in August. Cheney voted with Trump on policy when he was in office, and remains a conservative, telling the Reagan Foundation and Institute in June 2022 that she believes "deeply in the policies of limited government, of low taxes, of a strong national defense." But Cheney said she sees a breaking point with the Republican Party, telling the Texas Tribune Festival in September that she would leave the GOP if Trump became the 2024 nominee.This could mean she'd run for president as an Independent. Already, she has shown she's willing to campaign against Republicans who falsely deny that Biden won the 2020 presidential election.In 2022, Cheney converted her House campaign finance committee into an anti-election denier leadership PAC called The Great Task. The PAC spent $500,000 on a TV ad in Arizona that urged voters to reject Republicans Kari Lake and Mark Finchem, who were running for governor and secretary of state, respectively. During the 2022 midterms, Cheney endorsed incumbent Democratic Reps. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia. Both won their races. "We had to make sure that we prevented election deniers from taking power," she told The Washington Post's Global Women's Summit in November. Many outsiders see long odds for Cheney, though a poll conducted in Utah found she could be a top contender there. Sen. Ted Cruz of TexasSen. Ted Cruz, a Republican of Texas, speaks at a rally for Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker on November 10, 2022 in Canton, Georgia.Megan Varner/Getty ImagesCruz, 52, was the last Republican standing against Trump during the 2016 presidential nomination and had even announced that he'd pick former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina as his running mate. But Cruz — whom Trump nicknamed "Lyin' Ted" — lost following a nasty primary in which Trump levied highly personal attacks against the senator, including disparaging his wife's looks and falsely suggesting that Cruz's father had something to do with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Once Trump was in office, however, Cruz was one of the president's  biggest defenders. He voted to overturn the 2020 election results in Arizona and Pennsylvania and helped to secure Trump's acquittal in his second impeachment trial. In recent months, Cruz has been spending time in New Hampshire and during the midterms campaigned with retired football star Herschel Walker in the Georgia Senate runoff. While in the Senate, Cruz led the successful effort to zero out the unpopular fine on the uninsured created by the Affordable Care Act.More recently, Cruz used Ketanji Brown Jackson's Supreme Court confirmation hearing to score points for a potential 2024 run, questioning her about school curriculum on race. Before coming to Congress, Cruz was solicitor general in Texas, a role that involves arguing cases before the Supreme Court. When Insider asked whether Trump's latest missteps had provided an opening for him to jump into the 2024 presidential race, Cruz chuckled a bit before laying out what sounded like a near-term agenda. "I think the Senate is the battleground … and I'm going to do everything I can to lead the fight right here," Cruz told Insider before launching into a tirade about his mounting frustration with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's decision making. He made no specific mention of 2024, but also didn't work in the word "no" anywhere.Cruz told the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas that he'll seek reelection in Texas in 2024 when his term is up, though state law allows him to run for both offices at the same time.Former Gov. Chris Christie of New JerseyFormer New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie speaks at an annual leadership meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition Saturday, November 19, 2022, in Las Vegas.John Locher/AP PhotoChristie, 60, is famously said to have missed his moment for the White House because he didn't run for president when he was getting a lot of attention as New Jersey's governor in 2012, and instead fizzled out in 2016 when faced with Trump and numerous other contenders. But that hasn't stopped him from weighing another go at it. As recently as October, during an appearance on "Real Time with Bill Maher," Christie confirmed that he was considering a 2024 run.  In the last 18 months, Christie has been prominently involved in midterm campaigning and on the same speech circuit as other GOP hopefuls, including the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California. He also put out a book in 2021, titled "Republican Rescue: Saving the Party From Truth Deniers, Conspiracy Theorists, and the Dangerous Policies of Joe Biden." Christie served two terms as a Republican governor in a blue state where Democrats controlled the legislature. In that role, he expanded Medicaid under Obamacare and passed bail reform.But he got flak over a handshake with then-President Barack Obama during Hurricane Sandy relief efforts, and was hurt politically after members of his administration created traffic jams on the George Washington Bridge.Christie became a lobbyist in 2020, when he had several healthcare clients but cut ties a year later, according to the lobbying disclosure database, in what could be a sign that he's lining up for a run.   Today, Christie blames Trump for the GOP's losses the last three election cycles and spent months saying Republicans "have to be the party of tomorrow, not the party of yesterday" if they ever want to win another election. His tone on Trump is a stunning turnaround for a man who was one of Trump's closest outside advisors when he was in the White House and was even on the shortlist to be Trump's chief of staff. Christie turned on Trump after January 6, saying the president violated his oath of office. More recently, he told The New York Times that Trump's candidacy was "untenable" and that the former president had had "poor judgement" after he dined at Mar-a-Lago with white supremacist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes. He also told the Washington Examiner that Republicans "fail the leadership test" when they don't call out Trump. Gov. Ron DeSantis of FloridaRepublican gubernatorial candidate for Florida Ron DeSantis speaks during an election night watch party at the Convention Center in Tampa, Florida, on November 8, 2022.Giorgio VIERA / AFP via Getty ImagesDeSantis, 44, has an enviable mantle for the presidency in the Florida governor's office — and he's making the most of it. He famously and unapologetically reopened Florida during the COVID-19 pandemic, before federal health officials said he should. He banned certain teachings on race in workplaces and schools, and flew unsuspecting migrants from Texas to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. DeSantis also signed a contentious parental involvement and sex ed bill into law that critics call "Don't Say Gay." Instead of backing down over the outcry, he punished Disney for threatening to repeal it.Then there were the historic tax cuts in Florida with promises of more as well as viral videos bashing what he calls the "corporate media." All of these actions have portrayed the governor as a fighter. That's not the only part of his public persona on display. Often in tow is his beautiful, young family. His former newscaster wife, Florida's first lady Casey DeSantis, has been instrumental in his rise. To the New York Post, pictures of the DeSantis family on Election Night was "DeFuture." Others see a conservative JFK. But the politician DeSantis most often gets compared to is Trump. Numerous news profiles have described DeSantis as "Trump without the baggage," or as a more disciplined Trump. Yet after leaning on Trump during his first gubernatorial victory in 2018, DeSantis showed he could win big on his own, scoring a historic, 20-point victory in Florida in November without Trump's endorsement.As for presidential clues, DeSantis was also out with his first memoir in February: "The Courage to Be Free: Florida's Blueprint for America's Revival." During the midterms, he extended goodwill to other Republicans by campaigning with them. Back at home, he raked in a record amount of cash for a gubernatorial race. If the GOP primary were decided today, numerous polls show, DeSantis is the only person that gets close to Trump. DeSantis, a former conservative House member, has not pledged to serve out all four years of his second term. All of that has angered Trump. He has called DeSantis "Ron DeSanctimonious" and threatened to release damaging information about the governor. In turn, DeSantis has taunted Trump with passive aggressive events and comments. South Dakota Gov. Kristi NoemSouth Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas, Texas, on July 11, 2021.Brandon Bell/Getty ImagesNoem, 51, has been on a Trump-related roller coaster ride as of late. In January 2021, the embattled former president tried to get her to primary fellow South Dakota Sen. John Thune, a lawmaker Trump took to calling a RINO (which stands for "Republican in name only") after Thune balked at his baseless claims of election fraud. Noem bowed out of joining Trump's revenge campaign, opting to focus on her own re-election plans. Once 2022 rolled around, she leaned hard into the GOP culture wars, promising voters that she'd bar transgender athletes from participating in women's sports, stamp out any "critical race theory" instruction in local schools, and decimate any "radical political ideologies" that annoyed her evangelical Christian base.Come July, Noem told CNN she'd be "shocked" if Trump tapped her to be his 2024 running mate. But she didn't rule out sliding into the VP slot — or mounting a challenge of her own. Since winning a second term in November, Noem has started taking on bigger foes, including the People's Republic of China. —Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) November 30, 2022 Her state government-wide ban against the use of social media app TikTok scored her fawning interviews on conservative outlets including Fox News and Newsmax, beaming her into the homes of potential admirers who don't happen to reside in the Mount Rushmore State. Noem seems far less enthusiastic about Trump these days, telling reporters that the twice-impeached, scandal-plagued former president isn't Republicans' "best chance" at retaking the White House in 2024. She issued this prediction just days after Trump announced he was running again.  Former Gov. Asa Hutchinson of ArkansasArkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson attends the National Governors Association summer meeting, Friday, July 15, 2022, in Portland, Maine.Robert F. Bukaty/AP PhotoHutchinson, 72, hasn't been shy about criticizing Biden or Trump. After Trump's 2024 announcement, he said the former president's "self-indulging message promoting anger has not changed," and also disavowed the Fuentes and Ye meeting at Mar-a-Lago.Hutchinson has taken at least five trips to Iowa through America Strong & Free, the nonprofit of which he's the honorary chairman and spokesperson."I am seriously looking at a run in 2024 because America and the Republican Party are not in the best place," he said in a statement provided to Insider. "I know how to get us back on track both in terms of leadership and facing the challenging issues of border security, increased violent crime and energy inflation." He'll make a decision in April, he told CNN. As governor of Arkansas for eight years, Hutchinson has pushed to make the state a leader in computer science, and signed several tax cuts into law, including lowering the state income tax rate from 7% to 4.9%. Hutchinson also signed bills into law blocking businesses from requiring customers and workers to show proof of COVID-19 vaccinations, and blocked state and local officials from obligating masks — a move he later said he regretted. He asked state lawmakers to create a carve-out for schools, but the Arkansas House rejected the proposal. While he signed an abortion ban into law in 2019 that took effect after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, he said on CNN that he personally believes in exceptions for rape and incest."Many out there appreciate a 'consistent conservative,' even one they don't agree with all the time," Hutchinson told Insider. "I am not interested in the 'outrage of the day,' and I am committed to using my consistent conservative principles to guide me and our nation on important policy decisions." Hutchinson began his government career as a US attorney for the Western District of Arkansas under President Ronald Reagan, then went on to serve in the US House for three terms. President George W. Bush tapped him to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration, after which he served as undersecretary in the Department of Homeland Security. He has criticized Biden on illegal immigration, inflation, student loan forgiveness, and said on CNN that the president's September speech about democracy "singled out a segment of Americans and said basically they're our enemy."Hutchinson also has the distinction of being especially press friendly at a time when numerous Republicans have copied Trump's style of lashing out against journalists. "The media plays an important role in our democracy," Hutchinson told Insider. "I've never shied away from tough questions, and I have always been willing to defend my positions and conservative principles with the hard questions coming from the press."Former Vice President Mike PenceFormer Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the annual leadership meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition on Friday, November 18, 2022, in Las Vegas.John Locher/AP PhotoPence, 63, has begun to distance himself from his former boss, while also promoting his new book, "So Help Me God." He told ABC's "World News Tonight" that Trump "decided to be part of the problem" by not immediately calling off the insurrectionists during the January 6 riot, after he declined to help invalidate Biden's lawful win. Pence also pushed back against Trump on WVOC in South Carolina after he called for terminating the Constitution, and came out forcefully after Trump had dinner with Fuentes."President Trump was wrong to give a white nationalist, an anti-Semite, and a Holocaust denier a seat at the table," he said on November 28. An adviser to the former vice president told Insider that, should Pence decide to run, the team has discussed several policy areas to differentiate himself, including Trump's bipartisan criminal justice reform bill, the First Step Act, and that he'll continue to be "very outspoken on the issue of life."In contrast, Trump didn't mention his three Supreme Court picks when he announced his 2024 presidential run, even though they helped overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that previously guaranteed a national right to abortion. Pence wouldn't have to worry about name ID during a presidential run. Still, his new book and a campaign would allow him to reintroduce himself to voters by talking about his work in the US House and then as governor of Indiana. He already has made numerous trips to early primary states New Hampshire and South Carolina. Further, he'll be able to amplify policies that carried his fingerprints during the Trump administration, including his oversight of the US's pandemic response.Pence was a sought-after midterm surrogate, traveling to dozens of states. In May, he went to Georgia to help incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp beat Trump-backed primary challenger David Perdue.Pence's vision for the future of the party is laid out in his Freedom Agenda and Advancing American Freedom, the nonprofit aligned with him that serves as a type of campaign in waiting. The policies include reducing mail-in voting and implementing universal school choice, which allows public education funds to pay for K-12 students to select alternatives to public schools. While Pence didn't testify before the January 6 select committee, his senior aides including former chief of staff Marc Short and legal advisor J. Michael Luttig walked investigators through some of the scenarios that led up to the attack. In November, Pence said on Fox's "Hannity" that he would make a 2024 decision after discussing it with his family during the holidays. Former Secretary of State Mike PompeoFormer Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at the annual leadership meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition, Friday, November 18, 2022, in Las Vegas.John Locher/AP PhotoPompeo, 59, told Chicago donors in September that he already had teams in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.His outside campaign in waiting is called Champion American Values Fund, and Pompeo has been doing press appearances to talk about his forthcoming book, "Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love." Pompeo represented Kansas in the US Congress and was also former CIA director under Trump. After the end of the administration, he lost weight, which sparked speculation that he was interested in a White House run. Similar to Haley, Pompeo would enter the contest with a foreign policy background. He has openly criticized Biden, including after the president's September speech on protecting democracy. "He essentially said if you're pro-life or you're opposed to a certain set of policies, you're a threat," Pompeo told the New England Council's "Politics and Eggs" breakfast.  Biden, he said at the event, could be summed up as having "woke ideas, weak resolve, and waffling leadership."Trump should not have taken classified documents to Mar-a-Lago, he said, but added that the "raid on Mar-a-Lago was indecent and improper." Pompeo told conservative radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt in November that Trump's announcement wouldn't affect whether he decides to run for president, adding that he'd make a determination in the spring. "We need more seriousness, less noise, and leaders who are looking forward," Pompeo said, "not staring in the rearview mirror claiming victimhood." Sen. Marco Rubio of FloridaWilfredo Lee/AP PhotoRubio, 51, has come out hot after cruising to a third term in November, castigating GOP leaders for totally blowing the midterms. "We have a historically unpopular Dem President, record inflation, a violent crime wave & total chaos at the border & not only did we fail to win a majority, we lost a seat. And the Senate GOP response is going to be to make no changes?" Rubio fumed in a December 7 Twitter post. His anger hadn't abated when Insider caught up with him at the US Capitol. "I don't know how you come back from what we have just encountered and conclude that the status quo and business as usual is how we want to proceed," Rubio said of the need for drastic changes within the GOP. While conceding that he doesn't have "all those answers," Rubio suggested that Senate Republicans take a hard look at "the mechanics of elections, policy, the legislative agenda, and all of that." "I think that's something we should all be involved in talking about," Rubio said of the sorely needed soul searching. Rubio, who is of Cuban descent, was speaker of the Florida House before heading to Washington. He has sponsored numerous bills that have become law, including doubling the child tax credit and co-authoring the Paycheck Protection Program that helped keep small businesses afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.On top of that, he's got a powerful perch as the top Republican on the Intelligence Committee. Political operatives have credited him with helping the GOP grow its influence with Hispanic voters, NBC News reported. Asked by Insider whether he had it in him to take another run at the former president after getting clobbered by the insult-flinging Trump in 2016, Rubio said he just really needs to take a breath. "We'll have time over the holidays and into the new year to sort of focus on everything going on in my life and here in the Senate," Rubio told Insider, adding that he hasn't "really focused in on" returning to the presidential proving grounds at the moment. Perhaps voters will learn more about future plans in his forthcoming book, "Decades of Decadence." Sen. Tim Scott of South CarolinaSen. Tim Scott, a Republican of South Carolkina, speaks at a fundraiser in Anderson, South Carolina on August 22, 2022.Meg Kinnard/AP Photo, FileScott, 57, hinted at a presidential bid during his midterms victory speech, even though he previously said he wouldn't run against Trump. "My grandfather voted for the first man of color to be elected as president of the United States," he said on November 8, referring to the vote his grandfather cast for Obama. "I wish he had lived long enough to see perhaps another man of color elected president of the United States. But this time, let it be a Republican and not just a Democrat. So just know: All things are possible in America."Scott, who previously served in the US House, is the only Black Republican in the Senate. He said his six-year term in the Senate beginning in January will be his last, but he hasn't ruled out a presidential run and is making all the right moves to position himself for the undertaking. Despite his own election, he has taken several trips to Iowa and spent time campaigning on behalf of other Republicans. He also released a memoir, "America, a Redemption Story: Choosing Hope, Creating Unity" and is one of the top fundraisers in the Senate — which includes support from small and online donors — even though he defended a safe seat this cycle.Major donors have contributed to Opportunity Matters Fun, a pro-Scott super PAC. In February, he launched a listening tour. Scott was among those leading the push for the successful passage of the bipartisan First Step Act and his measure to create Opportunity Zones that bring private investments into economically distressed communities was part of the 2017 tax reform law. He garnered national interest after delivering the GOP response to Biden's address to Congress in April. Afterward, McConnell said the senator represented "the future of the Republican Party." Scott has been open about the racism he has faced over the course of his life. "I get called Uncle Tom and the n-word by progressives, by liberals," he said in response to Biden's address. He has shared that police have pulled him over numerous times, despite him not violating any traffic laws. He sat down with Trump at the White House to discuss systemic racism and publicly called on Trump to call back certain statements he made on race. Haley, who was South Carolina governor at the time, appointed Scott to the Senate in 2013 after the seat opened up. Miami Mayor Francis SuarezTaylor Hill / Contributor Getty ImagesSuarez, 45, confirmed in October that he's considering a presidential run. By March, he was still deciding, he told the Miami Herald. "It's something that I would consider given the right circumstances and given the right mood of the country," Suarez said at a Punchbowl News event in October. Miami has been getting a lot of attention given the surge of people moving to Florida — and tech companies and crypto startups in particular headed to Miami under Suarez's encouragement. He even told Twitter CEO Elon Musk that he should consider relocating the company's headquarters from San Francisco.Suarez's office sent over a list of accomplishments for the mayor, saying the city was No. 1 in job and wage growth, and had 1.4% unemployment. The Financial Times called Miami "the most important city in America." The mayor made historic increases to the city's police department, increased funding on climate-resistant infrastructure, and passed a rental tax credit for seniors. Suarez didn't vote for Trump during the 2020 election and in the 2018 gubernatorial race in Florida he voted for Democrat Andrew Gillum over DeSantis. He did flip in 2022, voting for DeSantis for reelection, he told Insider. Suarez said Trump has been kind to him. The two spoke at a wedding recently, he said, and Trump told him he was the "hottest politician in America after him.""I don't know if he meant physically hot or if he meant I was getting a lot of buzz," Suarez said. "But he was very nice." Suarez is of Cuban descent and leads the National Conference of Mayors. When asked about how he might stand out in a presidential race, Suarez said he might be able to speak to "a variety of minority communities that are going to be important if Republicans want to grow their base for a generation." Gov. Chris Sununu of New HampshireGov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire.Jon Cherry/Getty Images for ConcordiaSununu, 48, was just reelected to a fourth term in New Hampshire, where governors are reelected every two years and there are no term limits. "I haven't ruled anything in or out," he told Politico's "Playbook Deep Dive" podcast when asked about running for president in 2024. "I haven't ruled out a fifth term. I haven't ruled out running for higher office."Sununu is a centrist Republican who has the distinction of being in favor of abortion rights, at a time when many states are banning abortion. He came close to running for the US Senate in 2022, but told the Washington Examiner that other senators told him their main job was to be a "roadblock" in office — and he wasn't interested in that.Sununu also called Trump "fucking crazy" at the Gridiron dinner, a journalism event. "Let's stop supporting crazy, unelectable candidates in our primaries and start getting behind winners that can close the deal in November," Sununu said in November at Republican Jewish Coalition meeting.He told the Washington Examiner after the midterms that there should be new GOP leadership — not just in the White House but inside the Republican National Committee."Did they achieve on the level of results that we all thought we were going to get?" he asked. "No. So, why would we stick with the same team assuming we're going to get a better result?"Sununu is part of a political dynasty. His father was governor of New Hampshire who then went on to work in the George H.W. Bush administration as chief of staff. His brother was in the US House and US Senate. Gov. Glenn Youngkin of VirginiaGov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia.AP Photo/Steve Helber, FileYoungkin, 56, tried his hand at playing kingmaker in over a dozen 2022 gubernatorial contests and mostly came up short. The newly-minted Republican who rocketed to stardom in late 2021 by keeping Virginia purplish with his electrifying win over Democratic fixture Terry McAuliffe tried to work that same Trump-light magic into contests all around the country. The result: only four of the 15 Republican gubernatorial candidates Youngkin got involved with won their races. It's unclear whether Youngkin had any effect on the reelection bids of blowout winners like Kemp or Noem.By the same token, it's debatable whether he could have dragged Lake, Michigan's Tudor Dixon, or any of the other 2020 election deniers across the finish line given their full-on embrace of Trumpism. While he remains reluctant to badmouth the embattled former president, Youngkin clinched his 2021 win by keeping Trump at bay while still reaching out to the MAGA base. Trump, on the other hand, has tried to take full credit for Youngkin's win and lashed out at the newcomer for not being more appreciative. Trump's already working on trying to clip a Youngkin presidential bid from ever taking wing, panning him and DeSantis as ingrates who have no chance of beating him. Trump also reverted to his old tricks after the politically damaging 2022 midterms flop, hitting Youngkin with a bizarre, racist rant on Truth Social. Given that Virginia only allows governors to serve non-consecutive terms, it makes sense for Youngkin to seek opportunities elsewhere.The Washington Post reported that Youngkin spent part of his summer huddling with Republican mega donors in New York. And while he remains mum on any official plans for 2024, Politico said Youngkin's putting in place the types of fundraising groups a presidential candidate would want to have at the ready.Youngkin is a former co-CEO of the Carlyle Group. As governor, his first official action was to sign an executive order prohibiting Virginia schools from teaching "critical race theory." More recently, he's been pushing to reimburse individuals and businesses who paid fines for violating state COVID-19 restrictions under his Democratic predecessor.Out of the Running: Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger of IllinoisRep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., speaks as the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol holds a hearing in Washington, DC, on July 21, 2022.AP Photo/J. Scott ApplewhiteLike Cheney, Kinzinger, 45, spent much of 2022 focused on the January 6 committee and drawing Trump's ire. He was the only other Republican on the House committee investigating the riot, and retired from his seat at the end of the last Congress, after six terms. Kinzinger told HuffPost in April 2022 that he "would love" to run against Trump for the 2024 GOP nomination, but more for the fun of it than to actually win."Even if he crushed me, like in a primary, to be able to stand up and call out the garbage is just a necessary thing, regardless of who it is," he said. "I think it'd be fun."But by January 2023, Kinzinger told CNN's "State of the Union" that he had no intention of running for president. Kinzinger in early 2021 launched his anti-election denier leadership PAC, called Country First. The group launched a nationwide campaign urging voters to reject "extreme" candidates in 2024. Kinzinger sponsored several bills that became law, including measures to prevent opioid addiction and a bill to help veterans with medic training transition to EMT work as civilians. Kinzinger served in the Air Force and remains a pilot in the Air National Guard. Out of the Running: Sen. Josh Hawley of MissouriSenator Josh Hawley (R-MO) speaks during the confirmation hearing for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on March 22, 2022.JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)Hawley, 43, won't be seeking the presidency in 2024, he told NBC News in November. But the senator has reached for the spotlight whenever possible while Congress is in session.From famously saluting the January 6 protestors on the day of the violent siege at the Capitol to holding Brown Jackson's feet to the fire as she raced to join the Supreme Court, the first-term lawmaker works to portray himself as the perennial outsider who's only here to shake things up. He's played up the part by voting to overturn the 2020 election results on behalf of MAGA vote-magnet Trump, butting heads with McConnell on the way the upper chamber is run, and blaming short-sighted leaders for running the party into the ground. "When your 'agenda' is cave to Big Pharma on insulin, cave to Schumer on gun control & Green New Deal ('infrastructure'), and tease changes to Social Security and Medicare, you lose," Hawley, bemoaned on Twitter following a demoralizing midterms performance by flawed GOP candidates, which he blamed on "Washington Republicanism." The potential 2024 contender followed up with some suggestions, floating an alternative vision he said would help "unrig the system."   "What are Republicans actually going to do for working people? How about, to start: tougher tariffs on China, reshore American jobs, open up American energy full throttle, 100k new cops on the street," Hawley, who was also Missouri's former attorney general, tossed out on his social media feed. Out of the Running: Former Gov. Larry Hogan of MarylandGov. Larry Hogan of Maryland.Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesEven before the bruising 2022 midterms, Hogan, 66, was warning that Republicans couldn't continue down the path they are on. "I am not about to give up on the Republican party or America," he wrote on Twitter in early December. "None of us can. It's too important."The two-term governor who survived a 2015 cancer scare has been fired up about plotting his next act. But that next act won't be seeking the presidency. "The stakes are too high for me to risk being part of another multicar pileup that could potentially help Mr. Trump recapture the nomination," Hogan wrote in a guest essay for The New York Times. He elaborated about his thinking in a March 5 interview with CBS News, signaling he wouldn't support Trump or DeSantis — the only Republican who polls near Trump. "Right now, you have Trump and DeSantis at the top of the field, soaking up all the oxygen, getting all the attention, and then a whole lot of the rest of us in single digits," Hogan said on CBS. "And the more of them you have, the less chance you have for somebody rising up."Hogan, a centrist Republican, did explore the possibility of running for president, making the rounds in early primary states such as Iowa and New Hampshire. Hogan also scored some face time with GOP mega donors at this year's Republican Jewish Coalition leadership meeting — mentioning to political reporters covering the event that he and other potential 2024 hopefuls were there because "maybe there's a little blood in the water." As governor, Hogan signed a gun control bill into law and has said that while he opposed abortion, he wouldn't move to gut the state's guarantee on reproductive rights. During the COVID-19 pandemic he instituted a statewide mask mandate, then lifted restrictions in May 2021. He billed himself as a "commonsense conservative" who GOP voters sick of losing may want to consider."I think there are 10 people who want to be the next Donald Trump, and I think there may be a different lane," Hogan said while stumping in Manchester, New Hampshire, adding, "I'm going to do everything I can to get the country back on track." He cast a write-in vote for Reagan in the 2020 election and called for Trump to be impeached or resign after January 6. Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

