• Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, and Mike Pompeo are all reportedly on the verge of announcing a run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, much to the fury of Donald Trump.
• Trump has accused DeSantis of being “very disloyal” and has alleged that he tearfully “begged” Trump for his endorsement in his first run for governor in 2018.
• Trump has remade the GOP in his own image, yet his personal appeal to its voters appears to be waning.
• Candidates who have tried to run as Trumpists in competitive elections have largely struggled.
• Despite this, the would-be nominees are constructing a Trumpism without Trump, based on exploiting cultural resentment.
• Trump’s grip on the GOP is still strong, and many leaders of his party have never left his side.
• Trump is now threatening to make a third-party bid if he doesn’t win the Republican nomination and doesn’t approve of the Republican nominee.
Published February 7, 2023
Visit The Atlantic to read David A. Graham’s original post Trumpism Without Trump
