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Why we shouldn't root for Trump's fast demise, and why the other candidates aren't abandoning him [1]

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Date: 2023-06-20

One of the seeming “mysteries” of the Republican race for 2024 among many commentators here and elsewhere has been why, when Trump is so clearly vulnerable, the other candidates are standing by him and willing to play “Trump Lite”. Saying that they “stand by Trump” and will advance his policies isn’t a way to beat him in the primaries.

But what seems to have gone unnoticed is that there is a very real possibility that if the trial proceeds quickly (and again, seemingly mysteriously, Judge Cannon is actually trying to move it along), and Trump ends up being convicted and essentially disqualified from getting the nomination, where are the Trump supporters going to go? Will they go home or vote for him anyway? Very possibly. But I think the reason the other candidates are not attacking him is because they are actually banking on the fact that he will be convicted and a large number of his supporters will have to look elsewhere. When that happens, whoever is most loyal to Trump and MAGA will benefit.

In this light, a speedy trial and conviction is actually in the best interests of the larger Republican agenda. If Trump is on the ballot for 2024, they will lose, because his ceiling would be 40% or so at most (30% MAGA, maybe another 10% or so party loyalists who will hold their nose). If the Republican Party and its candidates have any hope of winning, they need to keep Trump supporters behind them while getting Trump himself off the ballot. This would explain why DeSantis and others aren’t really criticizing him. They want to inherit his supporters when he goes down.

But the Republicans also need him to go down before we get too deep into primary season, which is why Judge Cannon may be all too willing to move the case along quickly. The faster Trump moves out of the picture, the better it is for the Republicans in 2024. And if someone like DeSantis ends up being the nominee, he I think is a much more dangerous candidate.

As a lifelong New Yorker, I have long been awaiting the day when Trump would get his comeuppance, and the day he is finally found guilty and led off to prison will be a cathartic one. However, I am not sure I want that day to come before the middle of next summer, at least. And neither should you.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/6/20/2176446/-Why-we-shouldn-t-root-for-Trump-s-fast-demise-and-why-the-other-candidates-aren-t-abandoning-him

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