At least 18 Republicans have shown they're interested in the 2024 presidential nomination, even though Trump has already declared he's running. Former President Donald Trump arrives to speak during an event at Mar-a-Lago on November 15, 2022 in Palm Beach, Florida.Joe Raedle/Getty Images Donald Trump, Nikki Haley, and Vivek Ramaswamy are the only Republicans who have made a '24 run official. But many others have been floating the possibility of entering the GOP contest. From Pence to DeSantis, here's how Republicans are laying the groundwork for presidential runs. It's beginning to look a lot like 2016. Former President Donald Trump, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy are the only Republicans so far who have formally announced a 2024 presidential run, but numerous others are signaling that they're toying with the same idea. They're doing all the things they're supposed to do to test their chances: Visiting early primary states, writing books, showing up on the Sunday shows, campaigning with other Republicans ahead of the 2022 midterms, and weighing in publicly on President Joe Biden's policies — and even Trump's latest controversies. The next step will be hiring teams in Iowa and New Hampshire, Doug Heye, a longtime GOP aide and strategist, told Insider."You have got a stable of people who are essentially putting themselves all in the starting gates and all have their own timetable about when and if they decide to run," he said. December would be a "frustrating month" for political watchers because "no one is going to move that much," said Kristin Davison, vice president and general consultant at Axiom Strategies. But hopefuls would be floating what she called "trial balloons" — in which they publicly raise the prospect of a run to see how donors and the press will react. Whoever seizes the nomination will likely face Biden, though he has yet to formally declare his candidacy. But, Heye said, "it's a real possibility" that the GOP lineup will large, much like it was in 2016.The stakes for losing the nomination aren't all bad, even if Republicans might come out of it with an unforgettable Trump nickname. After all, one of the people running for president could get chosen as the running mate or get a seat on the new president's Cabinet.And there are other perks to formally seeking the White House, such as raising one's profile and having a better shot at the presidency during a future cycle. Candidates could also sell a lot more books or leave politics to get a prime TV or radio show. "It's a long, difficult process," Heye said, "and you're more likely to lose than not."Trump's legal, political, and personal liabilities have been piling up in the last month, leading many in the GOP to say the party needs not just a fresh face but to be led by a candidate who can actually win. Insider identified 18 people who have or could seek the Republican nomination in 2024, including Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Josh Hawley of Missouri, and Tim Scott of South Carolina who are up for re-election this cycle and will therefore be in campaign mode anyway. Each will have to effectively answer the "why I'm running for president" question and find their lane in the party, which will inevitably include defining — or redefining — their relationship with Trump. "I don't think you can discount any of them at this point," Heye said. "It's too early to determine who outside of Trump is a frontrunner." Scroll through to see the lawmakers who have either already declared or are potentially gearing up for run:Former UN Ambassador Nikki HaleyFormer UN Ambassador Nikki Haley during a news conference in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, October 26, 2022.Matt Rourke/AP PhotoHaley, 51, made a run official on February 15. During her campaign launch in Charleston, South Carolina, she portrayed herself as the leader of a younger generation that could win elections. "If you're tired of losing, put your trust in a new generation," she said. Her experiences in public office give her the coveted pairing of having both executive and foreign policy chops, which are often viewed as crucial to the presidency. Aside from Trump and Pence, few other contenders would have such a profile. As a woman of Indian descent, she could also help bring in suburban women voters who graduated from college and expand the GOP coalition among people of color. She embraced her unique background during her campaign kickoff, wearing suffragette white and and calling herself "a brown girl growing up in a black-and-white world." Haley has had a turnaround from last year, when she said she wouldn't run for president if Trump were to seek the White House in 2024. She started our her career working in the private sector, joining her family's clothing business before leading the National Association of Women Business Owners.She served in the South Carolina House for three terms then was the state's governor for six years. In that time Haley delivered the GOP response to Obama's 2016 State of the Union Address.She pushed for the removal of the confederate flag from the South Carolina capitol after a gunman killed nine Black people at Emanuel Church in Charleston. Also as governor, Haley would not support a bill requiring transgender people to use the restroom that corresponded with the gender on their birth certificate. But in 2021 she wrote a commentary in the National Review saying transgender inclusion in sports was an "attack on women's rights."Haley was UN Ambassador under Trump for two years, and successfully pushed for the US to move its Israeli embassy to Jerusalem and defended Trump's decision to do so.In 2019 she published a memoir, "With All Due Respect: Defending America with Grit and Grace." Haley campaigned and fundraised in high-profile races during the 2022 midterms, including in Pennsylvania and Georgia. Haley told the National Republican Committee the day after the January 6 riot that Trump was "badly wrong" in his speech to supporters and that his "actions since Election Day will be judged harshly by history." Tech entrepreneur Vivek RamaswamyRamaswamy founded the biopharmaceutical company Roivant Sciences.Fox NewsRamaswamy, 37, made a run official on February 22. Ramaswamy is an Indian-American tech entrepreneur who co-founded Strive Asset Management and serves as its executive chairman. He also founded the biopharmaceutical company Roivant Sciences."We're in the midst of a national identity crisis. Faith, patriotism & family are disappearing. We embrace one secular religion after another — from wokeism to climatism — to satisfy our deeper need for meaning," he said in a video announcing his campaign. "Yet we cannot even answer what it means to be an American." —Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) February 22, 2023 Ramaswamy wrote "Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America's Social Justice Scam," and "Nation of Victims: Identity Politics, the Death of Merit, and the Path Back to Excellence."The New Yorker  nicknamed Ramaswamy the "CEO of Anti-Woke Inc." for his stance against environmental, social, and governance investing. In February he delivered a speech about ESG at Trump National Doral, near Miami, before the exclusive and influential Council for National Policy at Trump Doral, where DeSantis was also a key speaker. Former Rep. Liz Cheney of WyomingRep. Liz Cheney, a Republican of Wyoming, campaigned with Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat of Michigan, at an Evening for Patriotism and Bipartisanship event on November 1, 2022 in East Lansing, Michigan.Bill Pugliano/Getty ImagesCheney, 56, is the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney and one of Trump's toughest Republican critics.She voted to impeach Trump after the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, and served as vice chair of the House select committee investigating Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election.Cheney's actions have come at a cost under the heavy weight of Trump's ire. House Republicans punished her by stripping her of her leadership post, and she lost her US House seat to Trump-backed GOP challenger Harriet Hageman during the state's August primary.But she hasn't been deterred. Cheney said on NBC's "Today" that she would do "whatever it takes" to keep Trump out of the White House in 2024, including "thinking about" running for president herself. "I wouldn't be surprised to see her run for president," Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah told Insider in August. Cheney voted with Trump on policy when he was in office, and remains a conservative, telling the Reagan Foundation and Institute in June that she believes "deeply in the policies of limited government, of low taxes, of a strong national defense." But Cheney said she sees a breaking point with the Republican Party, telling the Texas Tribune Festival in September that she would leave the GOP if Trump became the 2024 nominee.This could mean she'd run for president as an Independent. Already, she has shown she's willing to campaign against Republicans who falsely deny that Biden won the 2020 presidential election.This year, Cheney converted her House campaign finance committee into an anti-election denier leadership PAC called The Great Task. The PAC spent $500,000 on a TV ad in Arizona that urged voters to reject Republicans Kari Lake and Mark Finchem, who were running for governor and secretary of state, respectively. During the 2022 midterms, Cheney endorsed incumbent Democratic Reps. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia. Both won their races. "We had to make sure that we prevented election deniers from taking power," she told The Washington Post's Global Women's Summit in November. Many outsiders see long odds for Cheney, though a poll conducted in Utah found she could be a top contender there. Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger of IllinoisRep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., speaks as the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol holds a hearing in Washington, DC, on July 21, 2022.AP Photo/J. Scott ApplewhiteLike Cheney, Kinzinger, 44, has spent much of the last year focused on the January 6 committee and drawing Trump's ire. He's the only other Republican on the House committee investigating the riot, and will be retiring from his seat at the end of this Congress, after six terms. Kinzinger told HuffPost in April that he "would love" to run against Trump for the 2024 GOP nomination, but more for the fun of it than to actually win."Even if he crushed me, like in a primary, to be able to stand up and call out the garbage is just a necessary thing, regardless of who it is," he said. "I think it'd be fun."In a move that could be signaling he's planning on doing just that, Kinzinger in early 2021 launched his anti-election denier leadership PAC, called Country First. Kinzinger sponsored several bills that became law, including measures to prevent opioid addiction and a bill to help veterans with medic training transition to EMT work as civilians. Kinzinger served in the Air Force and remains a pilot in the Air National Guard. Sen. Ted Cruz of TexasSen. Ted Cruz, a Republican of Texas, speaks at a rally for Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker on November 10, 2022 in Canton, Georgia.Megan Varner/Getty ImagesCruz, 52, was the last Republican standing against Trump during the 2016 presidential nomination and had even announced that he'd pick former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina as his running mate. But Cruz — whom Trump nicknamed "Lyin' Ted" — lost following a nasty primary in which Trump levied highly personal attacks against the senator, including disparaging his wife's looks and falsely suggesting that Cruz's father had something to do with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Once Trump was in office, however, Cruz was one of the president's  biggest defenders. He voted to overturn the 2020 election results in Arizona and Pennsylvania and helped to secure Trump's acquittal in his second impeachment trial. In recent months, Cruz has been spending time in New Hampshire and campaigned with retired football star Herschel Walker in the Georgia Senate runoff. While in the Senate, Cruz led the successful effort to zero out the unpopular fine on the uninsured created by the Affordable Care Act.More recently, Cruz used Ketanji Brown Jackson's Supreme Court confirmation hearing to score points for a potential 2024 run, questioning her about school curriculum on race. Before coming to Congress, Cruz was solicitor general in Texas, a role that involves arguing cases before the Supreme Court. When Insider asked whether Trump's latest missteps had provided an opening for him to jump into the 2024 presidential race, Cruz chuckled a bit before laying out what sounded like a near-term agenda. "I think the Senate is the battleground … and I'm going to do everything I can to lead the fight right here," Cruz told Insider before launching into a tirade about his mounting frustration with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's decision making. He made no specific mention of 2024, but also didn't work in the word "no" anywhere.Cruz told the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas that he'll seek reelection in Texas in 2024 when his term is up, though state law allows him to run for both offices at the same time.Former Gov. Chris Christie of New JerseyFormer New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie speaks at an annual leadership meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition Saturday, November 19, 2022, in Las Vegas.John Locher/AP PhotoChristie, 60, is famously said to have missed his moment for the White House because he didn't run for president when he was getting a lot of attention as New Jersey's governor in 2012, and instead fizzled out in 2016 when faced with Trump and numerous other contenders. But that hasn't stopped him from weighing another go at it. As recently as October, during an appearance on "Real Time with Bill Maher," Christie confirmed that he was considering a 2024 run.  In the last 18 months, Christie has been prominently involved in midterm campaigning and on the same speech circuit as other GOP hopefuls, including the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California. He also put out a book in 2021, titled "Republican Rescue: Saving the Party From Truth Deniers, Conspiracy Theorists, and the Dangerous Policies of Joe Biden." Christie served two terms as a Republican governor in a blue state where Democrats controlled the legislature. In that role, he expanded Medicaid under Obamacare and passed bail reform.But he got flak over a handshake with then-President Barack Obama during Hurricane Sandy relief efforts, and was hurt politically after members of his administration created traffic jams on the George Washington Bridge.Christie became a lobbyist in 2020, when he had several healthcare clients but cut ties a year later, according to the lobbying disclosure database, in what could be a sign that he's lining up for a run.   Today, Christie blames Trump for the GOP's losses the last three election cycles and spent months saying Republicans "have to be the party of tomorrow, not the party of yesterday" if they ever want to win another election. His tone on Trump is a stunning turnaround for a man who was one of Trump's closest outside advisors when he was in the White House and was even on the shortlist to be Trump's chief of staff. Christie turned on Trump after January 6, saying the president violated his oath of office. More recently, he told The New York Times that Trump's candidacy was "untenable" and that the former president had had "poor judgement" after he dined at Mar-a-Lago with white supremacist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes. He also told the Washington Examiner that Republicans "fail the leadership test" when they don't call out Trump. Gov. Ron DeSantis of FloridaRepublican gubernatorial candidate for Florida Ron DeSantis speaks during an election night watch party at the Convention Center in Tampa, Florida, on November 8, 2022.Giorgio VIERA / AFP via Getty ImagesDeSantis, 44, has an enviable mantle for the presidency in the Florida governor's office — and he's making the most of it. He famously and unapologetically reopened Florida during the COVID-19 pandemic, before federal health officials said he should. He banned certain teachings on race in workplaces and schools, and flew unsuspecting migrants from Texas to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. DeSantis also signed a contentious parental involvement and sex ed bill into law that critics call "Don't Say Gay." Instead of backing down over the outcry, he punished Disney for threatening to repeal it.Then there were the historic tax cuts in Florida with promises of more as well as viral videos bashing what he calls the "corporate media." All of these actions have portrayed the governor as a fighter. That's not the only part of his public persona on display. Often in tow is his beautiful, young family. His former newscaster wife, Florida's first lady Casey DeSantis, has been instrumental in his rise. To the New York Post, pictures of the DeSantis family on Election Night was "DeFuture." Others see a conservative JFK. But the politician DeSantis most often gets compared to is Trump. Numerous news profiles have described DeSantis as "Trump without the baggage," or as a more disciplined Trump. Yet after leaning on Trump during his first gubernatorial victory in 2018, DeSantis showed he could win big on his own, scoring a historic, 20-point victory in Florida in November without Trump's endorsement.As for presidential clues, DeSantis is also out with his first memoir in February: "The Courage to Be Free: Florida's Blueprint for America's Revival." During the midterms, he extended goodwill to other Republicans by campaigning with them. Back at home, he raked in a record amount of cash for a gubernatorial race. If the GOP primary were decided today, numerous polls show, DeSantis is the only person that gets close to Trump. DeSantis, a former conservative House member, has not pledged to serve out all four years of his second term. All of that has angered Trump. He has called DeSantis "Ron DeSanctimonious" and threatened to release damaging information about the governor. DeSantis has refused to punch back at Trump publicly, instead blaming the media and saying, "When you're leading, when you're getting things done, you take incoming fire."South Dakota Gov. Kristi NoemSouth Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas, Texas, on July 11, 2021.Brandon Bell/Getty ImagesNoem, 51, has been on a Trump-related roller coaster ride as of late. In January 2021, the embattled former president tried to get her to primary fellow South Dakota Sen. John Thune, a lawmaker Trump took to calling a RINO (which stands for "Republican in name only") after Thune balked at his baseless claims of election fraud. Noem bowed out of joining Trump's revenge campaign, opting to focus on her own re-election plans. Once 2022 rolled around, she leaned hard into the GOP culture wars, promising voters that she'd bar transgender athletes from participating in women's sports, stamp out any "critical race theory" instruction in local schools, and decimate any "radical political ideologies" that annoyed her evangelical Christian base.Come July, Noem told CNN she'd be "shocked" if Trump tapped her to be his 2024 running mate. But she didn't rule out sliding into the VP slot — or mounting a challenge of her own. Since winning a second term in November, Noem has started taking on bigger foes, including the People's Republic of China. —Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) November 30, 2022 Her state government-wide ban against the use of social media app TikTok scored her fawning interviews on conservative outlets including Fox News and Newsmax, beaming her into the homes of potential admirers who don't happen to reside in the Mount Rushmore State. Noem seems far less enthusiastic about Trump these days, telling reporters that the twice-impeached, scandal-plagued former president isn't Republicans' "best chance" at retaking the White House in 2024. She issued this prediction just days after Trump announced he was running again.  Sen. Josh Hawley of MissouriSenator Josh Hawley (R-MO) speaks during the confirmation hearing for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on March 22, 2022.JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)Hawley, 43, has reached for the spotlight whenever possible while Congress is in session.From famously saluting the January 6 protestors on the day of the violent siege at the Capitol to holding Brown Jackson's feet to the fire as she raced to join the Supreme Court, the first-term lawmaker works to portray himself as the perennial outsider who's only here to shake things up. He's played up the part by voting to overturn the 2020 election results on behalf of MAGA vote-magnet Trump, butting heads with McConnell on the way the upper chamber is run, and blaming short-sighted leaders for running the party into the ground. "When your 'agenda' is cave to Big Pharma on insulin, cave to Schumer on gun control & Green New Deal ('infrastructure'), and tease changes to Social Security and Medicare, you lose," Hawley, bemoaned on Twitter following a demoralizing midterms performance by flawed GOP candidates, which he blamed on "Washington Republicanism." The potential 2024 contender followed up with some suggestions, floating an alternative vision he said would help "unrig the system."   "What are Republicans actually going to do for working people? How about, to start: tougher tariffs on China, reshore American jobs, open up American energy full throttle, 100k new cops on the street," Hawley, who was also Missouri's former attorney general, tossed out on his social media feed. Asked by Insider about his intentions of formally jumping into the 2024 presidential race, Hawley laughed out loud for a few seconds. "I hope to run for reelection to the Senate in 2024. If the people of Missouri will have me," he said. Nowhere in there did Hawley say "no." Former Gov. Larry Hogan of MarylandGov. Larry Hogan of Maryland.Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesEven before the bruising 2022 midterms, Hogan, 66, was warning that Republicans couldn't continue down the path they are on. "I am not about to give up on the Republican party or America," he wrote on Twitter in early December. "None of us can. It's too important."The two-term governor who beat a 2015 cancer scare has been fired up about plotting his next act. Hogan, a centrist Republican, is already making the rounds in early primary states such as Iowa and New Hampshire. A nonprofit group aligned with him reported raising $2 million in 2021, some of which was spent on "supporter acquisition" and "audience building." And Hogan recently scored some face time with GOP mega donors at this year's Republican Jewish Coalition leadership meeting — mentioning to political reporters covering the event that he and other potential 2024 hopefuls were there because "maybe there's a little blood in the water." Trump was notably absent at the event, but did video-conference in. As governor, Hogan signed a gun control bill into law and has said that while he opposed abortion, he wouldn't move to gut the state's guarantee on reproductive rights. During the COVID-19 pandemic he instituted a statewide mask mandate, then lifted restrictions in May 2021. While he has yet to formally declare a 2024 run, Hogan has begun billing himself as a "commonsense conservative" who GOP voters sick of losing may want to consider."I think there are 10 people who want to be the next Donald Trump, and I think there may be a different lane," Hogan said while stumping in Manchester, New Hampshire, adding, "I'm going to do everything I can to get the country back on track." He cast a write-in vote for Reagan in the 2020 election and called for Trump to be impeached or resign after January 6. Former Gov. Asa Hutchinson of ArkansasArkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson attends the National Governors Association summer meeting, Friday, July 15, 2022, in Portland, Maine.Robert F. Bukaty/AP PhotoHutchinson, 72, hasn't been shy about criticizing Biden or Trump. After Trump's 2024 announcement, he said the former president's "self-indulging message promoting anger has not changed," and also disavowed the Fuentes and Ye meeting at Mar-a-Lago.Hutchinson has taken at least five trips to Iowa through America Strong & Free, the nonprofit of which he's the honorary chairman and spokesperson."I am seriously looking at a run in 2024 because America and the Republican Party are not in the best place," he said in a statement provided to Insider. "I know how to get us back on track both in terms of leadership and facing the challenging issues of border security, increased violent crime and energy inflation." He'll make a decision in January, he told KARK.As governor for the last eight years, he has pushed to make the state a leader in computer science, and signed several tax cuts into law, including lowering the state income tax rate from 7% to 4.9%. Hutchinson also signed bills into law blocking businesses from requiring customers and workers to show proof of COVID-19 vaccinations, and blocked state and local officials from obligating masks — a move he later said he regretted. He asked state lawmakers to create a carve-out for schools, but the Arkansas House rejected the proposal. While he signed an abortion ban into law in 2019 that took effect after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, he said on CNN that he personally believes in exceptions for rape and incest."Many out there appreciate a 'consistent conservative,' even one they don't agree with all the time," Hutchinson told Insider. "I am not interested in the 'outrage of the day,' and I am committed to using my consistent conservative principles to guide me and our nation on important policy decisions." Hutchinson began his government career as a US attorney for the Western District of Arkansas under President Ronald Reagan, then went on to serve in the US House for three terms. President George W. Bush tapped him to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration, after which he served as undersecretary in the Department of Homeland Security. He has criticized Biden on illegal immigration, inflation, student loan forgiveness, and said on CNN that the president's September speech about democracy "singled out a segment of Americans and said basically they're our enemy."Hutchinson also has the distinction of being especially press friendly at a time when numerous Republicans have copied Trump's style of lashing out against journalists. "The media plays an important role in our democracy," Hutchinson told Insider. "I've never shied away from tough questions, and I have always been willing to defend my positions and conservative principles with the hard questions coming from the press."Former Vice President Mike PenceFormer Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the annual leadership meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition on Friday, November 18, 2022, in Las Vegas.John Locher/AP PhotoPence, 63, has begun to distance himself from his former boss, while also promoting his new book, "So Help Me God." He told ABC's "World News Tonight" that Trump "decided to be part of the problem" by not immediately calling off the insurrectionists during the January 6 riot, after he declined to help invalidate Biden's lawful win. Pence also pushed back against Trump on WVOC in South Carolina after he called for terminating the Constitution, and came out forcefully after Trump had dinner with Fuentes."President Trump was wrong to give a white nationalist, an anti-Semite, and a Holocaust denier a seat at the table," he said on November 28. An adviser to the former vice president told Insider that, should Pence decide to run, the team has discussed several policy areas to differentiate himself, including Trump's bipartisan criminal justice reform bill, the First Step Act, and that he'll continue to be "very outspoken on the issue of life."In contrast, Trump didn't mention his three Supreme Court picks when he announced his 2024 presidential run, even though they helped overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that previously guaranteed a national right to abortion. Pence wouldn't have to worry about name ID during a presidential run. Still, his new book and a campaign would allow him to reintroduce himself to voters by talking about his work in the US House and then as governor of Indiana. He already has made numerous trips to early primary states New Hampshire and South Carolina. Further, he'll be able to amplify policies that carried his fingerprints during the Trump administration, including his oversight of the US's pandemic response.Pence was a sought-after midterm surrogate, traveling to dozens of states. In May, he went to Georgia to help incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp beat Trump-backed primary challenger David Perdue.Pence's vision for the future of the party is laid out in his Freedom Agenda and Advancing American Freedom, the nonprofit aligned with him that serves as a type of campaign in waiting. The policies include reducing mail-in voting and implementing universal school choice, which allows public education funds to pay for K-12 students to select alternatives to public schools. While Pence didn't testify before the January 6 select committee, his senior aides including former chief of staff Marc Short and legal advisor J. Michael Luttig walked investigators through some of the scenarios that led up to the attack. In November, Pence said on Fox's "Hannity" that he would make a 2024 decision after discussing it with his family during the holidays. Former Secretary of State Mike PompeoFormer Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at the annual leadership meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition, Friday, November 18, 2022, in Las Vegas.John Locher/AP PhotoPompeo, 59, told Chicago donors in September that he already had teams in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.His outside campaign in waiting is called Champion American Values Fund, and Pompeo has been doing press appearances to talk about his forthcoming book, "Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love." Pompeo represented Kansas in the US Congress and was also former CIA director under Trump. After the end of the administration, he lost weight, which sparked speculation that he was interested in a White House run. Similar to Haley, Pompeo would enter the contest with a foreign policy background. He has openly criticized Biden, including after the president's September speech on protecting democracy. "He essentially said if you're pro-life or you're opposed to a certain set of policies, you're a threat," Pompeo told the New England Council's "Politics and Eggs" breakfast.  