Reflecting on House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s backlash for Donald Trump, former policy adviser to Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, Lanhee Chen, said Wednesday that it is a pattern of behavior that we should continue to see from the 2024 Republican presidential nominees. Can
That would be true, Chen said, despite the fact that he is running to defeat the former president and that he “probably violated several federal laws.”
“Morning Joe” discussion about 2024 candidates like Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley began Wednesday when Jonathan Lemire said that “some of the Republican candidates who are competing for the nomination have started going after him.” ,” but not in the way one might expect a contestant to take aim at a political rival.
“Chris Christie has a lot, but other than him, it’s pretty rare,” Lemire said. “We heard some things from Nikki Haley yesterday, specifically about China. DeSantis has done that occasionally.”
The “Morning Joe” moderator then asked Chen, “When you talk to people at the party, do you see any kind of big change there, where more of them might need to take it knowing that they have to defeat him?”
“You know, politics is a pure market, right?” The chain started. “People will react to what sells well. So the challenge is that for many of these candidates, they see the same numbers that the rest of us see, and the numbers they see tell them that support for the former president is still an important factor in determining who wins. is whether any Republican primary voter will support a particular candidate.”
He further explained that he has “a tightrope you have to walk” between Trump’s rival and ally – “It appears as if you are still a supporter of Trump in principle, while at the same time you are trying to choose your own lane.” Trying to separate. It’s a very difficult balancing act.”
To make matters worse, the former president is currently facing two indictments out of New York and Florida, to which Chen said he likely pleaded guilty to as many as 37 federal counts.
“It’s very difficult to stand against someone on the one hand, and then on the other hand to say, ‘Well, I like them and I still support them,’ when the fundamental challenge is that you’ve got someone who Probably violated several federal laws. So I don’t think this particular balance is going to change until Republican primary voters demonstrate that they are interested in moving beyond Trump.
Watch the full “Morning Joe” discussion in the video above.
