A former White House counselor acknowledged former President Donald Trump may have a harder path to the 2024 presidency. Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway advised opponents not to count him out, though, because he is still a formidable opponent.
Many Republicans warmly remember the stunned look on Hillary Clinton’s face when Donald Trump was declared president after the 2016 election. His derailment of her expected coronation has not been forgotten by Democrats, either. Conway goes further, saying in an opinion piece published Friday by the New York Times that some have still not gotten over what she calls “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
Conway comments that the obsession with Trump leads to wishful thinking from fans and haters. Supporters wonder if he is electable given the various legal actions currently dogging him, while haters hope for indictments and convictions.
“None of that is provable,” she said, “but this much is true: Shrugging off Mr. Trump’s 2024 candidacy or writing his political obituary is a fool’s errand — he endures persecution and eludes prosecution like no other public figure.”
Trump’s former counselor noted that could change, of course, adding the 45th president seemingly has nine lives.
Her words are not all Pollyannish, though. She admits Trump is not the underestimated unknown he was in 2016. If anything, his political enemies now err on the side of overwhelming force against him.
A full frontal force may not be enough to derail Trump’s return to the Oval Office, though.
News of two caches of classified documents removed from the White House by then-V.P. Biden in 2017 make prosecution in that case less likely. After all, if U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland criminally charges Trump for removing and retaining classified documents, he would similarly have to charge Biden for his similar offense.
Also, primary voters may equate Trump with recent days that seemed better. They may wax nostalgic about the good days without inflation or entanglement with a war in Ukraine. GOP voters may harken back to when jobs were plentiful, the border was secure and sovereign nations feared the wrath of Trump.
It may also be argued that many Republican primary voters want a Trump-Biden rematch where both candidates have to hit the campaign trail.
“A popular sentiment these days is, ‘I want the Trump policies without the Trump personality,'” Conway remarked. “It is true that limiting the name-calling frees up time and space for persuasion and solutions. Still, it may not be possible to have one without the other.”
“Success lies in having advisers who tell you what you need to know, not just what you want to hear,” Conway concluded, noting that only 45 men have ever won the presidency out of the hundreds who have tried. “And in listening to the people, who have the final say.”
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