Biden, he said at the event, could be summed up as having "woke ideas, weak resolve, and waffling leadership."Trump should not have taken classified documents to Mar-a-Lago, he said, but added that the "raid on Mar-a-Lago was indecent and improper." Pompeo told conservative radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt in November that Trump's announcement wouldn't affect whether he decides to run for president, adding that he'd make a determination in the spring. "We need more seriousness, less noise, and leaders who are looking forward," Pompeo said, "not staring in the rearview mirror claiming victimhood." Sen. Marco Rubio of FloridaWilfredo Lee/AP PhotoRubio, 51, has come out hot after cruising to a third term in November, castigating GOP leaders for totally blowing the midterms. "We have a historically unpopular Dem President, record inflation, a violent crime wave & total chaos at the border & not only did we fail to win a majority, we lost a seat. And the Senate GOP response is going to be to make no changes?" Rubio fumed in a December 7 Twitter post. His anger hadn't abated when Insider caught up with him at the US Capitol. "I don't know how you come back from what we have just encountered and conclude that the status quo and business as usual is how we want to proceed," Rubio said of the need for drastic changes within the GOP. While conceding that he doesn't have "all those answers," Rubio suggested that Senate Republicans take a hard look at "the mechanics of elections, policy, the legislative agenda, and all of that." "I think that's something we should all be involved in talking about," Rubio said of the sorely needed soul searching. Rubio, who is of Cuban descent, was speaker of the Florida House before heading to Washington. He has sponsored numerous bills that have become law, including doubling the child tax credit and co-authoring the Paycheck Protection Program that helped keep small businesses afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.On top of that, he's got a powerful perch as the top Republican on the Intelligence Committee. Political operatives have credited him with helping the GOP grow its influence with Hispanic voters, NBC News reported. Asked by Insider whether he had it in him to take another run at the former president after getting clobbered by the insult-flinging Trump in 2016, Rubio said he just really needs to take a breath. "We'll have time over the holidays and into the new year to sort of focus on everything going on in my life and here in the Senate," Rubio told Insider, adding that he hasn't "really focused in on" returning to the presidential proving grounds at the moment. Perhaps voters will learn more about future plans in his forthcoming book, "Decades of Decadence." Sen. Tim Scott of South CarolinaSen. Tim Scott, a Republican of South Carolkina, speaks at a fundraiser in Anderson, South Carolina on August 22, 2022.Meg Kinnard/AP Photo, FileScott, 57, hinted at a presidential bid during his midterms victory speech, even though he previously said he wouldn't run against Trump. "My grandfather voted for the first man of color to be elected as president of the United States," he said on November 8, referring to the vote his grandfather cast for Obama. "I wish he had lived long enough to see perhaps another man of color elected president of the United States. But this time, let it be a Republican and not just a Democrat. So just know: All things are possible in America."Scott, who previously served in the US House, is the only Black Republican in the Senate. He said his six-year term in the Senate beginning in January will be his last, but he hasn't ruled out a presidential run and is making all the right moves to position himself for the undertaking. Despite his own election, he has taken several trips to Iowa and spent time campaigning on behalf of other Republicans. He also released a memoir, "America, a Redemption Story: Choosing Hope, Creating Unity" and is one of the top fundraisers in the Senate — which includes support from small and online donors — even though he defended a safe seat this cycle.Major donors have contributed to Opportunity Matters Fun, a pro-Scott super PAC.Scott was among those leading the push for the successful passage of the bipartisan First Step Act and his measure to create Opportunity Zones that bring private investments into economically distressed communities was part of the 2017 tax reform law. He garnered national interest after delivering the GOP response to Biden's address to Congress in April. Afterward, McConnell said the senator represented "the future of the Republican Party." Scott has been open about the racism he has faced over the course of his life. "I get called Uncle Tom and the n-word by progressives, by liberals," he said in response to Biden's address. He has shared that police have pulled him over numerous times, despite him not violating any traffic laws. He sat down with Trump at the White House to discuss systemic racism and publicly called on Trump to call back certain statements he made on race. Haley, who was South Carolina governor at the time, appointed Scott to the Senate in 2013 after the seat opened up. Miami Mayor Francis SuarezTaylor Hill / Contributor Getty ImagesSuarez, 45, confirmed in October that he's considering a presidential run."It's something that I would consider given the right circumstances and given the right mood of the country," Suarez said at a Punchbowl News event. Miami has been getting a lot of attention given the surge of people moving to Florida — and tech companies and crypto startups in particular headed to Miami under Suarez's encouragement. He even told Twitter CEO Elon Musk that he should consider relocating the company's headquarters from San Francisco.Suarez's office sent over a list of accomplishments for the mayor, saying the city was No. 1 in job and wage growth, and had 1.4% unemployment. The Financial Times called Miami "the most important city in America." The mayor made historic increases to the city's police department, increased funding on climate-resistant infrastructure, and passed a rental tax credit for seniors. Suarez didn't vote for Trump during the 2020 election and in the 2018 gubernatorial race in Florida he voted for Democrat Andrew Gillum over DeSantis. But Suarez said Trump also has been kind to him. The two spoke at a wedding recently, he said, and Trump told him he was the "hottest politician in America after him.""I don't know if he meant physically hot or if he meant I was getting a lot of buzz," Suarez said. "But he was very nice." Suarez is of Cuban descent and leads the National Conference of Mayors. When asked about how he might stand out in a presidential race, Suarez said he might be able to speak to "a variety of minority communities that are going to be important if Republicans want to grow their base for a generation." Gov. Chris Sununu of New HampshireGov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire.Jon Cherry/Getty Images for ConcordiaSununu, 48, was just reelected to a fourth term in New Hampshire, where governors are reelected every two years and there are no term limits. "I haven't ruled anything in or out," he told Politico's "Playbook Deep Dive" podcast when asked about running for president in 2024. "I haven't ruled out a fifth term. I haven't ruled out running for higher office."Sununu is a centrist Republican who has the distinction of being in favor of abortion rights, at a time when many states are banning abortion. He came close to running for the US Senate in 2022, but told the Washington Examiner that other senators told him their main job was to be a "roadblock" in office — and he wasn't interested in that.Sununu also called Trump "fucking crazy" at the Gridiron dinner, a journalism event. "Let's stop supporting crazy, unelectable candidates in our primaries and start getting behind winners that can close the deal in November," Sununu said in November at Republican Jewish Coalition meeting.He told the Washington Examiner after the midterms that there should be new GOP leadership — not just in the White House but inside the Republican National Committee."Did they achieve on the level of results that we all thought we were going to get?" he asked. "No. So, why would we stick with the same team assuming we're going to get a better result?"Sununu is part of a political dynasty. His father was governor of New Hampshire who then went on to work in the George H.W. Bush administration as chief of staff. His brother was in the US House and US Senate. Gov. Glenn Youngkin of VirginiaGov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia.AP Photo/Steve Helber, FileYoungkin, 56, tried his hand at playing kingmaker in over a dozen 2022 gubernatorial contests and mostly came up short. The newly-minted Republican who rocketed to stardom in late 2021 by keeping Virginia purplish with his electrifying win over Democratic fixture Terry McAuliffe tried to work that same Trump-light magic into contests all around the country. The result: only four of the 15 Republican gubernatorial candidates Youngkin got involved with won their races. It's unclear whether Youngkin had any effect on the reelection bids of blowout winners like Kemp or Noem.By the same token, it's debatable whether he could have dragged Lake, Michigan's Tudor Dixon, or any of the other 2020 election deniers across the finish line given their full-on embrace of Trumpism. While he remains reluctant to badmouth the embattled former president, Youngkin clinched his 2021 win by keeping Trump at bay while still reaching out to the MAGA base. Trump, on the other hand, has tried to take full credit for Youngkin's win and lashed out at the newcomer for not being more appreciative. Trump's already working on trying to clip a Youngkin presidential bid from ever taking wing, panning him and DeSantis as ingrates who have no chance of beating him. Trump also reverted to his old tricks after the politically damaging 2022 midterms flop, hitting Youngkin with a bizarre, racist rant on Truth Social. Given that Virginia only allows governors to serve non-consecutive terms, it makes sense for Youngkin to seek opportunities elsewhere.The Washington Post reported that Youngkin spent part of his summer huddling with Republican mega donors in New York. And while he remains mum on any official plans for 2024, Politico said Youngkin's putting in place the types of fundraising groups a presidential candidate would want to have at the ready.Youngkin is a former co-CEO of the Carlyle Group. As governor, his first official action was to sign an executive order prohibiting Virginia schools from teaching "critical race theory." More recently, he's been pushing to reimburse individuals and businesses who paid fines for violating state COVID-19 restrictions under his Democratic predecessor.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

At least 17 Republicans have shown they're interested in the 2024 presidential nomination, even though Trump has already declared he's running. Former President Donald Trump arrives to speak during an event at Mar-a-Lago on November 15, 2022 in Palm Beach, Florida.Joe Raedle/Getty Images Donald Trump and Nikki Haley are the only Republicans who have made a '24 run official. But many others have been floating the possibility of entering the GOP contest. From Pence to DeSantis, here's how Republicans are laying the groundwork for presidential runs. It's beginning to look a lot like 2016. Former President Donald Trump and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley are the only Republicans so far who have announced a 2024 presidential run, but numerous others are signaling that they're toying with the same idea. They're doing all the things they're supposed to do to test their chances: Visiting early primary states, writing books, showing up on the Sunday shows, campaigning with other Republicans ahead of the 2022 midterms, and weighing in publicly on President Joe Biden's policies — and even Trump's latest controversies. The next step will be hiring teams in Iowa and New Hampshire, Doug Heye, a longtime GOP aide and strategist, told Insider."You have got a stable of people who are essentially putting themselves all in the starting gates and all have their own timetable about when and if they decide to run," he said. December would be a "frustrating month" for political watchers because "no one is going to move that much," said Kristin Davison, vice president and general consultant at Axiom Strategies. But hopefuls would be floating what she called "trial balloons" — in which they publicly raise the prospect of a run to see how donors and the press will react. Whoever seizes the nomination will likely face Biden, though he has yet to formally declare his candidacy. But, Heye said, "it's a real possibility" that the GOP lineup will large, much like it was in 2016.The stakes for losing the nomination aren't all bad, even if Republicans might come out of it with an unforgettable Trump nickname. After all, one of the people running for president could get chosen as the running mate or get a seat on the new president's Cabinet.And there are other perks to formally seeking the White House, such as raising one's profile and having a better shot at the presidency during a future cycle. Candidates could also sell a lot more books or leave politics to get a prime TV or radio show. "It's a long, difficult process," Heye said, "and you're more likely to lose than not."Trump's legal, political, and personal liabilities have been piling up in the last month, leading many in the GOP to say the party needs not just a fresh face but to be led by a candidate who can actually win. Insider identified 17 people who could seek the Republican nomination in 2024, including Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Josh Hawley of Missouri, and Tim Scott of South Carolina who are up for re-election this cycle and will therefore be in campaign mode anyway. Each will have to effectively answer the "why I'm running for president" question and find their lane in the party, which will inevitably include defining — or redefining — their relationship with Trump. "I don't think you can discount any of them at this point," Heye said. "It's too early to determine who outside of Trump is a frontrunner." Scroll through to see the lawmakers who have either already declared or are potentially gearing up for run:Former UN Ambassador Nikki HaleyFormer UN Ambassador Nikki Haley during a news conference in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, October 26, 2022.Matt Rourke/AP PhotoHaley, 51, made a run official on February 15. During her campaign launch in Charleston, South Carolina, she portrayed herself as the leader of a younger generation that could win elections. "If you're tired of losing, put your trust in a new generation," she said. Her experiences in public office give her the coveted pairing of having both executive and foreign policy chops, which are often viewed as crucial to the presidency. Aside from Trump and Pence, few other contenders would have such a profile. As a woman of Indian descent, she could also help bring in suburban women voters who graduated from college and expand the GOP coalition among people of color. She embraced her unique background during her campaign kickoff, wearing suffragette white and and calling herself "a brown girl growing up in a black-and-white world." Haley has had a turnaround from last year, when she said she wouldn't run for president if Trump were to seek the White House in 2024. She started our her career working in the private sector, joining her family's clothing business before leading the National Association of Women Business Owners.She served in the South Carolina House for three terms then was the state's governor for six years. In that time Haley delivered the GOP response to Obama's 2016 State of the Union Address.She pushed for the removal of the confederate flag from the South Carolina capitol after a gunman killed nine Black people at Emanuel Church in Charleston. Also as governor, Haley would not support a bill requiring transgender people to use the restroom that corresponded with the gender on their birth certificate. But in 2021 she wrote a commentary in the National Review saying transgender inclusion in sports was an "attack on women's rights."Haley was UN Ambassador under Trump for two years, and successfully pushed for the US to move its Israeli embassy to Jerusalem and defended Trump's decision to do so.In 2019 she published a memoir, "With All Due Respect: Defending America with Grit and Grace." Haley campaigned and fundraised in high-profile races during the 2022 midterms, including in Pennsylvania and Georgia. Haley told the National Republican Committee the day after the January 6 riot that Trump was "badly wrong" in his speech to supporters and that his "actions since Election Day will be judged harshly by history." Former Rep. Liz Cheney of WyomingRep. Liz Cheney, a Republican of Wyoming, campaigned with Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat of Michigan, at an Evening for Patriotism and Bipartisanship event on November 1, 2022 in East Lansing, Michigan.Bill Pugliano/Getty ImagesCheney, 56, is the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney and one of Trump's toughest Republican critics.She voted to impeach Trump after the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, and served as vice chair of the House select committee investigating Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election.Cheney's actions have come at a cost under the heavy weight of Trump's ire. House Republicans punished her by stripping her of her leadership post, and she lost her US House seat to Trump-backed GOP challenger Harriet Hageman during the state's August primary.But she hasn't been deterred. Cheney said on NBC's "Today" that she would do "whatever it takes" to keep Trump out of the White House in 2024, including "thinking about" running for president herself. "I wouldn't be surprised to see her run for president," Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah told Insider in August. Cheney voted with Trump on policy when he was in office, and remains a conservative, telling the Reagan Foundation and Institute in June that she believes "deeply in the policies of limited government, of low taxes, of a strong national defense." But Cheney said she sees a breaking point with the Republican Party, telling the Texas Tribune Festival in September that she would leave the GOP if Trump became the 2024 nominee.This could mean she'd run for president as an Independent. Already, she has shown she's willing to campaign against Republicans who falsely deny that Biden won the 2020 presidential election.This year, Cheney converted her House campaign finance committee into an anti-election denier leadership PAC called The Great Task. The PAC spent $500,000 on a TV ad in Arizona that urged voters to reject Republicans Kari Lake and Mark Finchem, who were running for governor and secretary of state, respectively. During the 2022 midterms, Cheney endorsed incumbent Democratic Reps. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia. Both won their races. "We had to make sure that we prevented election deniers from taking power," she told The Washington Post's Global Women's Summit in November. Many outsiders see long odds for Cheney, though a poll conducted in Utah found she could be a top contender there. Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger of IllinoisRep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., speaks as the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol holds a hearing in Washington, DC, on July 21, 2022.AP Photo/J. Scott ApplewhiteLike Cheney, Kinzinger, 44, has spent much of the last year focused on the January 6 committee and drawing Trump's ire. He's the only other Republican on the House committee investigating the riot, and will be retiring from his seat at the end of this Congress, after six terms. Kinzinger told HuffPost in April that he "would love" to run against Trump for the 2024 GOP nomination, but more for the fun of it than to actually win."Even if he crushed me, like in a primary, to be able to stand up and call out the garbage is just a necessary thing, regardless of who it is," he said. "I think it'd be fun."In a move that could be signaling he's planning on doing just that, Kinzinger in early 2021 launched his anti-election denier leadership PAC, called Country First. Kinzinger sponsored several bills that became law, including measures to prevent opioid addiction and a bill to help veterans with medic training transition to EMT work as civilians. Kinzinger served in the Air Force and remains a pilot in the Air National Guard. Sen. Ted Cruz of TexasSen. Ted Cruz, a Republican of Texas, speaks at a rally for Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker on November 10, 2022 in Canton, Georgia.Megan Varner/Getty ImagesCruz, 52, was the last Republican standing against Trump during the 2016 presidential nomination and had even announced that he'd pick former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina as his running mate. But Cruz — whom Trump nicknamed "Lyin' Ted" — lost following a nasty primary in which Trump levied highly personal attacks against the senator, including disparaging his wife's looks and falsely suggesting that Cruz's father had something to do with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Once Trump was in office, however, Cruz was one of the president's  biggest defenders. He voted to overturn the 2020 election results in Arizona and Pennsylvania and helped to secure Trump's acquittal in his second impeachment trial. In recent months, Cruz has been spending time in New Hampshire and campaigned with retired football star Herschel Walker in the Georgia Senate runoff. While in the Senate, Cruz led the successful effort to zero out the unpopular fine on the uninsured created by the Affordable Care Act.More recently, Cruz used Ketanji Brown Jackson's Supreme Court confirmation hearing to score points for a potential 2024 run, questioning her about school curriculum on race. Before coming to Congress, Cruz was solicitor general in Texas, a role that involves arguing cases before the Supreme Court. When Insider asked whether Trump's latest missteps had provided an opening for him to jump into the 2024 presidential race, Cruz chuckled a bit before laying out what sounded like a near-term agenda. "I think the Senate is the battleground … and I'm going to do everything I can to lead the fight right here," Cruz told Insider before launching into a tirade about his mounting frustration with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's decision making. He made no specific mention of 2024, but also didn't work in the word "no" anywhere.Cruz told the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas that he'll seek reelection in Texas in 2024 when his term is up, though state law allows him to run for both offices at the same time.Former Gov. Chris Christie of New JerseyFormer New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie speaks at an annual leadership meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition Saturday, November 19, 2022, in Las Vegas.John Locher/AP PhotoChristie, 60, is famously said to have missed his moment for the White House because he didn't run for president when he was getting a lot of attention as New Jersey's governor in 2012, and instead fizzled out in 2016 when faced with Trump and numerous other contenders. But that hasn't stopped him from weighing another go at it. As recently as October, during an appearance on "Real Time with Bill Maher," Christie confirmed that he was considering a 2024 run.  In the last 18 months, Christie has been prominently involved in midterm campaigning and on the same speech circuit as other GOP hopefuls, including the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California. He also put out a book in 2021, titled "Republican Rescue: Saving the Party From Truth Deniers, Conspiracy Theorists, and the Dangerous Policies of Joe Biden." Christie served two terms as a Republican governor in a blue state where Democrats controlled the legislature. In that role, he expanded Medicaid under Obamacare and passed bail reform.But he got flak over a handshake with then-President Barack Obama during Hurricane Sandy relief efforts, and was hurt politically after members of his administration created traffic jams on the George Washington Bridge.Christie became a lobbyist in 2020, when he had several healthcare clients but cut ties a year later, according to the lobbying disclosure database, in what could be a sign that he's lining up for a run.   Today, Christie blames Trump for the GOP's losses the last three election cycles and spent months saying Republicans "have to be the party of tomorrow, not the party of yesterday" if they ever want to win another election. His tone on Trump is a stunning turnaround for a man who was one of Trump's closest outside advisors when he was in the White House and was even on the shortlist to be Trump's chief of staff. Christie turned on Trump after January 6, saying the president violated his oath of office. More recently, he told The New York Times that Trump's candidacy was "untenable" and that the former president had had "poor judgement" after he dined at Mar-a-Lago with white supremacist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes. He also told the Washington Examiner that Republicans "fail the leadership test" when they don't call out Trump. Gov. Ron DeSantis of FloridaRepublican gubernatorial candidate for Florida Ron DeSantis speaks during an election night watch party at the Convention Center in Tampa, Florida, on November 8, 2022.Giorgio VIERA / AFP via Getty ImagesDeSantis, 44, has an enviable mantle for the presidency in the Florida governor's office — and he's making the most of it. He famously and unapologetically reopened Florida during the COVID-19 pandemic, before federal health officials said he should. He banned certain teachings on race in workplaces and schools, and flew unsuspecting migrants from Texas to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. DeSantis also signed a contentious parental involvement and sex ed bill into law that critics call "Don't Say Gay." Instead of backing down over the outcry, he punished Disney for threatening to repeal it.Then there were the historic tax cuts in Florida with promises of more as well as viral videos bashing what he calls the "corporate media." All of these actions have portrayed the governor as a fighter. That's not the only part of his public persona on display. Often in tow is his beautiful, young family. His former newscaster wife, Florida's first lady Casey DeSantis, has been instrumental in his rise. To the New York Post, pictures of the DeSantis family on Election Night was "DeFuture." Others see a conservative JFK. But the politician DeSantis most often gets compared to is Trump. Numerous news profiles have described DeSantis as "Trump without the baggage," or as a more disciplined Trump. Yet after leaning on Trump during his first gubernatorial victory in 2018, DeSantis showed he could win big on his own, scoring a historic, 20-point victory in Florida in November without Trump's endorsement.As for presidential clues, DeSantis is also out with his first memoir in February: "The Courage to Be Free: Florida's Blueprint for America's Revival." During the midterms, he extended goodwill to other Republicans by campaigning with them. Back at home, he raked in a record amount of cash for a gubernatorial race. If the GOP primary were decided today, numerous polls show, DeSantis is the only person that gets close to Trump. DeSantis, a former conservative House member, has not pledged to serve out all four years of his second term. All of that has angered Trump. He has called DeSantis "Ron DeSanctimonious" and threatened to release damaging information about the governor. DeSantis has refused to punch back at Trump publicly, instead blaming the media and saying, "When you're leading, when you're getting things done, you take incoming fire."South Dakota Gov. Kristi NoemSouth Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas, Texas, on July 11, 2021.Brandon Bell/Getty ImagesNoem, 51, has been on a Trump-related roller coaster ride as of late. In January 2021, the embattled former president tried to get her to primary fellow South Dakota Sen. John Thune, a lawmaker Trump took to calling a RINO (which stands for "Republican in name only") after Thune balked at his baseless claims of election fraud. Noem bowed out of joining Trump's revenge campaign, opting to focus on her own re-election plans. Once 2022 rolled around, she leaned hard into the GOP culture wars, promising voters that she'd bar transgender athletes from participating in women's sports, stamp out any "critical race theory" instruction in local schools, and decimate any "radical political ideologies" that annoyed her evangelical Christian base.Come July, Noem told CNN she'd be "shocked" if Trump tapped her to be his 2024 running mate. But she didn't rule out sliding into the VP slot — or mounting a challenge of her own. Since winning a second term in November, Noem has started taking on bigger foes, including the People's Republic of China. —Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) November 30, 2022 Her state government-wide ban against the use of social media app TikTok scored her fawning interviews on conservative outlets including Fox News and Newsmax, beaming her into the homes of potential admirers who don't happen to reside in the Mount Rushmore State. Noem seems far less enthusiastic about Trump these days, telling reporters that the twice-impeached, scandal-plagued former president isn't Republicans' "best chance" at retaking the White House in 2024. She issued this prediction just days after Trump announced he was running again.  Sen. Josh Hawley of MissouriSenator Josh Hawley (R-MO) speaks during the confirmation hearing for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on March 22, 2022.JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)Hawley, 43, has reached for the spotlight whenever possible while Congress is in session.From famously saluting the January 6 protestors on the day of the violent siege at the Capitol to holding Brown Jackson's feet to the fire as she raced to join the Supreme Court, the first-term lawmaker works to portray himself as the perennial outsider who's only here to shake things up. He's played up the part by voting to overturn the 2020 election results on behalf of MAGA vote-magnet Trump, butting heads with McConnell on the way the upper chamber is run, and blaming short-sighted leaders for running the party into the ground. "When your 'agenda' is cave to Big Pharma on insulin, cave to Schumer on gun control & Green New Deal ('infrastructure'), and tease changes to Social Security and Medicare, you lose," Hawley, bemoaned on Twitter following a demoralizing midterms performance by flawed GOP candidates, which he blamed on "Washington Republicanism." The potential 2024 contender followed up with some suggestions, floating an alternative vision he said would help "unrig the system."   "What are Republicans actually going to do for working people? How about, to start: tougher tariffs on China, reshore American jobs, open up American energy full throttle, 100k new cops on the street," Hawley, who was also Missouri's former attorney general, tossed out on his social media feed. Asked by Insider about his intentions of formally jumping into the 2024 presidential race, Hawley laughed out loud for a few seconds. "I hope to run for reelection to the Senate in 2024. If the people of Missouri will have me," he said. Nowhere in there did Hawley say "no." Former Gov. Larry Hogan of MarylandGov. Larry Hogan of Maryland.Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesEven before the bruising 2022 midterms, Hogan, 66, was warning that Republicans couldn't continue down the path they are on. "I am not about to give up on the Republican party or America," he wrote on Twitter in early December. "None of us can. It's too important."The two-term governor who beat a 2015 cancer scare has been fired up about plotting his next act. Hogan, a centrist Republican, is already making the rounds in early primary states such as Iowa and New Hampshire. A nonprofit group aligned with him reported raising $2 million in 2021, some of which was spent on "supporter acquisition" and "audience building." And Hogan recently scored some face time with GOP mega donors at this year's Republican Jewish Coalition leadership meeting — mentioning to political reporters covering the event that he and other potential 2024 hopefuls were there because "maybe there's a little blood in the water." Trump was notably absent at the event, but did video-conference in. As governor, Hogan signed a gun control bill into law and has said that while he opposed abortion, he wouldn't move to gut the state's guarantee on reproductive rights. During the COVID-19 pandemic he instituted a statewide mask mandate, then lifted restrictions in May 2021. While he has yet to formally declare a 2024 run, Hogan has begun billing himself as a "commonsense conservative" who GOP voters sick of losing may want to consider."I think there are 10 people who want to be the next Donald Trump, and I think there may be a different lane," Hogan said while stumping in Manchester, New Hampshire, adding, "I'm going to do everything I can to get the country back on track." He cast a write-in vote for Reagan in the 2020 election and called for Trump to be impeached or resign after January 6. Former Gov. Asa Hutchinson of ArkansasArkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson attends the National Governors Association summer meeting, Friday, July 15, 2022, in Portland, Maine.Robert F. Bukaty/AP PhotoHutchinson, 72, hasn't been shy about criticizing Biden or Trump. After Trump's 2024 announcement, he said the former president's "self-indulging message promoting anger has not changed," and also disavowed the Fuentes and Ye meeting at Mar-a-Lago.Hutchinson has taken at least five trips to Iowa through America Strong & Free, the nonprofit of which he's the honorary chairman and spokesperson."I am seriously looking at a run in 2024 because America and the Republican Party are not in the best place," he said in a statement provided to Insider. "I know how to get us back on track both in terms of leadership and facing the challenging issues of border security, increased violent crime and energy inflation." He'll make a decision in January, he told KARK.As governor for the last eight years, he has pushed to make the state a leader in computer science, and signed several tax cuts into law, including lowering the state income tax rate from 7% to 4.9%. Hutchinson also signed bills into law blocking businesses from requiring customers and workers to show proof of COVID-19 vaccinations, and blocked state and local officials from obligating masks — a move he later said he regretted. He asked state lawmakers to create a carve-out for schools, but the Arkansas House rejected the proposal. While he signed an abortion ban into law in 2019 that took effect after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, he said on CNN that he personally believes in exceptions for rape and incest."Many out there appreciate a 'consistent conservative,' even one they don't agree with all the time," Hutchinson told Insider. "I am not interested in the 'outrage of the day,' and I am committed to using my consistent conservative principles to guide me and our nation on important policy decisions." Hutchinson began his government career as a US attorney for the Western District of Arkansas under President Ronald Reagan, then went on to serve in the US House for three terms. President George W. Bush tapped him to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration, after which he served as undersecretary in the Department of Homeland Security. He has criticized Biden on illegal immigration, inflation, student loan forgiveness, and said on CNN that the president's September speech about democracy "singled out a segment of Americans and said basically they're our enemy."Hutchinson also has the distinction of being especially press friendly at a time when numerous Republicans have copied Trump's style of lashing out against journalists. "The media plays an important role in our democracy," Hutchinson told Insider. "I've never shied away from tough questions, and I have always been willing to defend my positions and conservative principles with the hard questions coming from the press."Former Vice President Mike PenceFormer Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the annual leadership meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition on Friday, November 18, 2022, in Las Vegas.John Locher/AP PhotoPence, 63, has begun to distance himself from his former boss, while also promoting his new book, "So Help Me God." He told ABC's "World News Tonight" that Trump "decided to be part of the problem" by not immediately calling off the insurrectionists during the January 6 riot, after he declined to help invalidate Biden's lawful win. Pence also pushed back against Trump on WVOC in South Carolina after he called for terminating the Constitution, and came out forcefully after Trump had dinner with Fuentes."President Trump was wrong to give a white nationalist, an anti-Semite, and a Holocaust denier a seat at the table," he said on November 28. An adviser to the former vice president told Insider that, should Pence decide to run, the team has discussed several policy areas to differentiate himself, including Trump's bipartisan criminal justice reform bill, the First Step Act, and that he'll continue to be "very outspoken on the issue of life."In contrast, Trump didn't mention his three Supreme Court picks when he announced his 2024 presidential run, even though they helped overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that previously guaranteed a national right to abortion. Pence wouldn't have to worry about name ID during a presidential run. Still, his new book and a campaign would allow him to reintroduce himself to voters by talking about his work in the US House and then as governor of Indiana. He already has made numerous trips to early primary states New Hampshire and South Carolina. Further, he'll be able to amplify policies that carried his fingerprints during the Trump administration, including his oversight of the US's pandemic response.Pence was a sought-after midterm surrogate, traveling to dozens of states. In May, he went to Georgia to help incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp beat Trump-backed primary challenger David Perdue.Pence's vision for the future of the party is laid out in his Freedom Agenda and Advancing American Freedom, the nonprofit aligned with him that serves as a type of campaign in waiting. The policies include reducing mail-in voting and implementing universal school choice, which allows public education funds to pay for K-12 students to select alternatives to public schools. While Pence didn't testify before the January 6 select committee, his senior aides including former chief of staff Marc Short and legal advisor J. Michael Luttig walked investigators through some of the scenarios that led up to the attack. In November, Pence said on Fox's "Hannity" that he would make a 2024 decision after discussing it with his family during the holidays. Former Secretary of State Mike PompeoFormer Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at the annual leadership meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition, Friday, November 18, 2022, in Las Vegas.John Locher/AP PhotoPompeo, 59, told Chicago donors in September that he already had teams in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.His outside campaign in waiting is called Champion American Values Fund, and Pompeo has been doing press appearances to talk about his forthcoming book, "Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love." Pompeo represented Kansas in the US Congress and was also former CIA director under Trump. After the end of the administration, he lost weight, which sparked speculation that he was interested in a White House run. Similar to Haley, Pompeo would enter the contest with a foreign policy background. He has openly criticized Biden, including after the president's September speech on protecting democracy. "He essentially said if you're pro-life or you're opposed to a certain set of policies, you're a threat," Pompeo told the New England Council's "Politics and Eggs" breakfast.  