Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida

"Donald Trump appears to be surrounded by a band of enablers who refuse to tell him things he doesn’t want to hear, so I will: Mr. President, it is not in your interest to run in 2024. If you do, you will likely lose. And you will destroy what remains of your legacy in the process. Please, don’t do it.

Based on his record in office, Trump should be considered one of the greatest conservative presidents in modern times. The Abraham Accords are worthy of a Nobel Prize. Operation Warp Speed is the greatest public health achievement in human history. Trump made the United States an energy superpower and drove the Islamic State from its caliph**e. He has a perfect record in appointing judicial conservatives to the Supreme Court. I have chronicled his accomplishments in these pages. I’m not a never-Trumper.

But another p**********l run will obliterate what’s left of that legacy. After the 2020 e******n, I wrote that he should pursue his legal challenges but that if the courts rejected them (which they did), he should graciously concede, focus on saving the Senate majority in Georgia’s runoff, preside over a smooth t***sition, attend Joe Biden’s inauguration and prepare to reclaim the presidency in four years. Instead, he embraced e******n denial and surrounded himself with a clown show of legal advisers who convinced him he could hold onto office.

All the ways Trump tried to overturn the 2020 e******n -- and how it could happen again

Trump’s failure to accept the e******n results meant he never understood why he lost: Instead of expanding his coalition by winning over Americans who had not v**ed for him the first time, he alienated millions who approved of his policies but not of him. In September 2020, a record 56 percent of registered v**ers told Gallup that they were better off under Trump than they had been four years earlier — a remarkable share amid the worst p******c since 1918, the worst racial unrest since the 1960s and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. But 56 percent of Americans didn’t v**e for Trump; if they had, he would still be president. And his conduct after the e******n only served to confirm their judgmen

Last Tuesday, v**ers made clear that their judgment still stands. Despite the disasters President Biden has unleashed, they rejected Trump’s handpicked candidates — his proxies on the b****t — and gave Democrats back their Senate majority. That should be a wake-up call for Trump. He cannot win the presidency with his base alone.
Marc A. Thiessen: The GOP's future lies in Florida -- but not at Mar-a-Lago

Now, he is alienating his base by attacking Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). When Trump attacked Jeb Bush or Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), MAGA-world loved it. But MAGA v**ers also love DeSantis and don’t understand why Trump is going after him. DeSantis delivered the only bright spot on an otherwise dark e******n night. The smart move for Trump would have been to endorse DeSantis, campaign for him and claim some share of credit for his victory. Instead, Trump devised a weak nickname and an even weaker attack — which has backfired.

Even before the midterms, DeSantis was leading Trump by eight points in a hypothetical Florida primary. Now, a YouGov poll shows him leading Trump by seven points nationally among Republican v**ers. The share of Republicans favoring Trump in 2024 has declined precipitously — from 78 percent in October 2021 to just 35 percent this month.
Jim Geraghty: DeSantis would pave the way for a post-Trump GOP return to normal

Trump is surrounded by a cabal of grifters who do not have his best interests at heart — sycophants who see him as their meal ticket and a 2024 campaign as a chance to vacuum up millions of dollars, win or lose. They won’t give him hard advice because they don’t care about him — they just want his money.

If they cared, they would tell him the t***h — that it’s time to pass the torch. They would have told him to spend some of the $161 million he raised through Sept. 30 on the candidates he endorsed, rather than hoarding it for an ill-begotten 2024 run.

Jennifer Rubin: If the GOP can't get rid of Trump, maybe Georgia's prosecutors can
It’s not too late to reverse course. Instead of announcing a p**********l campaign Tuesday night, Trump should announce he is going all-in for Herschel Walker with a massive cash infusion for the Georgia Senate runoff. He should mend fences with DeSantis and stand aside.

I say all this in sadness, not anger. I will always defend Trump’s accomplishments in office. But his conduct since losing office has made him unelectable. He promised we’d win so much, we’d be s**k of winning. Well, right now, conservatives are s**k of losing. Democrats have won the past two e******ns running against Trump. If he runs again, they will win a third."

That would do irrevocable harm to both the country and Trump’s legacy. He can go to his grave claiming that the 2020 e******n was s****n, and many will believe it. But if he loses the 2024 e******n — or, worse, the GOP primaries — he will go down in history as a loser.

So, Mr. President: For the sake of your reputation and the good of the country, if you want to Make America Great Again — please, stand down.

Marc A. Thiessen

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

Agreed.

Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida

Theissen has been a staunch Trump supporter from Day 1 to the day after the midterms.

Nalu Loc: Southern Arizona

I agree as well. Time to move on. Thanks for the post and good message.

Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida

I thought the piece might inspire the right wingers to comment on their thoughts about the future of Trump and Trumpism.
So far, they are silent.

Texcaster Loc: Queensland

I'll save my judgment until I see the MAGA/GOPer brain-trust reject 'minority rule', alt-democracy poster boy ...

Viktor Orban.

mwalsh Loc: Houston

If you look back at conservative posters here over the past several months...other than a couple of caricature posters, most of us want trump to fade. We do not want him to be the GOP nominee. We are prepared to support several candidates if they have the stones to primary him.

The tide turned against trump well before the midterms.

Worst case, trump v biden 2024.

Can't v**e for biden...really don't want trump as POTUS again.

Texcaster Loc: Queensland

Biden's a giant slayer now! I'd v**e for him again ... H****r too! (but if *better candidates pop up I'll have a good look)

Anything can happen. In other political cultures if you lead your party to defeat once (or twice for the popular ones) you're finished. IF old Donny is still the official MAGA/GOPer man in 2024 it will be the end of the abject fools

* I know ... they're all better. boom boom.

tramsey Loc: Texas

I don't like Trump for many reasons but everything that the op said is true. So if it comes down to Trump or Biden, I'll v**e for Trump. That still sounds bad to me

wilpharm Loc: Oklahoma

Racmanaz Loc: Sunny Tucson!

Why are you so afraid and opposed to the e******n process of democracy??

jcboy3

Dear disgraced, twice impeached, one term, i**********nist ex-President Dumpy Trumpy...please run again and ruin the Repuke party.

Racmanaz Loc: Sunny Tucson!

You forgot to say twice acquitted, impeachment means nothing without a conviction. It's sorta like condemning people who have been accused and indicted yet acquitted of the crimes they were accused and charged of. Clinton was also impeached yet acquitted as well, he was also disgraced. Calling him an i**********nist ex-Pres is just beyond moronic and false.

LinksUp

To late.

Texcaster Loc: Queensland

For the record.

Clinton was impeached for lying about c***ting on his wife. Not exactly quid pro quo or failed c**p territory.

Not even Nixon's burglar cover-up comes close to lying about c***ting on your marriage.