David French, the conservative writer eyed as a possible third-party alternative to Donald Trump, isn’t running for President, he said in a column Sunday night.
French, a National Review staff writer, said he gave entering the race to challenge the presumptive GOP nominee and Democrat Hillary Clinton “serious thought” with some of the “best minds in politics.”
“It would be tempting to say that when it comes to confronting this national moment, ‘somebody’ stepping up is better than nobody. But somebody is not always better than nobody,” he wrote, calling himself a “a pretty darn obscure lawyer, writer, and veteran.”
French recounted the failings of both Trump and Clinton at length but concluded an “extraordinarily wealthy” person or “a transformational political talent” would be best positioned for success.
He also wrote despite deciding not to enter the race, “the path is there” for the right candidate to run and win the White House. He also suggested while the next great political movement is poised to begin, “that movement may not emerge for some time, and it might emerge only after further heartache and pain.”
French was reported as conservative Bill Kristol’s pick last week.
After French’s column was published, Kristol tweeted French would’ve been “a fine alternative” to Trump or Clinton but “a better choice remains necessary.”
On Monday morning, he linked to French’s column and cracked, a “stiff drink helps these days.”