Biden, he said at the event, could be summed up as having "woke ideas, weak resolve, and waffling leadership."Trump should not have taken classified documents to Mar-a-Lago, he said, but added that the "raid on Mar-a-Lago was indecent and improper." Pompeo told conservative radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt in November that Trump's announcement wouldn't affect whether he decides to run for president, adding that he'd make a determination in the spring. "We need more seriousness, less noise, and leaders who are looking forward," Pompeo said, "not staring in the rearview mirror claiming victimhood." Sen. Marco Rubio of FloridaWilfredo Lee/AP PhotoRubio, 51, has come out hot after cruising to a third term in November, castigating GOP leaders for totally blowing the midterms. "We have a historically unpopular Dem President, record inflation, a violent crime wave & total chaos at the border & not only did we fail to win a majority, we lost a seat. And the Senate GOP response is going to be to make no changes?" Rubio fumed in a December 7 Twitter post. His anger hadn't abated when Insider caught up with him at the US Capitol. "I don't know how you come back from what we have just encountered and conclude that the status quo and business as usual is how we want to proceed," Rubio said of the need for drastic changes within the GOP. While conceding that he doesn't have "all those answers," Rubio suggested that Senate Republicans take a hard look at "the mechanics of elections, policy, the legislative agenda, and all of that." "I think that's something we should all be involved in talking about," Rubio said of the sorely needed soul searching. Rubio, who is of Cuban descent, was speaker of the Florida House before heading to Washington. He has sponsored numerous bills that have become law, including doubling the child tax credit and co-authoring the Paycheck Protection Program that helped keep small businesses afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.On top of that, he's got a powerful perch as the top Republican on the Intelligence Committee. Political operatives have credited him with helping the GOP grow its influence with Hispanic voters, NBC News reported. Asked by Insider whether he had it in him to take another run at the former president after getting clobbered by the insult-flinging Trump in 2016, Rubio said he just really needs to take a breath. "We'll have time over the holidays and into the new year to sort of focus on everything going on in my life and here in the Senate," Rubio told Insider, adding that he hasn't "really focused in on" returning to the presidential proving grounds at the moment. Perhaps voters will learn more about future plans in his forthcoming book, "Decades of Decadence." Sen. Tim Scott of South CarolinaSen. Tim Scott, a Republican of South Carolkina, speaks at a fundraiser in Anderson, South Carolina on August 22, 2022.Meg Kinnard/AP Photo, FileScott, 57, hinted at a presidential bid during his midterms victory speech, even though he previously said he wouldn't run against Trump. "My grandfather voted for the first man of color to be elected as president of the United States," he said on November 8, referring to the vote his grandfather cast for Obama. "I wish he had lived long enough to see perhaps another man of color elected president of the United States. But this time, let it be a Republican and not just a Democrat. So just know: All things are possible in America."Scott, who previously served in the US House, is the only Black Republican in the Senate. He said his six-year term in the Senate beginning in January will be his last, but he hasn't ruled out a presidential run and is making all the right moves to position himself for the undertaking. Despite his own election, he has taken several trips to Iowa and spent time campaigning on behalf of other Republicans. He also released a memoir, "America, a Redemption Story: Choosing Hope, Creating Unity" and is one of the top fundraisers in the Senate — which includes support from small and online donors — even though he defended a safe seat this cycle.Major donors have contributed to Opportunity Matters Fun, a pro-Scott super PAC.Scott was among those leading the push for the successful passage of the bipartisan First Step Act and his measure to create Opportunity Zones that bring private investments into economically distressed communities was part of the 2017 tax reform law. He garnered national interest after delivering the GOP response to Biden's address to Congress in April. Afterward, McConnell said the senator represented "the future of the Republican Party." Scott has been open about the racism he has faced over the course of his life. "I get called Uncle Tom and the n-word by progressives, by liberals," he said in response to Biden's address. He has shared that police have pulled him over numerous times, despite him not violating any traffic laws. He sat down with Trump at the White House to discuss systemic racism and publicly called on Trump to call back certain statements he made on race. Haley, who was South Carolina governor at the time, appointed Scott to the Senate in 2013 after the seat opened up. Miami Mayor Francis SuarezTaylor Hill / Contributor Getty ImagesSuarez, 45, confirmed in October that he's considering a presidential run."It's something that I would consider given the right circumstances and given the right mood of the country," Suarez said at a Punchbowl News event. Miami has been getting a lot of attention given the surge of people moving to Florida — and tech companies and crypto startups in particular headed to Miami under Suarez's encouragement. He even told Twitter CEO Elon Musk that he should consider relocating the company's headquarters from San Francisco.Suarez's office sent over a list of accomplishments for the mayor, saying the city was No. 1 in job and wage growth, and had 1.4% unemployment. The Financial Times called Miami "the most important city in America." The mayor made historic increases to the city's police department, increased funding on climate-resistant infrastructure, and passed a rental tax credit for seniors. Suarez didn't vote for Trump during the 2020 election and in the 2018 gubernatorial race in Florida he voted for Democrat Andrew Gillum over DeSantis. But Suarez said Trump also has been kind to him. The two spoke at a wedding recently, he said, and Trump told him he was the "hottest politician in America after him.""I don't know if he meant physically hot or if he meant I was getting a lot of buzz," Suarez said. "But he was very nice." Suarez is of Cuban descent and leads the National Conference of Mayors. When asked about how he might stand out in a presidential race, Suarez said he might be able to speak to "a variety of minority communities that are going to be important if Republicans want to grow their base for a generation." Gov. Chris Sununu of New HampshireGov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire.Jon Cherry/Getty Images for ConcordiaSununu, 48, was just reelected to a fourth term in New Hampshire, where governors are reelected every two years and there are no term limits. "I haven't ruled anything in or out," he told Politico's "Playbook Deep Dive" podcast when asked about running for president in 2024. "I haven't ruled out a fifth term. I haven't ruled out running for higher office."Sununu is a centrist Republican who has the distinction of being in favor of abortion rights, at a time when many states are banning abortion. He came close to running for the US Senate in 2022, but told the Washington Examiner that other senators told him their main job was to be a "roadblock" in office — and he wasn't interested in that.Sununu also called Trump "fucking crazy" at the Gridiron dinner, a journalism event. "Let's stop supporting crazy, unelectable candidates in our primaries and start getting behind winners that can close the deal in November," Sununu said in November at Republican Jewish Coalition meeting.He told the Washington Examiner after the midterms that there should be new GOP leadership — not just in the White House but inside the Republican National Committee."Did they achieve on the level of results that we all thought we were going to get?" he asked. "No. So, why would we stick with the same team assuming we're going to get a better result?"Sununu is part of a political dynasty. His father was governor of New Hampshire who then went on to work in the George H.W. Bush administration as chief of staff. His brother was in the US House and US Senate. Gov. Glenn Youngkin of VirginiaGov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia.AP Photo/Steve Helber, FileYoungkin, 56, tried his hand at playing kingmaker in over a dozen 2022 gubernatorial contests and mostly came up short. The newly-minted Republican who rocketed to stardom in late 2021 by keeping Virginia purplish with his electrifying win over Democratic fixture Terry McAuliffe tried to work that same Trump-light magic into contests all around the country. The result: only four of the 15 Republican gubernatorial candidates Youngkin got involved with won their races. It's unclear whether Youngkin had any effect on the reelection bids of blowout winners like Kemp or Noem.By the same token, it's debatable whether he could have dragged Lake, Michigan's Tudor Dixon, or any of the other 2020 election deniers across the finish line given their full-on embrace of Trumpism. While he remains reluctant to badmouth the embattled former president, Youngkin clinched his 2021 win by keeping Trump at bay while still reaching out to the MAGA base. Trump, on the other hand, has tried to take full credit for Youngkin's win and lashed out at the newcomer for not being more appreciative. Trump's already working on trying to clip a Youngkin presidential bid from ever taking wing, panning him and DeSantis as ingrates who have no chance of beating him. Trump also reverted to his old tricks after the politically damaging 2022 midterms flop, hitting Youngkin with a bizarre, racist rant on Truth Social. Given that Virginia only allows governors to serve non-consecutive terms, it makes sense for Youngkin to seek opportunities elsewhere.The Washington Post reported that Youngkin spent part of his summer huddling with Republican mega donors in New York. And while he remains mum on any official plans for 2024, Politico said Youngkin's putting in place the types of fundraising groups a presidential candidate would want to have at the ready.Youngkin is a former co-CEO of the Carlyle Group. As governor, his first official action was to sign an executive order prohibiting Virginia schools from teaching "critical race theory." More recently, he's been pushing to reimburse individuals and businesses who paid fines for violating state COVID-19 restrictions under his Democratic predecessor.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

At least 17 Republicans have shown they're interested in the 2024 presidential nomination, even though Trump has already declared he's running. Former President Donald Trump arrives to speak during an event at Mar-a-Lago on November 15, 2022 in Palm Beach, Florida.Joe Raedle/Getty Images Donald Trump is the only Republican who has made a '24 run official. But many others have been floating the possibility of entering the GOP contest. From Pence to Haley, here's how Republicans are laying the groundwork for presidential runs. It's beginning to look a lot like 2016. Former President Donald Trump is the only Republican so far who has announced a 2024 presidential run, but numerous others are signaling that they're toying with the same idea. They're doing all the things they're supposed to do to test their chances: Visiting early primary states, writing books, showing up on the Sunday shows, campaigning with other Republicans ahead of the 2022 midterms, and weighing in publicly on President Joe Biden's policies — and even Trump's latest controversies. The next step will be hiring teams in Iowa and New Hampshire, Doug Heye, a longtime GOP aide and strategist, told Insider."You have got a stable of people who are essentially putting themselves all in the starting gates and all have their own timetable about when and if they decide to run," he said. December would be a "frustrating month" for political watchers because "no one is going to move that much," said Kristin Davison, vice president and general consultant at Axiom Strategies. But hopefuls would be floating what she called "trial balloons" — in which they publicly raise the prospect of a run to see how donors and the press will react. Whoever seizes the nomination will likely face Biden, though he has yet to formally declare his candidacy. But, Heye said, "it's a real possibility" that the GOP lineup will be large like it was in 2016.The stakes for losing the nomination aren't all bad, even if Republicans might come out of it with an unforgettable Trump nickname. After all, one of the people running for president could end up getting chosen as running mate or get a seat on the new president's Cabinet.And there are other perks to formally seeking the White House, such as raising one's profile and having a better shot at the presidency during a future cycle. Candidates could also wind up selling a lot more books or leave politics to get a prime TV or radio show. "It's a long, difficult process," Heye said, "and you're more likely to lose than not."Trump's legal, political, and personal liabilities have been piling up in the last month, leading many in the GOP to say the party needs not just a fresh face but to be led by a candidate who can actually win. Insider identified 17 people who could seek the Republican nomination in 2024, including Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Josh Hawley of Missouri, and Tim Scott of South Carolina who are up for re-election this cycle and will therefore be in campaign mode anyway. Each will have to effectively answer the "why I'm running for president" question and find their lane in the party — which will inevitably include defining, or redefining, their relationship with Trump. "I don't think you can discount any of them at this point," Heye said. "It's too early to determine who outside of Trump is a frontrunner." Scroll through to see the lawmakers listed here in alphabetical order. Outgoing Rep. Liz Cheney of WyomingRep. Liz Cheney, a Republican of Wyoming, campaigned with Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat of Michigan, at an Evening for Patriotism and Bipartisanship event on November 1, 2022 in East Lansing, Michigan.Bill Pugliano/Getty ImagesCheney, 56, is the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney and one of Trump's toughest Republican critics.She voted to impeach Trump after the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, and served as vice chair of the House select committee investigating Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election.Cheney's actions have come at a cost under the heavy weight of Trump's ire. House Republicans punished her by stripping her of her leadership post, and she lost her US House seat to Trump-backed GOP challenger Harriet Hageman during the state's August primary.But she hasn't been deterred. Cheney said on NBC's "Today" that she would do "whatever it takes" to keep Trump out of the White House in 2024, including "thinking about" running for president herself. "I wouldn't be surprised to see her run for president," Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah told Insider in August. Cheney voted with Trump on policy when he was in office, and remains a conservative, telling the Reagan Foundation and Institute in June that she believes "deeply in the policies of limited government, of low taxes, of a strong national defense." But Cheney said she sees a breaking point with the Republican Party, telling the Texas Tribune Festival in September that she would leave the GOP if Trump became the 2024 nominee.This could mean she'd run for president as an Independent. Already, she has shown she's willing to campaign against Republicans who falsely deny that Biden won the 2020 presidential election.This year, Cheney converted her House campaign finance committee into an anti-election denier leadership PAC called The Great Task. The PAC spent $500,000 on a TV ad in Arizona that urged voters to reject Republicans Kari Lake and Mark Finchem, who were running for governor and secretary of state, respectively. During the 2022 midterms, Cheney endorsed incumbent Democratic Reps. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia. Both won their races. "We had to make sure that we prevented election deniers from taking power," she told The Washington Post's Global Women's Summit in November. Many outsiders see long odds for Cheney, though a poll conducted in Utah found she could be a top contender there. Outgoing Rep. Adam Kinzinger of IllinoisRep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., speaks as the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol holds a hearing in Washington, DC, on July 21, 2022.AP Photo/J. Scott ApplewhiteLike Cheney, Kinzinger, 44, has spent much of the last year focused on the January 6 committee and drawing Trump's ire. He's the only other Republican on the House committee investigating the riot, and will be retiring from his seat at the end of this Congress, after six terms. Kinzinger told HuffPost in April that he "would love" to run against Trump for the 2024 GOP nomination, but more for the fun of it than to actually win."Even if he crushed me, like in a primary, to be able to stand up and call out the garbage is just a necessary thing, regardless of who it is," he said. "I think it'd be fun."In a move that could be signaling he's planning on doing just that, Kinzinger in early 2021 launched his anti-election denier leadership PAC, called Country First. Kinzinger sponsored several bills that became law, including measures to prevent opioid addiction and a bill to help veterans with medic training transition to EMT work as civilians. Kinzinger served in the Air Force and remains a pilot in the Air National Guard. Sen. Ted Cruz of TexasSen. Ted Cruz, a Republican of Texas, speaks at a rally for Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker on November 10, 2022 in Canton, Georgia.Megan Varner/Getty ImagesCruz, 51, was the last Republican standing against Trump during the 2016 presidential nomination and had even announced that he'd pick former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina as his running mate. But Cruz — whom Trump nicknamed "Lyin' Ted" — lost following a nasty primary in which Trump levied highly personal attacks against the senator, including disparaging his wife's looks and falsely suggesting that Cruz's father had something to do with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Once Trump was in office, however, Cruz was one of the president's  biggest defenders. He voted to overturn the 2020 election results in Arizona and Pennsylvania and helped to secure Trump's acquittal in his second impeachment trial. In recent months, Cruz has been spending time in New Hampshire and campaigned with retired football star Herschel Walker in the Georgia Senate runoff. While in the Senate, Cruz led the successful effort to zero out the unpopular fine on the uninsured created by the Affordable Care Act.More recently, Cruz used Ketanji Brown Jackson's Supreme Court confirmation hearing to score points for a potential 2024 run, questioning her about school curriculum on race. Before coming to Congress, Cruz was solicitor general in Texas, a role that involves arguing cases before the Supreme Court. When Insider asked whether Trump's latest missteps had provided an opening for him to jump into the 2024 presidential race, Cruz chuckled a bit before laying out what sounded like a near-term agenda. "I think the Senate is the battleground … and I'm going to do everything I can to lead the fight right here," Cruz told Insider before launching into a tirade about his mounting frustration with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's decision making. He made no specific mention of 2024, but also didn't work in the word "no" anywhere.Cruz told the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas that he'll seek reelection in Texas in 2024 when his term is up, though state law allows him to run for both offices at the same time.Former Gov. Chris Christie of New JerseyFormer New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie speaks at an annual leadership meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition Saturday, November 19, 2022, in Las Vegas.John Locher/AP PhotoChristie, 60, is famously said to have missed his moment for the White House because he didn't run for president when he was getting a lot of attention as New Jersey's governor in 2012, and instead fizzled out in 2016 when faced with Trump and numerous other contenders. But that hasn't stopped him from weighing another go at it. As recently as October, during an appearance on "Real Time with Bill Maher," Christie confirmed that he was considering a 2024 run.  In the last 18 months, Christie has been prominently involved in midterm campaigning and on the same speech circuit as other GOP hopefuls, including the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California. He also put out a book in 2021, titled "Republican Rescue: Saving the Party From Truth Deniers, Conspiracy Theorists, and the Dangerous Policies of Joe Biden." Christie served two terms as a Republican governor in a blue state where Democrats controlled the legislature. In that role, he expanded Medicaid under Obamacare and passed bail reform.But he got flak over a handshake with then-President Barack Obama during Hurricane Sandy relief efforts, and was hurt politically after members of his administration created traffic jams on the George Washington Bridge.Christie became a lobbyist in 2020, when he had several healthcare clients but cut ties a year later, according to the lobbying disclosure database, in what could be a sign that he's lining up for a run.   Today, Christie blames Trump for the GOP's losses the last three election cycles and spent months saying Republicans "have to be the party of tomorrow, not the party of yesterday" if they ever want to win another election. His tone on Trump is a stunning turnaround for a man who was one of Trump's closest outside advisors when he was in the White House and was even on the shortlist to be Trump's chief of staff. Christie turned on Trump after January 6, saying the president violated his oath of office. More recently, he told The New York Times that Trump's candidacy was "untenable" and that the former president had had "poor judgement" after he dined at Mar-a-Lago with white supremacist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes. He also told the Washington Examiner that Republicans "fail the leadership test" when they don't call out Trump. Gov. Ron DeSantis of FloridaRepublican gubernatorial candidate for Florida Ron DeSantis speaks during an election night watch party at the Convention Center in Tampa, Florida, on November 8, 2022.Giorgio VIERA / AFP via Getty ImagesDeSantis, 44, has an enviable mantle for the presidency in the Florida governor's office — and he's making the most of it. He famously and unapologetically reopened Florida during the COVID-19 pandemic, before federal health officials said he should. He banned certain teachings on race in workplaces and schools, and flew unsuspecting migrants from Texas to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. DeSantis also signed a contentious parental involvement and sex ed bill into law that critics call "Don't Say Gay." Instead of backing down over the outcry, he punished Disney for threatening to repeal it.Then there were the historic tax cuts in Florida with promises of more as well as viral videos bashing what he calls the "corporate media." All of these actions have portrayed the governor as a fighter. That's not the only part of his public persona on display. Often in tow is his beautiful, young family. His former newscaster wife, Florida's first lady Casey DeSantis, has been instrumental in his rise. To the New York Post, pictures of the DeSantis family on Election Night was "DeFuture." Others see a conservative JFK. But the politician DeSantis most often gets compared to is Trump. Numerous news profiles have described DeSantis as "Trump without the baggage," or as a more disciplined Trump. Yet after leaning on Trump during his first gubernatorial victory in 2018, DeSantis showed he could win big on his own, scoring a historic, 20-point victory in Florida in November without Trump's endorsement.As for presidential clues, DeSantis is also out with his first memoir in February: "The Courage to Be Free: Florida's Blueprint for America's Revival." During the midterms, he extended goodwill to other Republicans by campaigning with them. Back at home, he raked in a record amount of cash for a gubernatorial race. If the GOP primary were decided today, numerous polls show, DeSantis is the only person that gets close to Trump. DeSantis, a former conservative House member, has not pledged to serve out all four years of his second term. All of that has angered Trump. He has called DeSantis "Ron DeSanctimonious" and threatened to release damaging information about the governor. DeSantis has refused to punch back at Trump publicly, instead blaming the media and saying, "When you're leading, when you're getting things done, you take incoming fire."South Dakota Gov. Kristi NoemSouth Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas, Texas, on July 11, 2021.Brandon Bell/Getty ImagesNoem, 51, has been on a Trump-related roller coaster ride as of late. In January 2021, the embattled former president tried to get her to primary fellow South Dakota Sen. John Thune, a lawmaker Trump took to calling a RINO (which stands for "Republican in name only") after Thune balked at his baseless claims of election fraud. Noem bowed out of joining Trump's revenge campaign, opting to focus on her own re-election plans. Once 2022 rolled around, she leaned hard into the GOP culture wars, promising voters that she'd bar transgender athletes from participating in women's sports, stamp out any "critical race theory" instruction in local schools, and decimate any "radical political ideologies" that annoyed her evangelical Christian base.Come July, Noem told CNN she'd be "shocked" if Trump tapped her to be his 2024 running mate. But she didn't rule out sliding into the VP slot — or mounting a challenge of her own. Since winning a second term in November, Noem has started taking on bigger foes, including the People's Republic of China. —Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) November 30, 2022 Her state government-wide ban against the use of social media app TikTok scored her fawning interviews on conservative outlets including Fox News and Newsmax, beaming her into the homes of potential admirers who don't happen to reside in the Mount Rushmore State. Noem seems far less enthusiastic about Trump these days, telling reporters that the twice-impeached, scandal-plagued former president isn't Republicans' "best chance" at retaking the White House in 2024. She issued this prediction just days after Trump announced he was running again.  Former UN Ambassador Nikki HaleyFormer UN Ambassador Nikki Haley during a news conference in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, October 26, 2022.Matt Rourke/AP PhotoHaley, 50, has made it clear she's interested in the presidency. At the Republican Jewish Coalition in November, she told the crowd she was thinking about a presidential run "in a serious way" and would announce a decision "soon.""I've won tough primaries and tough general elections," she said. "I've been the underdog every single time. When people underestimate me, it's always fun. But I've never lost an election. And I'm not going to start now." The remarks were a turnaround from Haley's comments last year, when she said she wouldn't run for president if Trump were to seek the White House in 2024. Haley said at a Turning Point USA event that she'd take the winter holidays to make a decision. Early in her career, Haley joined her family's clothing business before leading the National Association of Women Business Owners.She served in the South Carolina House for three terms then was the state's governor for six years. In that time Haley delivered the GOP response to Obama's 2016 State of the Union Address.She pushed for the removal of the confederate flag from the South Carolina capitol after a gunman killed nine Black people at Emanuel Church in Charleston. Also as governor, Haley would not support a bill requiring transgender people to use the restroom that corresponded with the gender on their birth certificate. But in 2021 she wrote a commentary in the National Review saying transgender inclusion in sports was an "attack on women's rights."Haley was UN Ambassador under Trump for two years, and successfully pushed for the US to move its Israeli embassy to Jerusalem and defended Trump's decision to do so.In 2019 she published a memoir, "With All Due Respect: Defending America with Grit and Grace." Her experiences give her the coveted pairing of having both executive and foreign policy chops, which are often viewed as crucial to the presidency. Aside from Trump and Pence, few other contenders would have such a profile. As a woman of Indian descent, she could also help bring in suburban women voters who graduated from college and expand the GOP coalition among people of color. Her nonprofit group, called Stand for America, Inc., is seen as a campaign in waiting and raised about $8.6 million in 2021, according to Politico. And she founded the Stand for America PAC after her time in the Trump administration. Haley campaigned and fundraised in high-profile races during the 2022 midterms, including in Pennsylvania and Georgia. Haley told the National Republican Committee the day after the January 6 riot that Trump was "badly wrong" in his speech to supporters and that his "actions since Election Day will be judged harshly by history." Sen. Josh Hawley of MissouriSenator Josh Hawley (R-MO) speaks during the confirmation hearing for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on March 22, 2022.JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)Hawley, 42, has reached for the spotlight whenever possible while Congress is in session.From famously saluting the January 6 protestors on the day of the violent siege at the Capitol to holding Brown Jackson's feet to the fire as she raced to join the Supreme Court, the first-term lawmaker works to portray himself as the perennial outsider who's only here to shake things up. He's played up the part by voting to overturn the 2020 election results on behalf of MAGA vote-magnet Trump, butting heads with McConnell on the way the upper chamber is run, and blaming short-sighted leaders for running the party into the ground. "When your 'agenda' is cave to Big Pharma on insulin, cave to Schumer on gun control & Green New Deal ('infrastructure'), and tease changes to Social Security and Medicare, you lose," Hawley, bemoaned on Twitter following a demoralizing midterms performance by flawed GOP candidates, which he blamed on "Washington Republicanism." The potential 2024 contender followed up with some suggestions, floating an alternative vision he said would help "unrig the system."   "What are Republicans actually going to do for working people? How about, to start: tougher tariffs on China, reshore American jobs, open up American energy full throttle, 100k new cops on the street," Hawley, who was also Missouri's former attorney general, tossed out on his social media feed. Asked by Insider about his intentions of formally jumping into the 2024 presidential race, Hawley laughed out loud for a few seconds. "I hope to run for reelection to the Senate in 2024. If the people of Missouri will have me," he said. Nowhere in there did Hawley say "no." Outgoing Gov. Larry Hogan of MarylandGov. Larry Hogan of Maryland.Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesEven before the bruising 2022 midterms, Hogan, 66, was warning that Republicans couldn't continue down the path they are on. "I am not about to give up on the Republican party or America," he wrote on Twitter in early December. "None of us can. It's too important."The two-term governor who beat a 2015 cancer scare has been fired up about plotting his next act. Hogan, a centrist Republican, is already making the rounds in early primary states such as Iowa and New Hampshire. A nonprofit group aligned with him reported raising $2 million in 2021, some of which was spent on "supporter acquisition" and "audience building." And Hogan recently scored some face time with GOP mega donors at this year's Republican Jewish Coalition leadership meeting — mentioning to political reporters covering the event that he and other potential 2024 hopefuls were there because "maybe there's a little blood in the water." Trump was notably absent at the event, but did video-conference in. As governor, Hogan signed a gun control bill into law and has said that while he opposed abortion, he wouldn't move to gut the state's guarantee on reproductive rights. During the COVID-19 pandemic he instituted a statewide mask mandate, then lifted restrictions in May 2021. While he has yet to formally declare a 2024 run, Hogan has begun billing himself as a "commonsense conservative" who GOP voters sick of losing may want to consider."I think there are 10 people who want to be the next Donald Trump, and I think there may be a different lane," Hogan said while stumping in Manchester, New Hampshire, adding, "I'm going to do everything I can to get the country back on track." He cast a write-in vote for Reagan in the 2020 election and called for Trump to be impeached or resign after January 6. Outgoing Gov. Asa Hutchinson of ArkansasArkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson attends the National Governors Association summer meeting, Friday, July 15, 2022, in Portland, Maine.Robert F. Bukaty/AP PhotoHutchinson, 72, hasn't been shy about criticizing Biden or Trump. After Trump's 2024 announcement, he said the former president's "self-indulging message promoting anger has not changed," and also disavowed the Fuentes and Ye meeting at Mar-a-Lago.Hutchinson has taken at least five trips to Iowa through America Strong & Free, the nonprofit of which he's the honorary chairman and spokesperson."I am seriously looking at a run in 2024 because America and the Republican Party are not in the best place," he said in a statement provided to Insider. "I know how to get us back on track both in terms of leadership and facing the challenging issues of border security, increased violent crime and energy inflation." He'll make a decision in January, he told KARK.As governor for the last eight years, he has pushed to make the state a leader in computer science, and signed several tax cuts into law, including lowering the state income tax rate from 7% to 4.9%. Hutchinson also signed bills into law blocking businesses from requiring customers and workers to show proof of COVID-19 vaccinations, and blocked state and local officials from obligating masks — a move he later said he regretted. He asked state lawmakers to create a carve-out for schools, but the Arkansas House rejected the proposal. While he signed an abortion ban into law in 2019 that took effect after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, he said on CNN that he personally believes in exceptions for rape and incest."Many out there appreciate a 'consistent conservative,' even one they don't agree with all the time," Hutchinson told Insider. "I am not interested in the 'outrage of the day,' and I am committed to using my consistent conservative principles to guide me and our nation on important policy decisions." Hutchinson began his government career as a US attorney for the Western District of Arkansas under President Ronald Reagan, then went on to serve in the US House for three terms. President George W. Bush tapped him to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration, after which he served as undersecretary in the Department of Homeland Security. He has criticized Biden on illegal immigration, inflation, student loan forgiveness, and said on CNN that the president's September speech about democracy "singled out a segment of Americans and said basically they're our enemy."Hutchinson also has the distinction of being especially press friendly at a time when numerous Republicans have copied Trump's style of lashing out against journalists. "The media plays an important role in our democracy," Hutchinson told Insider. "I've never shied away from tough questions, and I have always been willing to defend my positions and conservative principles with the hard questions coming from the press."Former Vice President Mike PenceFormer Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the annual leadership meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition on Friday, November 18, 2022, in Las Vegas.John Locher/AP PhotoPence, 63, has begun to distance himself from his former boss, while also promoting his new book, "So Help Me God." He told ABC's "World News Tonight" that Trump "decided to be part of the problem" by not immediately calling off the insurrectionists during the January 6 riot, after he declined to help invalidate Biden's lawful win. Pence also pushed back against Trump on WVOC in South Carolina after he called for terminating the Constitution, and came out forcefully after Trump had dinner with Fuentes."President Trump was wrong to give a white nationalist, an anti-Semite, and a Holocaust denier a seat at the table," he said on November 28. An adviser to the former vice president told Insider that, should Pence decide to run, the team has discussed several policy areas to differentiate himself, including Trump's bipartisan criminal justice reform bill, the First Step Act, and that he'll continue to be "very outspoken on the issue of life."In contrast, Trump didn't mention his three Supreme Court picks when he announced his 2024 presidential run, even though they helped overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that previously guaranteed a national right to abortion. Pence wouldn't have to worry about name ID during a presidential run. Still, his new book and a campaign would allow him to reintroduce himself to voters by talking about his work in the US House and then as governor of Indiana. He already has made numerous trips to early primary states New Hampshire and South Carolina. Further, he'll be able to amplify policies that carried his fingerprints during the Trump administration, including his oversight of the US's pandemic response.Pence was a sought-after midterm surrogate, traveling to dozens of states. In May, he went to Georgia to help incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp beat Trump-backed primary challenger David Perdue.Pence's vision for the future of the party is laid out in his Freedom Agenda and Advancing American Freedom, the nonprofit aligned with him that serves as a type of campaign in waiting. The policies include reducing mail-in voting and implementing universal school choice, which allows public education funds to pay for K-12 students to select alternatives to public schools. While Pence didn't testify before the January 6 select committee, his senior aides including former chief of staff Marc Short and legal advisor J. Michael Luttig walked investigators through some of the scenarios that led up to the attack. In November, Pence said on Fox's "Hannity" that he would make a 2024 decision after discussing it with his family during the holidays. Former Secretary of State Mike PompeoFormer Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at the annual leadership meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition, Friday, November 18, 2022, in Las Vegas.John Locher/AP PhotoPompeo, 58, told Chicago donors in September that he already had teams in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.His outside campaign in waiting is called Champion American Values Fund, and Pompeo has been doing press appearances to talk about his forthcoming book, "Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love." Pompeo represented Kansas in the US Congress and was also former CIA director under Trump. After the end of the administration, he lost weight, which sparked speculation that he was interested in a White House run. Similar to Haley, Pompeo would enter the contest with a foreign policy background. He has openly criticized Biden, including after the president's September speech on protecting democracy. "He essentially said if you're pro-life or you're opposed to a certain set of policies, you're a threat," Pompeo told the New England Council's "Politics and Eggs" breakfast.  Biden, he said at the event, could be summed up as having "woke ideas, weak resolve, and waffling leadership."Trump should not have taken classified documents to Mar-a-Lago, he said, but added that the "raid on Mar-a-Lago was indecent and improper." Pompeo told conservative radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt in November that Trump's announcement wouldn't affect whether he decides to run for president, adding that he'd make a determination in the spring. "We need more seriousness, less noise, and leaders who are looking forward," Pompeo said, "not staring in the rearview mirror claiming victimhood." Sen. Marco Rubio of FloridaWilfredo Lee/AP PhotoRubio, 51, has come out hot after cruising to a third term in November, castigating GOP leaders for totally blowing the midterms. "We have a historically unpopular Dem President, record inflation, a violent crime wave & total chaos at the border & not only did we fail to win a majority, we lost a seat. And the Senate GOP response is going to be to make no changes?" Rubio fumed in a December 7 Twitter post. His anger hadn't abated when Insider caught up with him at the US Capitol. "I don't know how you come back from what we have just encountered and conclude that the status quo and business as usual is how we want to proceed," Rubio said of the need for drastic changes within the GOP. While conceding that he doesn't have "all those answers," Rubio suggested that Senate Republicans take a hard look at "the mechanics of elections, policy, the legislative agenda, and all of that." "I think that's something we should all be involved in talking about," Rubio said of the sorely needed soul searching. Rubio, who is of Cuban descent, was speaker of the Florida House before heading to Washington. He has sponsored numerous bills that have become law, including doubling the child tax credit and co-authoring the Paycheck Protection Program that helped keep small businesses afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.On top of that, he's got a powerful perch as the top Republican on the Intelligence Committee. Political operatives have credited him with helping the GOP grow its influence with Hispanic voters, NBC News reported. Asked by Insider whether he had it in him to take another run at the former president after getting clobbered by the insult-flinging Trump in 2016, Rubio said he just really needs to take a breath. "We'll have time over the holidays and into the new year to sort of focus on everything going on in my life and here in the Senate," Rubio told Insider, adding that he hasn't "really focused in on" returning to the presidential proving grounds at the moment. Perhaps voters will learn more about future plans in his forthcoming book, "Decades of Decadence." Sen. Tim Scott of South CarolinaSen. Tim Scott, a Republican of South Carolkina, speaks at a fundraiser in Anderson, South Carolina on August 22, 2022.Meg Kinnard/AP Photo, FileScott, 57, hinted at a presidential bid during his midterms victory speech, even though he previously said he wouldn't run against Trump. "My grandfather voted for the first man of color to be elected as president of the United States," he said on November 8, referring to the vote his grandfather cast for Obama. "I wish he had lived long enough to see perhaps another man of color elected president of the United States. But this time, let it be a Republican and not just a Democrat. So just know: All things are possible in America."Scott, who previously served in the US House, is the only Black Republican in the Senate. He said his six-year term in the Senate beginning in January will be his last, but he hasn't ruled out a presidential run and is making all the right moves to position himself for the undertaking. Despite his own election, he has taken several trips to Iowa and spent time campaigning on behalf of other Republicans. He also released a memoir, "America, a Redemption Story: Choosing Hope, Creating Unity" and is one of the top fundraisers in the Senate — which includes support from small and online donors — even though he defended a safe seat this cycle.Major donors have contributed to Opportunity Matters Fun, a pro-Scott super PAC.Scott was among those leading the push for the successful passage of the bipartisan First Step Act and his measure to create Opportunity Zones that bring private investments into economically distressed communities was part of the 2017 tax reform law. He garnered national interest after delivering the GOP response to Biden's address to Congress in April. Afterward, McConnell said the senator represented "the future of the Republican Party." Scott has been open about the racism he has faced over the course of his life. "I get called Uncle Tom and the n-word by progressives, by liberals," he said in response to Biden's address. He has shared that police have pulled him over numerous times, despite him not violating any traffic laws. He sat down with Trump at the White House to discuss systemic racism and publicly called on Trump to call back certain statements he made on race. Haley, who was South Carolina governor at the time, appointed Scott to the Senate in 2013 after the seat opened up. Miami Mayor Francis SuarezTaylor Hill / Contributor Getty ImagesSuarez, 45, confirmed in October that he's considering a presidential run."It's something that I would consider given the right circumstances and given the right mood of the country," Suarez said at a Punchbowl News event. Miami has been getting a lot of attention given the surge of people moving to Florida — and tech companies and crypto startups in particular headed to Miami under Suarez's encouragement. He even told Twitter CEO Elon Musk that he should consider relocating the company's headquarters from San Francisco.Suarez's office sent over a list of accomplishments for the mayor, saying the city was No. 1 in job and wage growth, and had 1.4% unemployment. The Financial Times called Miami "the most important city in America." The mayor made historic increases to the city's police department, increased funding on climate-resistant infrastructure, and passed a rental tax credit for seniors. Suarez didn't vote for Trump during the 2020 election and in the 2018 gubernatorial race in Florida he voted for Democrat Andrew Gillum over DeSantis. But Suarez said Trump also has been kind to him. The two spoke at a wedding recently, he said, and Trump told him he was the "hottest politician in America after him.""I don't know if he meant physically hot or if he meant I was getting a lot of buzz," Suarez said. "But he was very nice." Suarez is of Cuban descent and leads the National Conference of Mayors. When asked about how he might stand out in a presidential race, Suarez said he might be able to speak to "a variety of minority communities that are going to be important if Republicans want to grow their base for a generation." Gov. Chris Sununu of New HampshireGov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire.Jon Cherry/Getty Images for ConcordiaSununu, 48, was just reelected to a fourth term in New Hampshire, where governors are reelected every two years and there are no term limits. "I haven't ruled anything in or out," he told Politico's "Playbook Deep Dive" podcast when asked about running for president in 2024. "I haven't ruled out a fifth term. I haven't ruled out running for higher office."Sununu is a centrist Republican who has the distinction of being in favor of abortion rights, at a time when many states are banning abortion. He came close to running for the US Senate in 2022, but told the Washington Examiner that other senators told him their main job was to be a "roadblock" in office — and he wasn't interested in that.Sununu also called Trump "fucking crazy" at the Gridiron dinner, a journalism event. "Let's stop supporting crazy, unelectable candidates in our primaries and start getting behind winners that can close the deal in November," Sununu said in November at Republican Jewish Coalition meeting.He told the Washington Examiner after the midterms that there should be new GOP leadership — not just in the White House but inside the Republican National Committee."Did they achieve on the level of results that we all thought we were going to get?" he asked. "No. So, why would we stick with the same team assuming we're going to get a better result?"Sununu is part of a political dynasty. His father was governor of New Hampshire who then went on to work in the George H.W. Bush administration as chief of staff. His brother was in the US House and US Senate. Gov. Glenn Youngkin of VirginiaGov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia.AP Photo/Steve Helber, FileYoungkin, 56, tried his hand at playing kingmaker in over a dozen 2022 gubernatorial contests and mostly came up short. The newly-minted Republican who rocketed to stardom in late 2021 by keeping Virginia purplish with his electrifying win over Democratic fixture Terry McAuliffe tried to work that same Trump-light magic into contests all around the country. The result: only four of the 15 Republican gubernatorial candidates Youngkin got involved with won their races. It's unclear whether Youngkin had any effect on the reelection bids of blowout winners like Kemp or Noem.By the same token, it's debatable whether he could have dragged Lake, Michigan's Tudor Dixon, or any of the other 2020 election deniers across the finish line given their full-on embrace of Trumpism. While he remains reluctant to badmouth the embattled former president, Youngkin clinched his 2021 win by keeping Trump at bay while still reaching out to the MAGA base. Trump, on the other hand, has tried to take full credit for Youngkin's win and lashed out at the newcomer for not being more appreciative. Trump's already working on trying to clip a Youngkin presidential bid from ever taking wing, panning him and DeSantis as ingrates who have no chance of beating him. Trump also reverted to his old tricks after the politically damaging 2022 midterms flop, hitting Youngkin with a bizarre, racist rant on Truth Social. Given that Virginia only allows governors to serve non-consecutive terms, it makes sense for Youngkin to seek opportunities elsewhere.The Washington Post reported that Youngkin spent part of his summer huddling with Republican mega donors in New York. And while he remains mum on any official plans for 2024, Politico said Youngkin's putting in place the types of fundraising groups a presidential candidate would want to have at the ready.Youngkin is a former co-CEO of the Carlyle Group. As governor, his first official action was to sign an executive order prohibiting Virginia schools from teaching "critical race theory." More recently, he's been pushing to reimburse individuals and businesses who paid fines for violating state COVID-19 restrictions under his Democratic predecessor.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

"It's way more likely than people think," said one Republican strategist. In this January 27, 2017, photo President Donald Trump takes the oath of office from Chief Justice John Roberts, as his wife, Melania Trump, holds the Bible.Jim Bourg/Pool Photo via AP Donald Trump keeps hinting at another run for president.   Axios reports Trump's team is considering a November 14 announcement for his reelection bid. But Trump may have to stop talking about 2020, and bank on running against someone besides Biden. It's January 20, 2025. Donald Trump places his hand on a Bible. He's standing at the US Capitol that, four years earlier, a mob of his supporters attacked in his name.Trump recites the oath of office. He grins and flashes a thumbs-up. He's president of the United States. Again. It's a scenario that Trump-skeptical Republicans wish and pray won't happen, but still concede is a possibility. "He has surprised everyone before," said Alex Conant, who managed communications for Sen. Marco Rubio's 2016 presidential campaign. "I don't think anyone should write him off. I don't think Democrats are writing him off." The prospect of another Trump win is "disturbing," said Tim Miller, who was communications director for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's 2016 presidential campaign and is a Trump critic."It's scary," he said. "It's way more likely than people think." Despite Trump's constant flirtations with another presidential campaign, there's been an open question as to whether he'll run at all. His political baggage could fill a cargo hold: Trump is twice impeached, accused of inciting the US Capitol attack, faces grave legal jeopardy in multiple jurisdictions, and along the way, has bludgeoned many top Republicans — up to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell —  with personal attacks. The list goes on. Yet Trump maintains a loyal, enthusiastic base that unsettles even some of the most traditional Republicans in Congress, and Axios reports his team is thinking about announcing his reelection bid on November 14. Since leaving the White House, he has maintained a robust political operation and continues to conduct campaign-style rallies across the country. The broad consensus is that if Trump runs for president in 2024, he'll definitely lock up the GOP nomination. What would happen after that is decidedly less certain.To get a sense of how Republicans view Trump's future, Insider asked seven experts from previous presidential campaigns to imagine a world in which Trump runs again in 2024 — and wins. Here's what they had to say.  People participate in a protest in support of counting all votes in the presidential election on November 5, 2020 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Chris McGrath/Getty ImagesShut up about 2020Charlie Black, founding member of Prime Policy Group who was a campaign advisor for former Ohio Gov. John Kasich's presidential campaign, is clear: He predicts neither Trump, President Joe Biden, nor Vice President Kamala Harris will be their respective parties' nominees in 2024. But when pressed on a hypothetical scenario that would involve Trump both running again and winning the presidency, Black said Trump must stop talking about the 2020 election. Trump frequently says the election was "stolen" from him, though no evidence has surfaced to support allegations of widespread voter fraud. "One reason he could lose the nomination to someone else if he ran is his maniacal focus that he stole the election," Black said. "Politics is about the future and never about the past, and he doesn't get that." Other strategists also had their doubts about the prospects of President Trump 2.0. Sarah Isgur, who was deputy campaign manager for businesswoman Carly Fiorina's 2016 presidential race, also pointed to Trump's obsession over the 2020 elections as a liability, saying voters were more concerned about issues such as inflation. Asked whether Trump could win if he stopped talking about 2020, she replied, "Can Trump turn into a unicorn?"Make even more inroads among voters of colorTrump — or any Republican who runs for the White House — should travel down inroads the former president made among voters of color, said Jeff Roe, who managed Gov. Glenn Youngkin's 2021 campaign in Virginia as well as Sen. Ted Cruz's 2016 presidential campaign. Hispanics, in particular, are becoming more conservative, said Roe, who now runs the consulting firm Axiom Strategies that represents GOP candidates all around the US. While most voters of color decisively supported Biden during the 2020 election and fueled his victory, Trump did improve his showing compared to 2016. In all, 26% of Trump's support during the last presidential election came from nonwhite voters. A report by the Democratic data firm Catalist found there was about an 8 percentage-point swing toward Trump in 2020 compared to 2016. "With that growth it's a real opportunity for Republicans," Roe said. President Joe Biden says he's planning to run for re-election in 2024.Alex Brandon/AP PhotoExplain why he thinks he can win Can Trump possibly convince voters that he can beat the current president, given that he lost to him before — in a record-high turnout election? Even Conant said it was "unlikely" Trump could win again. "He has to find people who don't yet like him to vote for him, but everyone has made up their mind on Donald Trump," said Conant, who's now founding partner at the public affairs firm Firehouse Strategies.Some GOP insiders said Trump would be able to attack Biden's record if the current president's poll numbers continued to crater. But Mike DuHaime, CEO of MAD Global Strategy Group who advised former Gov. Chris Christie's 2016 presidential campaign, said even that would prove a challenge. "Biden is seen as personally likable," DuHaime said. "That goes a long way when it comes to voting." Plus, when a candidate challenges an incumbent, he or she needs to be able to make the election a referendum on the current president, he said. "Biden is very beatable, but Trump would have a harder time than anyone else because then the race becomes about Trump," DuHaime said. "You want the race to be about the incumbent, especially if they are unpopular."This all presumes that Biden will seek a second term. The president, who is 79 years old and would be 82 on Inauguration Day 2025, has indicated he will run again and that Harris will again be his running mate. But more than a year may pass before Biden formally decides and files for re-election.'Don't die'Terry Sullivan, who managed Sen. Marco Rubio's 2016 campaign, said Trump would have an easy time winning the presidency again if he were to run, especially in a rematch against Biden. "His entire campaign was based on: 'I'm not Donald Trump. I'm going to be the responsible person. We are not going to be the laughingstock of the world. I'm going to get COVID under control. I'm going to stop stoking division,'" he said.  A year later, Sullivan said, Biden had failed to deliver on those promises, including invoking what he saw as divisive rhetoric on voting rights legislation and the filibuster."He compares anyone who disagrees with him on voting rights to a hate-mongering slave holder and the filibuster is now suddenly racist," Sullivan said. "He is so afraid of his base that he is focused on doing what he needs to do to keep them in line." His advice to Trump for winning: "Don't die."Trump is 75 years old. He would be 78 years old on Inauguration Day 2025.One 2019 white paper from the American Federation for Aging Research projected that after Inauguration 2021, Trump would live another 11.4 years. That would be just enough time to complete a full term starting in 2025, but the study would need to update its projections based on Trump's current health state on that particular year. Hillary Clinton ran for president in 2008 and 2016.Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty ImagesHillary 2.0Trump's chances in 2024 aren't just about the former president himself, but who the Democratic nominee is, agreed four of the strategists Insider interviewed, including Isgur. Despite Biden's indication he's running, rumors have been swirling among Democrats that Biden won't seek a second term.There have even been whispers about Hillary Clinton running again — a scenario that at least two GOP insiders said would be favorable for Trump. To win, "Trump would have to have the same thing he had happen in 2016, where the Democrats nominate the worst possible candidate," Black said. "It has to be someone worse than Hillary because he has way more baggage and will have way more baggage."DuHaime had a similar take. When asked how Trump would win in 2024, he replied, "Maybe run against Hillary again." "Hillary lost as much as Trump won," he said. To appeal to all voters in a general election, Trump would likely have to alter his style and control his campaign message on the stump. But Sullivan said he thought it was fruitless for Republicans to hold out hope that would happen. "Apparently they haven't watched this movie before," he said. Trump's path to victory is "pretty simple," concluded Miller. "It's through a GOP primary where he is not challenged that hard and then circumstances work in his favor in a general election," he said, "whether economic circumstance or the candidate."Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Haberman, whose new book on Trump comes out Tuesday, said she thinks it's likely the former president will run again in 2024. Then-President Donald Trump walks with White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders as they leave the White House on October 9, 2018.LIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images Sen. Tim Scott and Sarah Huckabee Sanders are being floated as Trump's potential 2024 running mates. That's according to reporting by New York Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman. Haberman said she thinks it's likely that Trump will run in 2024.  Former President Donald Trump has been considering his ex-White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina as possible running mates should he pursue a 2024 presidential campaign, according to New York Times' Maggie Haberman.Haberman, who's closely reported on Trump since the start of his political rise, shared her thoughts on the former president's 2024 ambitions during an interview with "The View" on Monday."There's a couple of people whose names have been mentioned. The one that actually gets mentioned the most by people close to him is Tim Scott from South Carolina, the senator, and then Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who's possibly the next governor of Arkansas," Haberman said when asked who she thinks Trump might pick as his vice presidential nominee if he runs.Haberman's comments come ahead of the Tuesday release of her new book, "Confidence Man," which chronicles Trump's life in New York, his four years in the White House and his post-presidency. Haberman interviewed the former president three times for the book.Since leaving office, Trump has repeatedly teased at running for president again. Haberman on Sunday told CBS News that she thinks it's likely Trump will launch a 2024 bid, but may not see his campaign all the way through. "I think that he needs the protections that running for president, he thinks, would afford him in combating investigations that he calls a 'witch hunt,'" she said. "And it is the way that he fundraises and makes money. So much of his identity now is about being a politician. So I expect that he will run. That doesn't mean that even if he declares a candidacy that he will stay in the whole time."Sanders served as Trump's second press secretary from 2017 to 2019. Before that, she had been an advisor on Trump's 2016 campaign. She's now the Republican nominee for governor in Arkansas, the office that her father, Mike Huckabee, held from 1996 to 2007.Scott, a Trump ally and the only Black Republican in the Senate, appeared open to the idea of being Trump's running mate when asked earlier this year. "I think everybody wants to be on President Trump's bandwagon, without any question," he told Fox News in February. "One of the things I've said to the president is he gets to decide the future of our party and our country because he is still the loudest voice."Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Former Mike Pence advisor Olivia Troye made the comments on CNN the same day the former vice president made a triumphant return to Capitol Hill. Former Vice President Mike Pence.Jim Vondruska/Getty Images A former advisor to Mike Pence said he has long "desired" to make a run for the Oval Office. Olivia Troye's comments to CNN come as Pence made his first visit to Capitol Hill since 2021. The visit further stoked further speculation about a possible Pence 2024 presidential run. Mike Pence has presidential aspirations, one of his former advisors said Tuesday as the former vice president stoked further speculation about a 2024 bid during a visit to Capitol Hill this week.Olivia Troye, who worked for Pence during his four years in the White House, told CNN that her former boss has long aimed to hold the nation's most powerful position."It is a known thing in Pence's orbit and those of us who worked for Mike Pence," she told the outlet. "I think he desired to make a run for the Oval Office. I think that's partially why he joined the Trump administration on his ticket."Troye's comments come as Pence made his triumphant return to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, his first visit since leaving office in January 2021. The former vice president met with the Republican Study Committee, the largest conservative congressional caucus. Members of the group praised Pence for upholding his constitutional duty on January 6, 2021 and certifying President Joe Biden's win over former President Donald Trump.Pence's visit adds further fuel to the speculative fire over whether or not he'll make a 2024 presidential bid. The conservative lawmakers on Tuesday encouraged Pence to make a run for president, according to multiple news reports. Pence, himself, however, avoided the subject, saying instead that he is focused on helping Republicans succeed in this year's upcoming midterms.Troye said the former vice president could be weighing some of the likely challenges to a campaign."I know he has aspirations to do so, and I think we'll have to see how this plays out for him given where the Republican base is right now and how much of a stronghold Trump has on the party," she told CNN. She said Pence on Tuesday aimed to focus on more traditional Republican issues, such as the national debt and foreign affairs, as opposed to frequent Trump talking points like the 2020 election. "I think you'll see him continue to tout some of the policies he supported that he felt were a success," Troye said of Pence. "I think you'll see him run on that while also trying to carefully balance, obviously, this conflict he has ongoing with the former president."Since the insurrection, Pence has distanced himself from Trump, refusing visits to the former President's Mar-a-Lago resort and maintaining no communication for more than a year. The Congressional committee investigating the January 6 attack presented testimony earlier this month that Trump said "Mike deserves it" when rioters inside the Capitol that day chanted "hang Mike Pence."Trump also continues to tease a 2024 run, albeit, more overtly than his former running mate. Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Potential presidential hopefuls are laying the groundwork for themselves on the national stage, even as they await decisions from Biden and Trump. Clockwise from top left: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R), Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D), California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).Joe Raedle, Natasha Moustache, Justin Sullivan, Paul Hennessy via Getty Images President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump could be headed for a rematch in 2024. That hasn't stopped politicians in both parties from making early moves. Without any official campaign declarations yet, a cohort testing the waters has emerged. Jockeying over the 2024 presidential election has begun even before the 2022 midterms are done and dusted.California Gov. Gavin Newsom is picking fights with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. DeSantis and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin are meeting with donors. And more than a dozen politicians have flocked to the first primary state of New Hampshire.Potential presidential hopefuls aren't waiting to lay the groundwork for themselves on the national stage, even as parties await official paperwork from President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, who have both indicated plans to run.Will Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, the runner up for the 2016 GOP nomination, give it another shot?"Time will tell," Cruz told Insider recently.Plans for many of those viewed as contenders are contingent upon decisions from Biden and Trump. But they're still making all the usual moves.If there isn't a Biden-Trump matchup, here are the people showing signs they could be in the 2024 mix:Ron DeSantisFlorida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Feb. 24, 2022, in Orlando, Fla.AP Photo/John Raoux, FileFlorida's governor, a former US House member and founding member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, has been portrayed as a MAGA star who could replace Trump. He has already beaten Trump in conservative straw polls.DeSantis has become a leader in Republican culture wars, backing measures that include a 15-week abortion ban that's been blocked by a Florida judge and the "don't say gay" law, which bans classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in grades K-3 "or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate." He's also banned math books on the basis of "critical race theory."DeSantis is a proven fundraiser with more than $100 million for his gubernatorial reelection campaign, and CNBC reports that he's headed to a private fundraiser later this month in Utah.Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Pete Buttigieg and Vice President Kamala Harris.Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty ImagesAs the only two of Biden's rivals from the 2020 primary to end up with jobs in the administration, Buttigieg and Harris are the clear heirs apparent should Biden bow out. Harris has been viewed in this context ever since her historic pick as Biden's VP nominee, while Buttigieg's early dropout and subsequent endorsement of Biden kept him and many of his staffers in the good graces of the Biden camp. Neither have been popping up to New Hampshire or Iowa outside of their official duties, but their standing in Biden's cabinet makes them early favorites for whenever the next competitive Democratic primary takes place.Mike PenceFormer US Vice President Mike Pence speaks during the Advancing Freedom Lecture Series at Stanford University on February 17, 2022 in Stanford, California.Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesAs Insider reported last June, the former vice president has already assembled a presidential campaign in waiting.Among them were his former chief of staff, Marc Short, along with his former press secretary Devin O'Malley, longtime aide Marty Obst, and former Mike Huckabee 2008 presidential campaign manager Chip Saltsman.Starting with his first speech since the January 6 insurrection, Pence, speaking to a crowd in Manchester, New Hampshire, began distancing himself from Trump's election fraud lies while still touting the accomplishments of what he describes as "the Trump-Pence administration."Unlike some other Republicans, Pence has never indicated that he will hold off on declaring a run until Trump makes a decision.J.B. Pritzker Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker attends a news conference at Highland Park Fire Department station 33., after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, a Chicago suburb on Monday, July 4, 2022.AP Photo/Nam Y. HuhDemocratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois has been testing the waters in New Hampshire and slowly building his national brand through both conventional and unconventional channels, particularly in the form of memes. Hailing from California, Pritzker has an estimated net worth of $3.6 billion as part of the family that owns the Hyatt hotel chain, Royal Caribbean cruises, and several other major assets. He first won election in 2018 and did not hold any other political office beforehand.The governor joined the New Hampshire Democrats' convention in June. He also has an unofficial army of young people who enjoy making memes of Pritzker. They identify as the "Pritzker Pals."Ted CruzSen. Ted Cruz.Win McNamee/Getty ImagesThe Lone Star State's junior senator, who drew widespread criticism for dashing off to a Mexican resort during a massive Texas power outage, came close to becoming 2016 GOP nominee with the backing of his conservative coalition. He later became a Trump loyalist, despite their savaging of each other in 2016, and was a leader among those on January 6, 2021, who objected to certifying Biden as the next president. But those ties may be unraveling. While stumping for Rep. Mo Brooks in Alabama, Cruz mocked Republicans who say, "I have Donald Trump tattooed on my rear end!"Last year, Cruz told the conservative outlet Truth Gazette that he would "absolutely" run for president again "in a heartbeat," calling his 2016 run "the most fun I've ever had in my life." Gretchen Whitmer Gov. Gretchen Whitmer introduces Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden delivers remarks about health care at Beech Woods Recreation Center October 16, 2020 in Southfield, Michigan.Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesThe Democratic Michigan governor's profile rose substantially in 2020 as she took on a Republican-controlled legislature over COVID-19 restrictions, and she became a key surrogate for the Biden campaign in the crucial swing state.Having already won statewide in the Great Lakes state, which is important in the Electoral College for Democrats, Whitmer has been identified by some beltway insiders as a potential 2024 contender if Biden sits out the race.While she hasn't been gallivanting around Iowa or New Hampshire, Whitmer did notably refrain from saying whether Biden should run for reelection in a June interview with NBC News. Glenn Youngkin Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia.AP Photo/Steve HelberRepublicans have looked to the Virginia governor's 2019 campaign for midterm inspiration after he beat former Gov. Terry McAuliffe while elevating the issue of parental rights in education.Youngkin, a former co-chief executive of The Carlyle Group, met privately with GOP megadonors in Manhattan last month, The Washington Post reported, and has launched new political groups ahead of the midterms. He has said he has "not made a decision" on a presidential bid.Gavin NewsomCalifornia Gov. Gavin Newsom (D).Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesThe California progressive, who previously served as San Francisco's mayor, survived an election to recall him as governor in September and has since emerged as a leading combative voice against DeSantis and conservatism. He invited Floridians to California, "where we still believe in freedom," in a $105,000 ad buy over the July 4 weekend, fueling national speculation about whether he's considering his own 2024 bid. The taunt drew a response from a DeSantis campaign spokesman, who said Newsom "might as well light a pile of cash on fire."Newsom was criticized in 2020 for attending a dinner at the exclusive restaurant, The French Laundry, while discouraging gatherings during California's coronavirus surge.He was once married to Kimberly Guilfoyle, who is now engaged to Donald Trump Jr.Tom CottonSenator Tom Cotton (R-AR) during questioning of Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on the second day of her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, March 22, 2022 in Washington, DC.Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty ImagesThe Arkansas Republican senator and former US Army officer is reliably conservative and was considered an ally of Trump's. However he opposed attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and called on Trump on January 6, 2021, to accept the results, "quit misleading the American people, and repudiate mob violence."Cotton has made multiple trips to Iowa and New Hampshire — Insider tracked him on one of them a couple weeks before the 2020 election — and met with donors last month to discuss potential 2024 plans, telling them that he would not be deterred from running even if Trump enters the race, POLITICO reported.Bernie SandersSen. Bernie Sanders speaks during a town hall meeting on February 3, 2016 in Derry, New Hampshire.Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesThe Vermont independent and two-time Democratic presidential candidate has described the likelihood of a third run as "very, very slim." But don't count him out yet.Sanders, a democratic socialist known for rattling the party's establishment, "has not ruled out another run for president" in the event of an open 2024 Democratic presidential primary, according to a top Sanders advisor's memo that was shared with The Washington Post in April. He was in Iowa in June to rally support for United Auto Workers, who were on strike.If Sanders wins the White House, he will be 83 by Inauguration Day 2025, just a year older than Biden would be.Rick ScottSen. Rick Scott (R-FL) meets with Seventh U.S. Circuit Court Judge Amy Coney Barrett, President Donald Trump's nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, on Capitol Hill on September 29, 2020 in Washington, DC.Photo by Susan Walsh-Pool/Getty ImagesScott's ultra-conservative plan to "Rescue America" in March drew the ire of Republicans and became a campaign talking point for Democrats, who pointed to Scott's goal of forcing millions of low- and middle-income Americans currently exempt from income taxes to pay up so "they have skin in the game." Biden has called it the "ultra-MAGA" agenda.The former Florida governor, who chairs the Senate Republicans' campaign arm, was the featured speaker at a GOP event in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, in May. The speech stirred 2024 speculation, even though Scott says he's running for re-election to the Senate. Kristi NoemSouth Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference held in the Hyatt Regency on February 27, 2021 in Orlando, Florida.Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesSouth Dakota's governor is another Republican leader who has embraced culture war issues, working to promote prayer in schools and gun rights, ban transgender women and girls from female sports, and prohibit the teaching of critical race theory.The former member of Congress, who was elected governor in 2018, is out with an ad introducing her personal story and a new book, "Not My First Rodeo: Lessons From the Heartland." Last year, her campaign registered a federal political action committee, the Noem Victory Fund, in another sign of national ambitions.Tim ScottSen. Tim Scott of South Carolina.Kevin Dietsch/Pool via APSouth Carolina's junior senator is the chamber's only Black Republican and the first Black senator from the south since Reconstruction. He has been making the rounds in New Hampshire and Iowa, generating buzz about possible presidential ambitions. When Trump was president, Scott was a reliable ally on issues such as school choice and economic development in distressed communities.Scott indicated in February that he would be open to being Trump's running mate in 2024, though he said he's "not looking" for a place on a ticket. "I think everybody wants to be on President Trump's bandwagon, without any question," he said on Fox News, adding that he told Trump that "he gets to decide the future of our party and our country because he still is still the loudest voice."Chris ChristieFormer New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.Roy Rochlin/Getty ImagesChristie, the former Republican governor from New Jersey and an occasional figure in Trumpworld, spoke at a staple of the New Hampshire primary in March. At Saint Anselm College's "Politics & Eggs" event — one of the most common first stops for candidates before they officially become candidates — Christie criticized Trump's inaction on January 6.In the 2016 GOP primary, the high point for the Christie campaign came during the New Hampshire debate, where he eviscerated Florida Sen. Marco Rubio in what became one of the most iconic debate moments in recent history. Christie ended up finishing in sixth place, 3 percentage points behind Rubio and 28 percentage points behind Trump.Mike PompeoFormer US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesTrump's former secretary of state has been a fixture on Fox News and given interviews about his weight loss, while still finding time to make a handful of trips to Iowa and New Hampshire starting in 2021.Pompeo has been far less critical of Trump compared to the likes of Pence and Christie. Privately, however, he was one of several cabinet officials who discussed removing Trump from office following the insurrection.Nikki HaleyFormer Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley speaks during the Iowa Republican Party's Lincoln Dinner, Thursday, June 24, 2021, in West Des Moines, Iowa.AP Photo/Charlie NeibergallThe former United Nations ambassador under Trump came out with a book before the end of his first term and made an early trip to New Hampshire in 2020. Haley made endorsements in the Granite State in February 2021 and networked with local lawmakers in April, but also said she won't run if Trump does. Haley revised that conditional statement in a late June trip to Iowa, where she said she'll jump in the race "if there's a place for me," dodging a question on whether that depended on Trump's decision.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

"He is the party, basically. It's so united behind him," pollster John McLaughlin said of Trump, who can easily rally the GOP's conservative base. Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas, Texas, on July 11, 2021.AP Photo/LM Otero Trump is set to have a more "personal" VP selection process if he pursues a 2024 bid, per Politico. The former president is popular among conservatives and can easily rally the party faithful. "He is the party, basically. It's so united behind him," said pollster John McLaughlin of Trump. As former President Donald Trump ponders a potential 2024 presidential candidacy, he will be less wedded to choosing a running mate for geographical balance and more attuned to the individual's sense of loyalty and their support of his debunked 2020 election claims, according to a Politico report.Trump, who stepped into the 2016 political arena as an untested candidate without a legislative record, is now the undisputed kingmaker of the party, enjoying broad popularity among base voters that gives him the flexibility to make a more unorthodox selection.John McLaughlin, one of the former president's campaign pollsters, stressed that because Trump has the GOP apparatus behind him, he won't be constrained in how he selects a governing partner."A lot of times, a presidential candidate will pick a running mate to balance out wings of the party. But with Trump, that's not the issue. He is the party, basically. It's so united behind him," he told Politico.He continued: "So his choice, if he runs, will come down to what he wants. It would be a much more personal decision this time."Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, who is currently one of the highest-profile Republicans in the country, has been routinely floated as a potential running mate since Trump left the White House.Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have also seen their stock rise as potential vice presidential picks as both men recently made forays to Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in South Florida, according to Politico.However, the legacy of former Vice President Mike Pence, Trump's governing partner of four years, isn't too far in the background.In 2016, Trump selected Pence as his No. 2 to affirm his connection to the party's dominant conservative wing and to have an experienced lawmaker who knew his way around Capitol Hill. The two men generally enjoyed a solid work partnership during their time in the White House. But they clashed in the final days of Trump's presidency after Pence certified now-President Joe Biden's 2020 electoral victory, which the former president still sees as illegitimate despite no verifiable evidence of mass fraud.The former president's advisors told Politico that the factors that led him to choose Pence in 2016 won't be as pertinent in 2024 — and he will depend more on his gut instinct.While Trump also relied on advice from his daughter, Ivanka, and her husband, former senior advisor Jared Kushner, when selecting a vice president in 2016, the pair are not slated to play a similar role in 2024, per Politico.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said on ABC's "This Week" that Donald Trump welcomes "chaos and turmoil" but only on his terms. Chris Christie (left) and Donald Trump.Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images; Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images Donald Trump and his allies have claimed that an indictment will only help his election prospects. Chris Christie, a former district attorney, said Trump thrives on "chaos and turmoil." But an indictment "never helps anybody," Christie said on ABC's "This Week." Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said on Sunday that an indictment won't help Donald Trump, countering the former president's claims that it'll only make him more popular.While discussing Trump's possible indictment for hush-money payments to adult actress Stormy Daniels, Christie said on ABC's "This Week" that Trump thrives on conflict but only when he's behind the narrative reins."The circus continues. I mean, look, he only profits and does well in chaos and turmoil. And so he wants to create the chaos and turmoil on his terms," Christie said. "He doesn't want anybody else's terms … He wants it on his terms."However, Christie, who is also a former district attorney, added: "But look at the end, being indicted never helps anybody. It's not a help."—This Week (@ThisWeekABC) March 19, 2023A few weeks before the possibility of an indictment further materialized, Trump said he "wouldn't even think about" dropping out of the 2024 race even if he was charged with a crime."Probably it will enhance my numbers," he said, per an ABC News report.Some of his closest allies echoed that sentiment."If the Manhattan DA indicts President Trump, he will ultimately win even bigger than he is already going to win," Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote on Twitter on Saturday.Twitter CEO Elon Musk also claimed Trump will be "re-elected in a landslide victory." If Manhattan prosecutors deliver an indictment, Trump would be the first former president in US history to be formally charged with a crime — let alone a former president who is also running a third election campaign.The closest a former president came to being charged with a crime was Nixon before he was granted a pardon by Gerald Ford in September 1974. The last time a presidential candidate was indicted was in 2011, when John Edwards, John Kerry's 2004 vice presidential running mate, was charged with campaign finance violations. "I don't think that the American people will probably see this as a huge crime," Christie said. "But the vision of a former president of the United States being processed, fingerprinted, mug shotted ... What else do you expect Trump to say ... than to say that it helps his campaign?"Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Jimmy Carter has four children: Jack, Chip, Jeff, and Amy. Some of his kids followed him into politics, while others stayed out of public life. Jimmy Carter with his daughter, Amy, in 1976 (left) and 1995.CWH/AP ; Rick Diamond/Getty Images Children of US presidents are in the public eye almost as much as their parents. Some first kids follow their parents into politics, while others steer clear of the limelight. Many remain involved with their parents' foundations and presidential libraries. Melissa Stanger, Melia Robinson, and James Pasley contributed to previous versions of this article.Caroline Kennedy, daughter of President John F. Kennedy and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, was just 3 years old when she moved into the White House in 1961.Caroline Kennedy perches on a swing set on the White House lawn in April 1963.CORBIS/Corbis via Getty ImagesAfter President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, Jacqueline moved the family to Manhattan.Kennedy went on to attend Radcliffe College and Columbia Law School.Kennedy served as the US ambassador to Japan for three years.Caroline Kennedy.Brian Snyder/ReutersKennedy was the first woman to serve as ambassador to Japan. During her tenure, former President Barack Obama strengthened his relationship with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. She resigned from the job shortly after President Donald Trump was sworn in in 2017.The former attorney also serves as president of the JFK Presidential Library and has written best-selling books on constitutional law, American history, and poetry.In 2019, she presented House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award.Caroline is married to American designer Edwin Schlossberg and they have three children. President Lyndon B. Johnson's daughter Lynda held her wedding at the White House in 1967.President Lyndon Johnson escorts daughter Lynda prior to her wedding ceremony in the East Room of the White House in 1967.Bettmann/Contributor/Getty ImagesLynda Bird Johnson married Chuck Robb, who went on to serve as the governor of Virginia from 1982 to 1986 and the state's senator from 1989 to 2001.The bride wore a gown designed by Geoffrey Beene, embellished with buttons at the high neck and down the princess-line seams.Today, Lynda Bird Johnson Robb advocates for equal rights for women and minorities.Lynda Bird Johnson Robb in 2013.Carolyn Kaster/APThe former Virginia first lady is the oldest living child of a US president. In the '70s, she chaired the President's Advisory Committee for Women to help carry out former President Jimmy Carter's mandate to promote gender equality.Johnson Robb, whose father signed the 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1965 Voting Rights Act, spoke at the 50th anniversary ceremony of the March on Washington and attended the remembrance banquet for the 50th anniversary of the "Bloody Sunday" assault in Selma, Alabama.She has openly supported same-sex marriage, and she and her sister, Luci, told Katie Couric in an interview in 2014 that she believes her father would have, too.In 2019, the Johnson sisters christened a warship bearing their father's name by smashing champagne bottles against the ship.The younger Johnson daughter, Luci Baines Johnson, also had a White House wedding.Luci Baines Johnson and Pat Nugent with their wedding cake at the White House in 1966.Bettmann/Contributor/Getty ImagesBaines Johnson married Patrick Nugent in 1966 in a gown designed by Priscilla Kidder.The couple held their ceremony at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and their reception in the East Room of the White House. They had four children and divorced in 1979.Baines Johnson then married investor Ian J. Turpin in 1984.Baines Johnson now chairs the private holding company her mother founded 70 years ago.Luci Baines Johnson.Jay Janner-Pool/Getty ImagesBaines Johnson and Turpin took the helm of LBJ Asset Management Partners in the late '80s and completely turned the business around during the economic crisis.In 2020, she took part in a Facebook live event supporting Texas Democrats.President Richard Nixon's daughter Tricia held her wedding in the White House Rose Garden in 1971.Edward Finch Cox and Tricia Nixon Cox at their wedding in 1971.Bettmann/Contributor/Getty ImagesTricia Nixon and Edward Finch Cox met at a high school dance in 1963 and dated throughout college.Their wedding was the first to be held outdoors in the White House Rose Garden.Today, Nixon Cox lives a quiet life with her family in Manhattan.Tricia Nixon Cox.T. J. Kirkpatrick/Getty ImagesNixon Cox accompanied her father on many campaign stops and state trips during his presidency but has steered clear of the spotlight since starting a family more than 40 years ago.Trisha serves on the board of the Richard Nixon Foundation and has one child, Christopher Nixon Cox.She and Cox celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2021 with an event at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum.Julie Nixon Eisenhower, who married President Eisenhower's grandson in 1968, volunteered as a White House tour guide during her father's presidency.Julie Nixon Eisenhower leading a tour at the White House in 1969.Bettmann/Contributor/Getty ImagesIn the summer of 1969, Nixon Eisenhower led tours of the White House for people with impaired vision."Children and adults felt the scaled serpent legs of the wooden Empire sofa in the Red Room, enjoyed the smoothness of the silk tassels on the draperies in the Green Room, and touched the cool silver of the two-hundred-year-old coffee urn that had belonged to John and Abigail Adams," she wrote in a biography of her mother titled "Pat Nixon: The Untold Story."Nixon Eisenhower has written several biographies and serves on the board of her father's presidential library.Julie Nixon Eisenhower.Cliff Owen/APA staunch supporter of her father after the Watergate scandal, Nixon Eisenhower lives on a Pennsylvania farm away from the public eye.In addition to writing a biography about her mother, she and husband David Eisenhower authored a memoir about her grandfather-in-law, "Going Home to Glory: A Memoir of Life with Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1961-1969." The couple has three children.Michael Ford (first from the right) had recently married Gayle Ann Brumbaugh when his father, President Gerald Ford, took office.From left to right: Steve Ford, John Ford, first lady Betty Ford, President Gerald Ford, Susan Ford, daughter-in-law Gayle Ann Ford, and her husband Michael Ford.White House Photos/Getty ImagesMichael was also a student at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, an evangelical seminary in Massachusetts.Michael spent 36 years overseeing campus life at Wake Forest University.Michael Ford.Rex Larsen-Pool/GettyMichael Ford, who went by "Mike," returned to his alma mater, Wake Forest University, in 1981 as associate dean of campus life, and he retired in 2017 after 36 years. He serves as a trustee of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation.He and Gayle Ann have three children.John "Jack" Gardner Ford was known as the president's "free-spirited, shaggy-haired son."John "Jack" Gardner Ford (right) with White House photographer David Hume Kennerly at the White House in 1975.David Hume Kennerly/Getty ImagesDuring Ford's presidency, Jack studied at Utah State University and worked as a park ranger at Yellowstone National Park during the summers.Jack became a founding staff member of the magazine Outside.Jack Ford.Tasos Katopodis/GettyJack grew into a successful entrepreneur. He founded a startup, California Infotech, which supplied electronic information kiosks to malls. He also helped launch Outside magazine.After appearing at half a dozen Republican National Conventions, Jack served as executive director of the San Diego host committee for the RNC in 1996. In 1989, he married Juliann Ford. They have two sons.Steven Ford was 18 years old when his father became president.Steven Ford (second from the left) chats with White House staff in 1974.David Hume Kennerly/Getty ImagesKnown as the "charmer of the family," Steven worked as a ranch hand in Utah, Montana, and Idaho instead of going straight to college.Steven became an actor, appearing in "The Young and The Restless" and several Hollywood blockbusters.Steven Ford.Alex Wong/GettySteven joined the cast of television soap opera "The Young and The Restless" in 1981, playing P.I. Andy Richards. After six seasons and a role reprisal in 2002, he has since appeared in a number of films, including "Armageddon," "Black Hawk Down," "When Harry Met Sally," and "Transformers."Ford ended his tenure as chairman of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation in 2014, though he remains on the board of trustees. He continues to honor the legacy of his father's administration, speaking at town-hall events and lectures around the country. His most requested talks are: "Inside the White House and Hollywood" and "Getting to the top with character."In 1975, 17-year-old Susan Ford held her senior prom in the East Room of the White House.Susan Ford and Sandcastle front man Billy Etheridge dance at the 1975 Holton Arms School Senior Prom.CORBIS/Corbis via Getty ImagesThe youngest of the Ford children, Susan lived in the White House full-time. Her senior class raised all the funds for the prom, including the fee for bands Sandcastle and the Outerspace Band, and elected her prom queen, according to Vanity Fair. It remains the only prom to have ever been held in the White House.Susan also took up photography under the mentorship of White House photographer David Kennerly.Susan Ford Bales has since worked as a photojournalist, breast cancer advocate, and trustee of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation.Susan Ford Bales.GettyFord Bales worked as a photojournalist for the Associated Press, Newsweek, Money Magazine, Ladies Home Journal, the Topeka Capital-Journal, and the Omaha Sun. She has also written two novels set in the White House, "Double Exposure: A First Daughter Mystery"  and "Sharp Focus."Ford Bales launched National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in conjunction with her mother, and she succeeded her mother as chairwoman of the Betty Ford Center. She has also called for better efforts to identify causes and cures to heart disease, after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest herself in 2013.She married Charles Vance, one of her father's former secret service agents, and they had two children before divorcing in 1988. She later married attorney Vaden Bales.John William "Jack" Carter is President Jimmy Carter and first lady Rosalynn Carter's oldest son.A portrait of President Jimmy Carter and his extended family. Jack Carter is third from the left, holding son Jason James Carter.CORBIS/Corbis via Getty ImagesJack and his then-wife Judy had a young son of their own, Jason James, when Jimmy Carter took office.Jack ran for a Nevada seat in the US Senate.Jack Carter.John Locher/APIn 2006, Jack ran for the first major office the Carter family has sought since 1980. He sealed the Democratic nomination for a US Senate seat in Nevada, but was unsuccessful against an incumbent Republican