Scott Tibbs
If you are running against Trump, you need to attack Trump
By Scott Tibbs, June 1, 2023
Donald Trump is not qualified to be the Republican Party's nominee for President. That is basis for the candidacy of
every single Republican candidate for President. If you did not believe that, you would not be challenging him in the primaries. Having already served one term as President, Trump is effectively the incumbent in this race. If you want to unseat an incumbent, you need to tell the voters why the incumbent should be replaced.
I could explain why I think Trump should not be the nominee, but I want to hear that from the other Republicans in the primary contest. State your reasoning for running against Trump and why he would be a bad choice as the party's nominee.
If Republicans want someone other than Trump, the only option is to unify around a single alternative. There are
exactly two groups of Republican voters: Devoted Trump supporters and people who want someone else. I suspect the latter is the majority, but splitting that group among 10 candidates will guarantee Trump wins with a plurality like he did in 2016. This will make all of the other campaigns either a waste of time or an exercise in political ego gratification.
There is no reason why we have to support Trump. There are suitable alternatives, who are more consistently conservative, are as willing to "fight" as Trump, and who do not have Trump's personal baggage, lack of professionalism and total lack of discipline and self control. We can thank Trump for the Supreme Court picks, the big tax cut, the protection of due process and also say it is time for a change.
As to Ron DeSantis running for President: The only person who cares about DeSantis' alleged "disloyalty" (larf) is Donald Trump himself. Trump thinks the "loyalty" card will play in a primary. It will not, other than with people who will not vote for anyone other than Trump. To everyone else, this whining makes Trump look childish, needy and pathetic. People want policy solutions, not personal grievance.
I listened to Ron DeSantis' opening statement on Twitter Spaces. From a policy standpoint, it was great. The content is exactly what Republican primary voters want to hear. But DeSantis needs to become a more dynamic speaker. He was far too monotone. Sad though it is, policy does not win elections. Personality wins elections.
Is that bad? Yes. Should the voters be more focused on substantive policy and less on flash? Absolutely. We would be a much better country if that was the case. We should not want our President to be "entertaining" or combative more than we want him to have a concrete policy agenda. But we cannot play on the field we want. We have to play on the field we have. DeSantis can get better, and he needs to do that in a hurry. His wife will help a great deal in that regard.
As of right now, the nomination is Trump's race to lose. Trump has long been involved in professional wrestling, so a Ric Flair quote is appropriate: To be the man, you have to beat the man. Right now, Trump is the man. DeSantis is the candidate in the best position to take on Trump, and Trump knows this. That is why he has focused his attacks on "Rob" DeSantis. Can Trump be defeated? Yes.
Will he be defeated? We shall see.
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