President Donald Trump, long considered teflon with his supporters, has given them precious little to get excited about recently.
Between the shadow cast by Special Counsel Robert Mueller after Roger Stone’s indictment and the President’s utter capitulation in the shutdown fight, Trump fans have had to face a President doing very little “winning.”
According to a Saturday New York Times report, Trump’s recent failures and dismal polling is piquing the interest of some possible 2020 Republican challengers.
A name frequently tossed around is Larry Hogan, the popular governor of Maryland. Hogan is reportedly setting up meetings with prominent never-Trumpers, like William Kristol, and reaching out to Iowa-based strategists.
Per the Times, also in the mix is William Weld, the former Republican governor of Massachusetts with a Libertarian bent.
Other less likely potential challengers are former Ohio governor John Kasich, former Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE).
I think it is safe to say that Hogan would get eaten alive in a Republican primary. I didn’t vote for him for governor (in either of his races), but he is not nearly crazy enough for the current crop of Republican voters. (The basis for his personal appeal eludes me entirely. Part of it, I suspect, is that he isn’t an obviously crazy right-winger in a state that is heavily dominated by Democrats, and there is a certain natural, if often misguided, tendency to want to balance out the sides.)
Trump isn’t running again. All bluff. All bluff.
I checked Google Images, and yes, the fat bald guy at the mics is Larry Hogan.
No, but he’ll continue to raise money for 2020 anyway. Now that the government is open again, he’ll probably need a red hat rally or two to boost his spirits. Where does the money go if he doesn’t run again? I don’t see him donating it to the party.