senator in the general election.Jack spent most of his career in the investment and finance industry. He has been married twice and has two children.James Earl "Chip" Carter worked for his family's peanut farming business.Chip Carter and Caron Griffith at President Jimmy Carter's Inaugural Ball in 1977.Mikki Ansin/Getty ImagesHe attended his father's inaugural ball with his then-wife Caron Griffith in 1977, where they were interviewed by American gossip columnist Rona Barrett.Chip has since participated in the Democratic National Committee and served as a member of Plains City Council.Chip Carter.John Bazemore/APChip worked as vice president, then president and CEO, at Friendship Force, a not-for-profit that organized international exchanges for adult home stays.He has been married three times and has a son and a daughter.His son James Carter IV — the grandson of President Carter — made headlines during the 2012 presidential election after he helped unearth the infamous "47%" video that ostracized nominee Mitt Romney. James Carter IV later received a thank-you note from former President Barack Obama.Donnel Jeffrey "Jeff" Carter and his wife, Annette, were newlyweds when they moved into the White House with his parents.Jeff Carter, the son of President Jimmy Carter, with his wife, Annette.Wally McNamee/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty ImagesJeff and Annette met at Georgia Southwestern University and married in 1975 during Jimmy Carter's presidential campaign. They spent the first years of their married life in the White House."While living in the White House, Jeff and Annette helped host everybody from Bob Dylan to Pope John Paul II," their son Josh wrote in Annette's obituary in September 2021. "In some of Annette's favorite White House memories, she greeted the cast of Star Wars after the release of 'A New Hope' and John Travolta after he starred in 'Saturday Night Fever' and 'Grease.' These experiences were quite extraordinary for Jeff and Annette's first few years of marriage."Jeff launched a computer-electronics company.Jeff Carter volunteering with Habitat for Humanity.R. Diamond/WireImage/Getty ImagesJeff co-founded Computer Mapping Consultants, a firm that became a consultancy for the World Bank in 1978 and held foreign government contracts.He and Annette had three children together. In 2018, their 28-year-old son Jeremy died from a suspected heart attack.President Jimmy Carter's youngest child, Amy Carter, was 9 years old when her father's presidency began.Rosalynn Carter, Jimmy Carter, and Amy Carter on the South Lawn of the White House in 1977.HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty ImagesAmy had a pet Siamese cat named Misty who accompanied her to Camp David and took up residence in her doll house.Amy illustrated a children's book that her father wrote.Amy Carter with husband Jay Kelly and son Hugo Carter in 2008.Rick Diamond/Staff/WireImage/Getty ImagesAmy became a political activist in the '80s and '90s, and she was even arrested at a CIA recruitment protest. She later received a master's degree from Tulane in art history and wed computer consultant James Wentzel in 1996. At her wedding ceremony she was not given away, saying she did not belong to anyone. She had one child with Wentzel, a son named Hugo James Wentzel. They later divorced, and she married John Joseph "Jay" Kelly in 2007. They share another son, Errol Carter Kelly.Amy worked with her dad on the 1995 children's book "The Little Baby Snoogle-Fleejer," which Jimmy wrote and she illustrated, about a boy who befriends a monster. She remains a board member of the Carter Center, but she has otherwise stayed out of public life.Michael Reagan was adopted by Ronald Reagan and his first wife, Jane Wyman, three years before the couple divorced.President Ronald Reagan with son Michael Reagan in the doorway of Marine One.Diana Walker/Getty ImagesHe is the last living child of Reagan's first marriage.Michael became a successful radio talk-show host.Michael Reagan.Getty ImagesAfter a stint working in aerospace, the powerboat-racing enthusiast found his niche as a political radio talk-show host. He hosted the show for over 26 years. In his retirement, Michael writes op-ed articles, contributes to Newsmax Media, and serves as president of The Reagan Legacy Foundation.Michael, 76, has been married twice and has two children.Reagan's daughter Patti followed in her father's footsteps as an actress.President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan with daughter Patti Davis (right), and son Ron Jr. and his wife Doria (left) at the White House on Christmas.Bettmann/Contributor/Getty ImagesDuring the 1980s, she appeared in TV movies such as "Curse of the Pink Panther" and "For Ladies Only," as well as shows like "Romance Theatre" and "The Love Boat."She didn't always have the easiest relationship with her parents — she wrote a tell-all memoir detailing "her father's emotional abandonment of her, her mother's cruelty, and the family's bitter rivalries, uncontrollable rage, and dark secrets."Patti married Paul Grilley in 1984. They divorced in 1990.Davis is the author of multiple fiction and nonfiction novels.Patti Davis.Associated Press/Chris PizzelloDavis has opened up about struggling with a number of personal obstacles, including drug addiction, self-harm, and an eating disorder, and published more than half a dozen works.She blogs regularly on her website and in 2017, wrote an editorial on her father's shooter called "Don't Let My Dad's Shooter Go Free." In 2019, she said her father would be "horrified" about democracy during the era of President Donald Trump.She released her latest memoir, "Floating in the Deep End: How Caregivers Can See Beyond Alzheimer's," in September 2021.Ron Reagan Jr. dropped out of Yale to become a professional ballet dancer.President Reagan watching Ron hug Nancy after a ballet performance in 1981.Owen Franken/Corbis via Getty ImagesAs a member of the Joffrey Ballet, Reagan Jr. danced in John Cranko's ''The Taming of the Shrew'' at City Center, Frederick Ashton's ''Illuminations,'' Mr. Cranko's ''Pineapple Poll,'' and Antony Tudor's ''Offenbach in the Underworld.'' He left the ballet company in 1983.Reagan Jr. now provides political analysis as an MSNBC contributor.Ron Reagan.Getty ImagesReagan Jr. tried his hand at a number of careers before arriving in journalism and joining MSNBC as a political analysis contributor. He has expressed strong opposition to Trump.Unlike his father, Reagan Jr. has very liberal political views. The "unabashed atheist" recorded a comical PSA for the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which ran during Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" in 2014.He married Doria Palmieri, a clinical psychologist, in 1980. She died in 2014, and he married Federica Basagni in 2018.George W. Bush, the oldest of President George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush's children, went to Yale and worked in the oil business before venturing into politics himself.George W. Bush (first on right) at his father's inauguration in 1989.Diana Walker/Getty ImagesGeorge W. Bush campaigned for his father in 1988 and purchased the Texas Rangers baseball team a year later. He served as governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000.He served as president from 2001 to 2009, and he has since taken up painting.George W. Bush.Alex Brandon / Pool / GettyGeorge W. Bush served as the 43rd president at the start of the war in Iraq. He was criticized for his handling of the "War on Terror," Hurricane Katrina, and other challenges. He has mostly steered clear of politics since leaving office, but he called for the end of the partial government shutdown on Instagram in 2019 with a photo featuring him and his wife, Laura Bush, handing pizza over to their Secret Service detail, who were working without pay.In April, he revealed that he wrote in Condoleezza Rice's name on his 2020 election ballot."She knows it," he told People magazine. "But she told me she would refuse to accept the office."He also gave the maximum allowed political contributions to Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, two Republicans who supported impeaching former President Donald Trump over the January 6 Capitol riot.Today, he is enjoying retirement as a grandfather and an artist. In April, he released a book of paintings titled, "Out of Many, One: Portraits of America's Immigrants." His friendship with former first lady Michelle Obama has also made headlines.John Ellis "Jeb" Bush stayed in close contact with his father's administration as he pursued his own political ambitions.President George H.W. Bush speaks in 1991 as Jeb Bush and Barbara Bush look on.Dirck Halstead/Getty ImagesJeb transitioned from corporate life to public office in the '80s — first as the chairman of the Dade County Republican Party and eventually as governor of Florida.Jeb frequently wrote letters to his father during his presidency with various requests, ranging from suggestions for appointees for United States attorney to meetings with Motorola. The New York Times reported in 2015 that Jeb's requests often served to reward supporters and build out his own political connections.After serving as governor of Florida and running for president in 2015, Jeb became a college professor.Jeb Bush.Getty Images/Bryan BedderDuring his presidential campaign, he released 33 years of tax returns — the most ever made public by a presidential candidate — as a sign to voters that he values transparency.Since his presidential run, Jeb has been spending time teaching, first as a visiting fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, then teaching a class at Texas A&M before being named presidential professor of practice at the University of Pennsylvania.He published an op-ed in the Miami Herald in 2020 calling for a "student and parents 'bill of rights' that secures their right to access, quality and transparency."He married Columba Garnica Gallo in 1974 and they have three children.Neil Bush's experience with dyslexia inspired Barbara Bush's focus on childhood literacy programs as first lady.Neil Bush reads to elementary school children.Bettmann/Contributor/Getty ImagesHe earned a bachelor's degree and an MBA from Tulane University and then founded educational software company Ignite! Learning in 1999 after struggling with dyslexia as a child.An international businessman, Neil currently chairs the board of directors at Points of Light, the philanthropic group his father founded.Neil Bush.Getty ImagesIn addition to Points of Light, Neil chairs the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation, the Bush China US Relations Foundation, and several property development companies and consulting firms.Neil married Sharon Bush and they had three children. In 2003, they divorced and he married Maria Andrews in 2004.Marvin Bush attended the University of Virginia and worked in insurance.Marvin Bush (left) and Dorothy Bush in 1990.Ron Sachs/CNP/Getty ImagesHis family gave him the nickname "Marvelous," according to The New York Times.Today, Marvin Bush is a managing partner at an investment firm in Washington, DC.Marvin Bush.Andrew Harnik/APMarvin is president of the Washington, DC-based investment firm Winston Capital Management.Marvin made headlines during the 2016 presidential election when he endorsed Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson over Trump after his brother Jeb's exit from the race.He married Margaret Conway in 1981 and they adopted two children.Dorothy Bush married former Democratic aide Robert "Bobby" Koch in a private ceremony at Camp David in 1992.Dorothy Bush Koch (right) and Bobby Koch at the 1992 Republican National Convention.CHRIS WILKINS/AFP via Getty ImagesThe private Camp David nuptials were Dorothy's second wedding. Koch previously worked as an aide to Rep. Richard Gephardt, a Democratic congressman from Missouri."I think every once in a while, even a president's family is entitled to something private," President Bush said, according to The Washington Post. "And certainly when it comes to the marriage of a daughter, that's the way we looked at it."Dorothy Bush Koch authored a book about her experience as a first kid.Dorothy Bush Koch.Getty ImagesDorothy is involved in a number of charities and philanthropies, and she serves as the honorary co-chair of The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy.She published "My Father, My President: A Personal Account of the Life of George H. W. Bush," a memoir of her life as the 41st president's daughter. She also helped found a wellness company that educates people about mindfulness and holistic living.She and Koch live in Maryland. She has four children, two of whom are from her first marriage.Chelsea Clinton was 12 years old when Bill Clinton entered the White House.President Bill Clinton, first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Chelsea Clinton.Dirck Halstead/Getty ImagesThe Clintons asked the media to give Chelsea privacy outside of public appearances, but she still faced intense scrutiny and ridicule from the likes of Rush Limbaugh and "Saturday Night Live."She began studying at Stanford University in 1997.Chelsea Clinton serves as vice chair of the Clinton Foundation.Chelsea Clinton.Rob Kim/Getty ImagesChelsea is currently vice chair of the Clinton Foundation, where she champions the group's advocacy work in global health and childhood obesity. She previously worked as a special correspondent for NBC News and earned two master's degrees, one from Oxford in international relations and one in public health from Columbia University.Chelsea has written several children's books, and she's active on Twitter discussing issues facing families, public health, and dealing with bullies.While her mother, Hillary, lost the presidency to Trump, Chelsea said a future for her in politics was a "definite maybe."She and her husband, Marc Mezvinsky, have three children.President George W. Bush's older twin daughter, Barbara Pierce Bush, graduated from Yale during his presidency and moved to New York City.Barbara Bush in 2003.Sylvain Gaboury/FilmMagic/Getty ImagesBarbara and her twin sister, Jenna, campaigned for their father and gave a speech at the 2004 Republican National Convention."Jenna and I are really not very political, but we love our dad too much to stand back and watch from the sidelines," Barbara said in the RNC speech. "We realized that this would be his last campaign, and we wanted to be a part of it. Besides, since we've graduated from college, we are looking around for something to do for the next few years. Kind of like Dad."Barbara went on to cofound Global Health Corps and support Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign.Barbara Pierce Bush.Andrew Burton/ReutersWithin five years of graduating from Yale, Barbara cofounded Global Health Corps, a nonprofit that recruits young professionals to fight for better access to healthcare around the world. Before that, she worked at a children's hospital in South Africa and interned for UNICEF in Botswana.Barbara's political views differ from her family's. She spoke out in support of same-sex marriage in 2011 and was a noted Hillary Clinton supporter during the 2016 election.In 2017, she and her sister, Jenna Hager Bush, released a memoir called "Sisters First" about growing up in a political dynasty.That same year, Barbara married screenwriter Craig Coyne at the Bush family's Walker Point compound in Maine. They welcomed a daughter in 2021.She currently works as executive-in-residence with Eric Schmidt's Schmidt Futures, a venture facility "focused on technology & society, shared prosperity, and scientific benefit."The younger Bush twin, Jenna, graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2004 and began working in a DC charter school.President George W. Bush dances with his daughter Jenna as first lady Laura Bush looks on at the inauguration in 2001.DON EMMERT/AFP via Getty ImagesThe younger of the Bushes' twin daughters, Jenna earned a degree in English and worked as a teacher's aide at a charter school in Washington, DC. She took a leave of absence in 2006 to work for UNICEF in Latin America before returning to the school.Jenna Bush Hager is now a host for NBC's "Today" show.Jenna Bush Hager.Richard Drew/APIn 2008, Jenna released a book inspired by her work with UNICEF called "Ana's Story: A Journey of Hope."She began working as a correspondent for NBC News in 2009 and was announced as the new host for the 10 o'clock hour of the "Today" show in 2019. Since taking over at "Today," she has begun a monthly book club that's been so successful it prompted Entertainment Weekly to dub her the new "book club queen." She also serves as a board member on the Greenwich International Film Festival.She and her husband, Henry Hager, have three children.Malia Obama was 10 years old when President Barack Obama took office.Malia Obama runs with Bo on the South Lawn of the White House in 2009.SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty ImagesMalia attended Sidwell Friends School in Washington, DC.In a 2015 appearance on "The Rachael Ray Show," former first lady Michelle Obama said that Malia's Secret Service detail taught her how to drive "because they wouldn't let me in the car with her."Malia graduated from Harvard in 2021 and is reportedly working with Donald Glover on a new Amazon Prime show, "Hive."Former president Barack Obama and his daughter Malia in 2016.Kevin Lamarque/ReutersMalia's interest in the entertainment industry began in high school. She interned on the canceled CBS series "Extant" in 2014, and she spent the summer of 2015 interning on Lena Dunham's HBO series "Girls."After graduating high school in 2016, she took a gap year where she interned at the now-defunct film studio The Weinstein Company.In 2021, Glover reportedly asked Malia to join the writing staff of his new Amazon show, "Hive," about a "Beyoncé-like" figure, sources told The Hollywood Reporter.In 2017, she reportedly began dating Rory Farquharson — son of British investment banker Charles Farquharson — whom she met at Harvard. Obama revealed on a 2020 episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast that Malia's boyfriend spent time living with them during the pandemic."He's British. Wonderful young man, and he was sort of stuck because there was a whole visa thing and he had a job set up," he said. "So we took him in, and I didn't want to like him, but he's a good kid. The only thing you discover ... young men eat! It's weird to watch them consume food. My grocery bill went up about 30 percent."At 7 years old, Sasha Obama was the youngest child to live in the White House since John F. Kennedy Jr.Sasha Obama at President Barack Obama's inauguration in 2009.Charles Ommanney/Getty ImagesSasha also attended Sidwell Friends School, where she became close friends with President Joe Biden's granddaughter Maisy Biden. Sasha and Maisy played together on the school's Vipers basketball team, which Obama briefly coached before a rival team complained.Sasha is currently a senior at the University of Michigan.Sisters Malia (left) and Sasha Obama.Olivier Douliery/GettyIn 2016, Sasha worked in the takeout window at Nancy's, a seafood restaurant on Martha's Vineyard, with six Secret Service agents in tow. Her and her sister's reaction to meeting "Deadpool" star Ryan Reynolds also went viral that same year.She moved back home at the beginning of the pandemic and continued taking her college classes online, but Michelle Obama told Stephen Colbert on "The Late Show" that both Sasha and Malia eventually had enough quality time with their parents and moved out west."By the summer, we were like, 'OK, that's enough of you. I have nothing else to say,'" she said. "Our youngest, Sasha, who's not as talkative as our older one, is just like, 'I really have nothing to say to you. I just don't. I'm not even trying anymore.'"Donald Trump Jr. served as executive vice president for the Trump organization and was instrumental in his father's presidential campaign.Donald Trump Jr.Brendan McDermid/ReutersAs executive vice president, Trump Jr. focused on expanding the commercial and real estate side of the business, and he appeared on "The Apprentice."He played a key role in his father's election campaign, making $50,000 speeches on his behalf and famously meeting with a Russian lawyer at Trump Tower in June 2016 to get "dirt" on Clinton.He and his ex-wife, Vanessa, with whom he shares five children, finalized their divorce in February 2018, and he began dating former Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle that May.Trump Jr. continues to speak at Trump rallies, bought a house in Florida, and is engaged to Guilfoyle.Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle at CPAC in 2021.Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesIn March 2021, Trump Jr. and Guilfoyle sold their house in the Hamptons for $8 million and purchased a $9.7 million home in the gated Admirals Cove neighborhood of Jupiter, Florida, about 20 minutes from Mar-a-Lago.In January 2022, Guilfoyle posted a photo with Trump Jr. where she appeared to be wearing a diamond ring on her left ring finger. Guilfoyle confirmed their engagement in an Instagram post calling Trump Jr. her fiancé in February 2022.Last year, Trump Jr. was named — along with his father and two of his siblings, Ivanka and Eric — in a civil lawsuit filed by New York's attorney general Letitia James, who accused them of overvaluing the former president's assets by billions of dollars to banks and insurers. The defendants are fighting back against the lawsuit, claiming in January that the Trump Organization can't be sued because the name is branding shorthand, not a legal entity, Insider's Laura Italiano reported.Trump's daughter Ivanka served as an official advisor to her father in the White House.Ivanka Trump in 2019.Yuri Gripas/ReutersIvanka Trump served as a White House advisor to her father beginning in early 2017. In 2018, she was criticized for using a personal account to send hundreds of government-related emails.Before that, she worked at the Trump Organization with her brothers, but she resigned to avoid any conflicts of interest. She also had her own Ivanka Trump fashion brand, which she shut down in July 2018.In her early life, she modeled for brands like Tommy Hilfiger and Versace. She later appeared on "The Apprentice" as well as appearing on an episode of "Gossip Girl".She is married to real estate developer Jared Kushner, who also worked with her at the White House. They have three young children.Since Trump's presidency, Ivanka and Kushner have bought multiple properties in Florida and continued work on Kushner's Abraham Accords Caucus.Ivanka Trump on a walk with Jared Kushner in Florida in June 2021.MEGA/GC ImagesIvanka and Kushner reportedly bought a $32 million empty lot in Indian Creek Village, Florida, known as Miami's "Billionaire Bunker," in December 2020. They then signed a lease for a "large, unfurnished unit" in the amenities-packed Arte Surfside condominium building in Surfside, Florida, for at least a year, Katherine Clarke reported for The Wall Street Journal. They reportedly also added a $24 million mansion in Indian Creek Village to their Florida real estate profile.The Abraham Accords, which Kushner helped broker in August 2020, normalized relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco.During a visit to Israel in October 2021, Ivanka and Kushner met with former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and attended an event at the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem with former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.Ivanka has also been cooperating with the House committee investigating the Capitol riot, appearing for eight hours of questioning in April 2022.Like his older brother, Eric Trump worked as an executive vice president at the family business and appeared on "The Apprentice" before Trump's presidency.Eric Trump appears on the "Fox & friends" television program.AP/Richard DrewIn 2007, Eric created a charitable foundation to raise money for St. Jude Children's Research hospital in Tennessee, but he later stopped fundraising to avoid confusion around donations in the wake of his father's run to be president. In 2017, the foundation came under fire when a Forbes report alleged that thousands in donations were funneled to the Trump Organization. A spokesperson responded, "Contrary to recent reports, at no time did the Trump Organization profit in any way from the foundation or any of its activities."In 2014, he married Lara Lea Yunaska. They have two children.He is still a vice president at the Trump Organization, which is currently being investigated for fraud, and is a regular on Fox News.Eric Trump and Lara Trump exit Air Force One following Biden's inauguration.Noam Galai/Getty ImagesThe New York attorney general is investigating the Trump Organization's financial dealings, and 2022 court filings detailed the AG office's accusations against the company, including improperly inflated property values. Donald Trump has denied all wrongdoing and accused the probes of being politically motivated.Eric was subpoenaed in the investigation in late 2020, but he invoked the Fifth Amendment right more than 500 times when they were deposed in 2020, New York State Attorney General Letitia James' office said, according to court documents.In March 2021, he and his wife, Lara Trump, bought a $3.2 million estate in Jupiter, Florida, inside the Trump National Golf Club gated community.Eric has also made regular appearances on Fox News, criticizing President Joe Biden's leadership and weekend trips to Delaware.Tiffany Trump was in law school when her father took office.Tiffany Trump prepares to speak at the Republican Convention in Cleveland 2016.Carlo Allegri/ReutersTiffany is the only daughter from the president's second marriage to television personality Marla Maples. When she was 14, she released a single called "Like A Bird," and she said she was considering becoming a professional singer on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." She was later profiled as one of the "Rich Kids of Instagram" and has 1 million followers on the social network.Tiffany is currently living in Miami with husband Michael Boulos, whom she married in November.Tiffany Trump and Michael Boulos in May 2021.Sam Navarro/USA TODAY Sports/ReutersTiffany graduated from Georgetown University's law school in 2020.She married Michael Boulos, a businessman whose family owns a multibillion-dollar conglomerate of companies in Lagos, Nigeria, at Mar-a-Lago in November.Barron Trump moved into the White House in June 2017 after finishing out the school year at Trump Tower in Manhattan.Barron Trump.Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesBarron was the first boy to live in the White House since John F. Kennedy Jr.While living in the White House, he attended St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Maryland, where tuition costs about $40,000 a year.In May 2017, he took his classmates to meet his dad at the White House.Barron is finishing high school at Oxbridge Academy in Palm Beach, Florida.Melania Trump and son Barron Trump leave Trump Tower in New York City in July 2021.James Devaney/GC ImagesBarron, who Donald Trump says is now 6 feet 7 inches tall, will graduate high school with the class of 2024. He visited New York City with his mother, former first lady Melania Trump, in July 2021.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

The notion that an attack from Trump could be deemed as sexist might not be tolerated by many GOP voters, per strategists who spoke with the NYT. Former South Carolina Governor and 2024 presidential candidate Nikki Haley campaigns in Exeter, New Hampshire, on February 16, 2023.AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty Nikki Haley is embarking on a trailblazing bid as she seeks the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. However, GOP voters might not be receptive to accusations of sexism in political attacks. A New Hampshire GOP committeewoman said some in the party wanted "to put women back into the 1960s." On the same day that South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley launched her campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, she rejected the idea of "identity politics" and embarked on a historic path to potentially serve as her party's standard-bearer."I don't believe in that," Haley said of the aforementioned term while campaigning in Charleston, SC, on Wednesday. "And I don't believe in glass ceilings, either. I believe in creating a country where anyone can do anything."Haley joins former President Donald Trump as the two major candidates currently in the GOP field, with the ex-president already attacking her record, despite her serving in his administration as ambassador to the United Nations.But for many Republicans, Haley will have to prove her mettle against Trump, and the notion that a political attack could be deemed as sexist might not be tolerated by many base voters, according to several strategists who spoke with The New York Times.In one of the early nominating states, Republicans are already seeing action on the ground among candidates, both declared and undecided.New Hampshire Republican National Committeewoman Juliana Bergeron told the newspaper that she saw Haley as a  "credible" candidate but had cautionary words for women navigating the dynamics of Republican politics."There are people in our party that want to put women back into the 1960s, and so therefore I think it makes it somewhat more difficult for women in our party," she said. "And I wish I didn't have to say that, but that's how I feel."While GOP voters have backed female gubernatorial candidates over the years, including Haley and current figures like Govs. Kristi Noem of South Dakota and Kim Reynolds of Iowa, only a few Republican women have sought the presidency. If Haley were to win the GOP presidential nomination, she'd be the first female in party history to do so.In 2015, then-GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina, the former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard, was seen by many observers as a candidate who could potentially attract the support of traditional conservatives and business-oriented Republicans.However, Trump launched an array of attacks on Fiorina, notably during an interview with Rolling Stone. "Look at that face!" he said at the time. "Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?""I mean, she's a woman, and I'm not s'posed ta say bad things, but really folks, come on. Are we serious?" he added.Trump said during a subsequent Fox News appearance that he was speaking of Fiorina's "persona" and not her appearance but the interview fueled a national debate about sexism when Fiorina was seeking to focus on the merits of her campaign.She eventually left the race in February 2016 and was tapped by Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas to serve as his vice presidential running mate that April, but Trump edged out Cruz to win the GOP nomination that year.Representatives for Trump did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Both Joe Biden and Donald Trump are already going after DeSantis over his past positions that he took while in Congress. Then-Rep. Ron DeSantis of Florida leaves the US Capitol in 2014. Congressman DeSantis' voting record could pose problems for his presidential campaign.Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call Ron DeSantis is coming under fire from both parties as he weighs a presidential campaign. Trump has made it clear that he will attack DeSantis' past support for changes to Social Security and Medicare. DeSantis' time in Congress could become a further source for future campaign fodder.  It seems everyone wants to go after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump took shots at him just this week, even though the popular Republican governor has yet to announce a presidential campaign. These early attempts to define DeSantis also underline how one of this biggest liabilities may be his past as a rank-and-file conservative in Congress before his meteoric rise as a Purple state governor. The frequent Fox News guest is popular with some of Trump's populist base. Even a brief review of DeSantis' record showcases the vulnerabilities that could lie ahead. Here's a look at some of the key topics DeSantis' anticipated presidential campaign is almost certain to have to contend with:DeSantis went even further than Paul Ryan on changing Social Security and Medicare As a congressional candidate, DeSantis repeatedly expressed support for Rep. Paul Ryan's proposed overhaul to entitlement programs by privatizing aspects of Medicare and Social Security, as CNN's Andrew Kaczynski and Em Steck uncovered earlier this week.Congressman DeSantis went even further than that position. As Josh Barro wrote, DeSantis supported the even more drastic Republican Study Committee's budget proposal that aimed to balance the federal budget in four years, instead of Ryan's decade. To achieve such cuts, as the Committee for the Responsible Budget detailed back then, required changing Medicare to a partially private system by 2019 and raising the retirement age to 70. It would have also increased the full retirement age for Social Security to 70 as well.There's a reason why changing these massively popular programs is regarded as one of the "third rails" of American politics. The AARP tore into Ryan's proposal at the time, particularly for its proposed changes to social security. The Obama campaign later delighted in bashing Republicans over Ryan's ideas after then-former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney tapped him as his 2012 running mate. And DeSantis endorsed changes that went beyond what Ryan wanted.Normally, this would be considered a general election vulnerability. Republicans for decades proposed all sorts of changes and cuts to entitlement programs.But Trump is not an average Republican. He has certainly never been a movement conservative unlike DeSantis or former Vice President Mike Pence, who chaired the influential Republican Study Committee less than a decade before DeSantis arrived in Washington. How else would you explain someone who used to be a registered Democrat, flirted with the reform party, and once explained his pro-abortion views as a product of living in New York and not Iowa?Trump has made it clear that he would not propose cuts to Social Security and Medicare and is ready to attack 2024 nomination challengers who have in the past. He backed a nationwide sales tax to replace the current tax code.Like other 2024 contenders, DeSantis supported a nationwide sales tax system known as the "Fair Tax." Less than a month after joining Congress, the Floridian co-sponsored a bill that would have abolished the IRS and empowered states to collect what would start out as a 23% national sales tax*. (Different calculations could mean that the tax would be 30%) There would have also been some monthly rebates for certain families that met size and income standards.Then-Rep. Ron DeSantis flips through a packet about the IRS during a 2016 hearing.Andrew Harnik/APThe idea has been around for decades. The once-fringe proposal has received renewed focus amid the possibility that Speaker Kevin McCarthy may allow a floor vote on it. Outside of conservative circles, the idea is viewed as politically dicey. On its very face, the tax would be far more regressive than the current system. A Tax Policy Center analysis found from 2012 found that middle-class households would see a net tax increase while wealthier Americans would bank a "sizable cut."But once again, this might not just be a general election problem. Trump, as Semafor previously reported, is keen to remind Republicans who used to support this idea.He voted against renewing the Violence Against Women ActThis is not a new potential attack. Florida Democrats hammered DeSantis when he first ran for governor over his 2013 vote against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act. Insider couldn't find any comments he made at the time, but he was far from the only Republican or even the only Florida Republican to vote against the bill. —andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) February 9, 2023 Sen. Marco Rubio said then that he opposed the bill due to new provisions, including what he viewed as an improper shift from domestic violence programs to sexual assault programs, Politico reported at the time. Other House Republicans were also opposed to the Democratic-led Senate bill that would have expanded access to certain visas to non-citizens who were victims of domestic violence, CNN reported at the time. This provision was later removed from the bill.Biden, who was then vice president, later took aim at House Republicans whose opposition slowed the renewal by a year, saying they were "this sort of Neanderthal crowd."US Republican presidential candidate John McCain and his daughter Meghan McCain (L) attend a campaign rally at Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio on October 19, 2008.ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty ImagesRepublicans haven't had to deal with a nominee with a voting history in a long time.It is expected that DeSantis may not announce until after Florida lawmakers complete their regular session in May. In the meantime, his potential future rivals, including Biden, will continue to attack some of his current actions. The president went after DeSantis earlier this week for blocking Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. Florida is just one of 12 states that haven't expanded Medicaid.Republicans haven't faced the possibility of nominating someone with a congressional voting record in over a decade. Besides DeSantis, Pence, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem all served in Congress. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott is reportedly weighing a campaign too. While his colleagues Sens. Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio both ran in 2016.Trump had made a plethora of public statements over decades, but roll call votes lay bare critical issues in a way few other things can. Even now-Sen. Mitt Romney carried the GOP banner as a former governor and executive. It was Ryan's history that gave the Obama campaign more positions to tear apart.This being Congress, votes often take place for messaging bills that stand little chance of becoming law or massive compromises that include a bunch of unrelated policies.In recent years, Republicans have taken a number of votes that could age poorly in a general election. Voters are looking at abortion positions with fresh scrutiny. After years of failing to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Obamacare now enjoys majority support. And some of the ways the GOP tried to repeal the law, including a last-ditch so-called "skinny repeal," may be tough to explain. Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Jason Miller, who left Trump's team in 2021 to become CEO of Gettr, has joined the former president's so-far underwhelming 2024 campaign. Jason Miller at Trump Tower in November 2016.Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo Jason Miller will advise Donald Trump on the strategy of his 2024 presidential bid. He previously left the Trump campaign to become CEO of the right-wing social media platform Gettr. Miller is joining a team that is struggling to generate the same excitement as past campaigns. Jason Miller, who left the team of former President Donald Trump in 2021 to become CEO of the right-wing social media network Gettr, will be returning to Trump's team to work on his 2024 presidential bid.Miller, who worked on Trump's campaigns in 2016 and 2020, was brought on board in 2016 to professionalize the Trump communications operation, later serving as a spokesperson for Trump's 2017 transition team.He will now be a senior advisor for the 2024 presidential run, advising the former president on strategy, Politico reported."It was always a matter of when and not if I returned to help re-elect President Trump in 2024," Miller said in a statement, per Politico."You can impact the world a lot by launching a social media platform, but nothing compares to getting President Trump back into office," Miller added.Miller is joining around 40 members of staff on Trump's campaign, which includes a mixture of familiar faces from previous campaigns and other longtime Republican operatives.Susie Wiles, who helped run Gov. Ron DeSantis' winning 2018 gubernatorial campaign, and Chris LaCivita, a veteran Republican strategist, are part of the 2024 bid.Steven Cheung, his former White House assistant communications director, and Tony Fabrizio, who was Trump's 2016 pollster, have also made a return, per TIME magazine.The campaign, however, has gotten off to a rocky start, failing to attract the same level of excitement as his previous runs.Trump announced that he was running a week after his party underperformed against expectations in the midterm elections, leading to accusations that his endorsement strategy had failed. This led to speculation that Trump had diminished his standing with the GOP.Former Trump White House press aide Sarah Matthews described the campaign launch in a tweet as "low-energy" and "uninspiring."A controversial dinner with Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, and self-described white supremacist Nick Fuentes also drew sharp criticism from Republicans.And there are multiple criminal and civil investigations into Trump that risk clouding his campaign message.Meanwhile, two major conservative groups, the Club For Growth group and billionaire Charles Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity, have both signaled they are open to supporting someone other than Trump, according to The Independent.Several former longtime allies have also deserted the former president, including former Gov. Chris Christie, who described Trump as a "serial loser," as well as evangelical Christian leaders and Mike Pence, his former vice president.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

What Is Mike Pompeo Running For? Authored by A.B. Stoddard via RealClear Wire, The Chinese spy balloon was perfect for Mike Pompeo, an opportunity that fell from the sky. He has been running for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination since 2021 and badly needs a way to stand out. BalloonGate gives Pompeo a mini moment to weigh in as a national security hawk, call President Biden weak, and tweet about his important experience on the world stage. “I took many shots at the CCP during my time in the Trump administration. Read more in my new book ‘Never Give An Inch,’” Pompeo wrote in the most cringey tweet before the balloon was shot down, with a picture of the balloon marked “problem” and a picture of him pointing a rifle marked “solution.” It’s hard to know who will even notice. Sens. Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton, and many others are out there blasting away at Biden for dithering on the balloon. And Pompeo is a low poller in the 2024 sweepstakes. He seems to lack a plan for how to break through. He’s not criticizing or challenging the popularity of Trump, or of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the other frontrunner. But he has picked what appears to be a pointless fight with Nikki Haley. In the weeks after the midterm elections, Pompeo joined the chorus of disappointed Republicans expressing frustration with Trump and his losing candidates, tweeting, “We were told we would get tired of winning. But I’m tired of losing. And so are most Republicans.” But he has since otherwise refused to put any real distance between himself and his former boss. He assiduously avoids criticizing Trump in his book, instead choosing to note that Trump often called him “My Mike,” which seems an embarrassing thing to admit. Pompeo also seems proud that he was the “only member of the president’s core national-security team who made it through four years without resigning or getting fired.” Still, Pompeo has used his memoir, a best seller, to try to reach GOP voters and convince them he is macho, mad, mean, and ever-in-battle with the mainstream media. In his fight to uphold the “highest principles” Pompeo wrote, “I was vicious, relentless, manic, determined – you pick the adjective,” and he calls reporters “hyenas” and “wolves.” His fly-by attack on Haley, including an accusation that she conspired with Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner to dump Mike Pence from the 2020 ticket, seems gratuitous and petty. (Haley called this “gossip and lies.”) Pompeo writes: “As for Haley, she gave fine remarks supporting Israel, but didn’t do much else … She abandoned the governorship of the great people of South Carolina for this ‘important’ role and quit it after just months on the job. Was it simply to join Boeing’s board of directors, or did she leave to protect her reputation from the inevitable so-called Trump taint the media inevitably slaps on people?” Insulting Haley is clearly part of Pompeo’s intentional groundwork-laying, though to what end it isn’t clear. He hasn’t yet said he is running, but praying on the decision with his wife, which will be announced in “the next handful of months.” But Pompeo started his campaign, for relevance, a few months after Trump left office. He formed a PAC to help Republican candidates in the midterm elections and has traveled to early primary states like Iowa and New Hampshire. Pompeo is running as Resume Man. And man, is his resume impressive. He graduated first in his class from West Point, and from Harvard Law and was on Harvard Law Review. After six years in the House of Representatives, he became CIA director for Trump, and then secretary of state – the only person ever to hold both jobs. The problem for Pompeo is that GOP primary voters aren’t shopping for Resume Man. Pompeo and DeSantis both may want to avoid mentioning their Ivy League degrees in a primary campaign. After Trump no one needs the requisite experience for the presidency, and elites and their credentials are as contemptible as socialists and the media. What’s more, today’s GOP primary voters – the ones who nominated Doug Mastriano, Gen. Don Bolduc, Tudor Dixon, and Herschel Walker for serious jobs – are also far less interested in foreign policy than Pompeo thinks they are. And wait until they find out about his deep ties to the Koch Network. Sure, Haley is talking about the same foreign policy issues Pompeo is, but she’s likely running for vice president. The former governor and U.N. ambassador is most definitely qualified to run for president, she has great appeal as the only woman running in the contest, and she is also Indian American. But like Pompeo, she seems ill-suited to MAGA voters. Putting in a halfway decent performance in the primary still makes her the most obvious pick as a running mate. Other likely contenders, with DeSantis leading the pack, all have their specific appeal as well: Pence has a natural constituency among his fellow evangelical Christians, especially those who believe Trump has too much baggage to win again; Glenn Youngkin flipped a state Biden won by 10 points the year before; Chris Sununu is a pro-choice swing state governor; Asa Hutchinson and Larry Hogan are former governors who have been openly anti-Trump. Pompeo throws around “America First” labels to describe his four years of work for Trump, but he is no MAGA star or culture warrior ready to rescue the nation from “woke.” You don’t see Pompeo hanging out on OAN or online bashing vaccines or drag shows or grade school syllabuses. With Ukraine aflame, and the looming prospect of war with China over Taiwan, it’s not that national security is unimportant. In next year’s general election these matters will be a critical part of the debate. But the bulk of Republicans Pompeo must woo for the nomination are more interested in what library books their kids can access than Iran’s current stash of fissile material. And Trump will spend more time talking about transgender issues than the cohesion of our transatlantic alliance as it counters Vladimir Putin. Indeed, Trump now opposes any more funding for Ukraine and, according to a new Politico report, plans to paint everyone else in the primary field as warmongers. It doesn’t sound like Pompeo’s got a workaround for that. And if he doesn’t, but enters the race anyway, he’s off his balloon. Tyler Durden Wed, 02/08/2023 - 21:50.....»»

"I don't think she's really running because she thinks she's going to be president of the United States," Stuart Stevens said of Nikki Haley on MSNBC. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.AP Photo/John Locher Ex-Romney strategist Stuart Stevens on MSNBC blasted Nikki Haley for her expected White House bid. "No one else really embodies sort of the collapse of the party as well as Nikki Haley," he said. Haley, a former South Carolina governor, served as the US Ambassador to the UN under Trump. Mitt Romney's former aide blasted Nikki Haley in a recent interview over the former South Carolina governor's decision to enter the 2024 GOP presidential primary, saying she "doesn't have anything else to do" and arguing that she is actually seeking a vice presidential slot.Stuart Stevens — who was Romney's chief strategist for his 2012 White House run and also a senior advisor for the anti-Trump group the Lincoln Project — questioned Haley's motivation for running for the presidency during a February 2 interview on MSNBC. Haley has not yet formally announced her campaign but is reportedly set to do so on February 15 in Charleston, South Carolina."Why is Nikki Haley running? I don't think she's really running because she thinks she's going to be president of the United States," Stevens said. "First of all, she doesn't have anything else to do. She's raised some money here in her PAC and she'll run. And I would say she's running to be vice president. I don't think she's going to go out there and attack Donald Trump."He continued: "No one else really embodies sort of the collapse of the party as well as Nikki Haley. She was what the party was supposed to be. She went out and said that Donald Trump was everything that she taught her children not to be, and she went from that to saying that she wants to carry on the Trump legacy. It's just so sad. She's already broken before she gets in the race."Haley, a former state legislator, was elected governor of South Carolina in 2010 and reelected in 2014.In February 2016, she endorsed Florida Sen. Marco Rubio's presidential bid, slamming former President Donald Trump at a rally as "everything I taught my children not to do in Kindergarten.""I taught my two little ones — you don't lie and make things up," she said at the time. "I taught my two little ones that you don't push people around and just tell them what you think should happen. And I told my two little ones to do exactly what Marco Rubio did in the last debate. When a bully hits you, you hit that bully right back."Shortly after Trump was elected that November, he nominated Haley to serve as his Ambassador to the United Nations, a position that she held from January 2017 until December 2018.In April 2021, Haley said that she wouldn't run for president in 2024 if Trump decided to launch a presidential campaign, just weeks after telling Politico that his conduct after his 2020 election loss would "be judged harshly by history."However, in October 2021, Haley told The Wall Street Journal that the Trump administration had left behind a "strong legacy."Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Gaetz says Trump needs a female running mate, theorizing that Trump won in 2016 because "a whole lot of women who didn't like him voted for him." President Donald Trump speaks as White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders listens during an East Room event on “second chance hiring” June 13, 2019.Alex Wong/Getty Images Matt Gaetz thinks Trump should pick Sarah Huckabee Sanders or Kristi Noem for his 2024 running mate. Gaetz said Trump should run with a woman to get votes from women who don't like him. Gaetz theorized that Trump only won in 2016 because women who didn't like him still voted for him. Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz says he's told former President Donald Trump to pick a woman as his running mate if he wants to win in 2024. "What I've said to President Trump is like, you have to create a permission structure where women who do not like you vote for you again," Gaetz said on the conservative "Timcast IRL" podcast on Friday.Gaetz added that he thought the "reason Trump won in 2016" is because "a whole lot of women who didn't like him voted for him" instead of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.Gaetz named Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a former White House press secretary, as his pick for Trump's 2024 running mate. The Florida congressman praised Sanders for her "directness" and her move to ban TikTok on state government devices."She's the kind of person I look at," Gaetz said.Sanders, for her part, avoided endorsing Trump directly in an interview on Fox News on January 15. "I love the President, have a great relationship with him. I know our country would be infinitely better off if he was in office right now instead of Joe Biden but right now my focus isn't 2024," Sanders said on "Fox News Sunday."Gaetz also named South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as a possible Trump running mate, calling her a "pretty stellar" alternative to Sanders.The Florida congressman did not say if Trump had responded positively to his suggestions. Representatives for Trump, Gaetz, Sanders, and Noem did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.Trump announced on November 15 that he is running for president again in 2024. This is his third presidential run: He won his first race against Clinton in 2016 and lost to President Joe Biden in 2020. In October, The New York Times Magazine journalist Robert Draper told the Daily Beast that Trump has "repeatedly" discussed choosing Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene as his running mate. Draper said this is because Greene has been "unflaggingly loyal" to the former president through a litany of scandals and lawsuits.In January, The Daily Beast also reported, citing two sources who have spoken to Trump and an unnamed GOP strategist, that Trump has mostly been considering female running mates for his 2024 campaign. GOP Reps. Elise Stefanik and Greene, as well as former Democratic congresswoman and presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard, have been floated as candidates, per the Daily Beast.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Italy & The EU On Collision Course As Economic Conditions Worsen Authored by Conor Gallagher via NakedCapitalism.com, It seems like yesterday that the western media was up in arms that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her Putin-loving Brothers of Italy (Fdl) party were going to march Italy right out of the EU and NATO. Unfortunately, Italy’s economy and foreign policy are controlled by the EU and NATO, respectively, and Meloni never showed any desire to rock the boat, immediately pledging fealty to both as soon as the Fdl emerged as frontrunners in the September election. The problem for Meloni and the country is that those two commitments are now working in tandem to destroy Italians’ standard of living – a long-running process that is now being sped up. NATO’s proxy war against Russia in Ukraine is driving energy prices through the roof. Gas bills for a median Italian household jumped so much (23.3 percent) in December compared to November that the National Consumer Union was warning  of “heart attack bills.” The hikes are hitting consumers and industry alike and causing the government to scale back its meager social spending promises in order to shovel money at the energy problem. Good news. Inflation in the €zone declined by more than expected in December to 9.2%. Energy prices and (energy-intensive) food prices are still the main drivers. pic.twitter.com/8DBU5qyMLj — Philipp Heimberger (@heimbergecon) January 7, 2023 Despite NATO’s Ukraine war being the driver of Eurozone inflation, the European Central Bank is determined to keep hiking interest rates even if that means recessions for bloc countries and another debt crisis for Italy. The ECB raised its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points In December, but also signaled that more hikes would follow in the coming months, which triggered a sell-off of Italian government bonds. Italy’s borrowing costs have risen to over four percent and are causing alarm in Rome. Meloni said the ECB should avoid making “choices that make things worse.” Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini called the ECB’s decisions “unbelievable, baffling, worrying.” Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto criticized the ECB and its president Christine Lagarde for blindly following economic theory despite the harm it will inflict on businesses and workers. “You have to justify this politically to your European citizens. You are not a Martian,” he said. Crosetto even resorted to accusing the ECB of aiding Russia with its rate hikes. The situation for Italy could worsen as growth slows and interest rates rise further. According to FT: The new Italian government had “given little cause for concern for investors for now,” said Veronika Roharova, head of euro area economics at Swiss bank Credit Suisse. “But concerns may resurface if growth slows, interest rates continue to rise and [debt] issuance is picking up again.” Economists are now widely expecting all three of those to occur. Two-thirds of economists polled by FT predicted the ECB would start cutting rates in 2024 – likely after Italy and other states in the EU are in a recession. Again from FT: The ECB will start shrinking its €5 trillion bond portfolio by €15 billion per month from March by replacing only partially matured securities, putting further pressure on Italian borrowing costs. Ludovic Subran, chief economist at German insurer Allianz, said the eurozone risked a repeat of the 2012 bond market collapse “as fiscal options differ across countries without the heavy lifting of the ECB”. Italy’s borrowing costs have already risen sharply since the ECB started raising interest rates over the summer. The 10-year bond yield has climbed above four percent (the level at which investors say panic sets in), nearly quadrupling the level of a year ago, and 2.1 percentage points above the equivalent yield on German bonds. According to Bloomberg, such conditions “threaten to unlock the same Pandora’s box that fueled the euro crisis of 2010-12, when the currency bloc nearly split apart as more-indebted countries faced a sudden, harsh tightening of financial conditions as investors sold off their bonds.” Meloni and the Fdl thought they could pursue policies that married Brussels-prescribed neoliberalism and conservative nationalism, but the current situation shows just how difficult such a strategy is. It’s hard to be nationalist when you don’t control your economy or foreign policy. Meloni did nearly everything the EU wanted. She declared fealty to the EU and NATO, broke campaign promises in order to scale back meager social spending plans, and appointed pro-EU Atlanticists to key positions like economy minister and foreign minister. She continued the neoliberal economic reforms of her predecessor, the former vice chairman and managing director of Goldman Sachs International and ECB president, Mario Draghi. She promised to implement further reforms so as not to jeopardize 200 billion euros (a sum that looks paltry in the face of the gathering economic storm) from the European recovery plan. But the EU always wants more. Brussels and Rome are again at loggerheads over reforms to the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), which was set up in 2012 after the sovereign debt crisis and aims to help bail out countries in exchange for strict reforms (think Greece-level austerity and privatization). Italy may soon require assistance from the ESM, but the reforms include “a stronger role in future economic adjustment programmes and crisis prevention. In addition, the application process for ESM precautionary credit lines will be easier, and the instruments will be more effective.” Italy is the only eurozone country that is yet to ratify the ESM reform with many in the country fearful that it would increase the risk of a restructuring of Italy’s national debt, the loss of what little economic sovereignty Italy has left, and a further deterioration in standard of living. *** A brief background on the makeup of the ESM: it’s comprised of a Board of Governors with a representatives from each of the 19 ESM shareholder countries. After that, it gets a little convoluted. The ESM provides this illustration to clarify things:  The management board of the ESM is composed of the following: Pierre Gramegna, the former Minister of Finance of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg; Christophe Frankel, the former Head of Financial Markets at Crédit Foncier de France in Paris; Rolf Strauch, a former European Central Banker in the Directorate General Economics on fiscal, monetary, and structural policies and an economist at the Deutsche Bundesbank; David Eatough, previously an investment banker at Credit Suisse; Kalin Anev Janse, a former corporate finance advisor at McKinsey & Company and investment banker at JPMorgan; Sofie De Beule-Roloff, with a background in hotel and HR management; and Nicola Giammarioli, formerly an IMF executive board member.  *** Should Italy need assistance from the ESM, it is hesitant to hand over even more of its economic sovereignty to such a group. The Meloni government instead wants the ESM to become a fund to boost investment across the EU and help soften the impact of sky-high energy prices. The suggestion has gained little traction with the rest of the bloc, and the standoff over the ESM reforms could get quite ugly if/when Italy requires assistance. There are few tragedies that leap to mind in this mess for Italy. The first is that for the past quarter century Italy has followed Brussels’ neoliberal economic playbook, which has only made its situation worse.  According to economist Philipp Heimberger:  The mistakes that were made 40 years ago took place in an environment of rising interest rates. Since then, the Italian state has been carrying a heavy interest-rate backpack. If we exclude the burden of interest rates, however, the Italian state consistently ran budget surpluses from 1992 up to the Covid-19 crisis. Even Germany, Austria and the Netherlands recorded a comparable ‘primary’ budget surplus less frequently than Italy. The Italian state has not been as ‘profligate’ as is often claimed: it has consistently collected more in taxes than it has spent. IMF data show that Italy implemented the most severe fiscal consolidation packages of all advanced economies between 1992 and 2009, especially when it comes to spending cuts. A flexibilisation of the labour market since the 1990s brought a sharp increase in fixed-term contracts, a pushback against trade unions and a decline in real wages compared to Germany and France. These measures not only reduced inflation in the 1990s. Cheap labour has increased the labour-intensity of production, thereby reducing the incentives for labour-saving investment by companies. Private investment, however, is key to rising productivity and is particularly crucial in high-tech sectors. Productivity growth is in turn the basis for growth and rising incomes. Market-liberal labour market reforms have thus arguably done more harm than good to Italy’s productivity growth. The second tragedy is that Italian workers continue to get hosed, which has also been happening for the past quarter century. In 2000 the standard of living in Italy was comparable to that of Germany. Today, Italy’s per capita income levels are 20 percent below Germany’s. During that same time Italy has become one of the most unequal societies in Europe. While wealthier Italians (what economist Stefano Palombarini calls the country’s “bourgeois bloc”) support the country’s neoliberal transition and find a voice in every Italian government, the working class has been abandoned by every Italian political party for 30 years. Ever since the Italian Communist Party – long one of the most powerful in Europe – finally capitulated to CIA efforts to destroy it in the 1990s, Italy’s working class have lacked a political home, and the neoliberal project continues no matter who is in government. That fact has taken a toll as the turnout in Italy’s September election was the lowest since World War Two. Many of those who didn’t bother to go to the polls were working class voters. Meloni and the Fdl were able to emerge victorious because they were able to, at least momentarily, deflect attention away from the neoliberal policies. Stefano Palombarini writes in Jacobin: It claims the living conditions of the working classes are not being undermined as a result of neoliberal policies and reforms, but because of threats to national identity, the wave of migration, the explosion of crime, the model of the traditional family being called into question, etc. It goes without saying that the promise of protection against artfully created and largely imaginary enemies is bound to severely disappoint the socially weaker fraction of the right-wing bloc; even so, it has allowed them to reach power. The problem remains that since Brussels calls the shots in Italy’s economy, workers are stuck in the only major European country where wages have lost value in real terms since the 1990s. One party that appeared to truly want to do something for Italy’s workers was the Five Star movement, which took power in 2018. Its draft budget plan called for an increase in the public deficit, a tax amnesty for lower incomes, pension reform allowing early retirement, and a basic income for citizens. The EU, to put it mildly, was not a fan and threatened Italy with the dreaded excessive deficit procedure. Therein lies the rub: how do you appeal to a wide swath of the Italian electorate by reversing the decline in their living standards while remaining inside the straitjacket of EU rules? One route for the Fdl was to try to emulate Poland’s Law and Justice Party (PiS), which took power in 2015 and has remained there ever since by combining neoliberalism and nationalism. But that still requires offering workers at least a little something – something that the Fdl is unable to do or unwilling to try. Instead, Meloni’s government is getting rid of one of Five Stars few achievements (a measly citizens’ wage that provides the unemployed an average of 567 euros a month).  Despite criticism of its conservative social policies, the Law and Justice Party enjoys widespread support from the working class due to its popular programs, including an increase in pension payments, subsidizing children’s school supplies and monthly payments to families per child, from the second child onward. But even the PiS’ combination of neoliberalism and conservative nationalism has its limits, as Poland is also locked in a battle with Brussels over the release of EU funds. Recall that Meloni and the Fdl were the recipient of not-so-subtle threats from EU officials ahead of the Italian election. NEW - EU Commission President on the upcoming elections in Italy, where a right-wing victory is expected: "We will see. If things go in a 'difficult direction' - I have spoken about Hungary and Poland - we have tools." pic.twitter.com/PxtvpXyCua — Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) September 23, 2022 The aristocratic Ursula Von der Leyen was presumably referring to the problems facing Hungary and Poland’s access to EU funds because of their refusals to toe the bloc’s line and/or the ECB’s ability to engineer a debt crisis in Italy. Despite campaigning as a nationalist, Meloni backed down when she first formed her government. We’ll see how she proceeds now in her standoff with the EU that wants more control over the Italian economy. Tyler Durden Thu, 01/12/2023 - 02:00.....»»