The Democratic Party's better-than-expected performance in the Tuesday midterms has sparked a firestorm of debate on the right about the future of the Republican Party and over whether former President Donald Trump should consider not running again in 2024.
Trump teased earlier this week that he will make an announcement on the matter on Tuesday, November 15th. But the defeats of high-profile right-wing candidates whom he endorsed – such as United States Senate hopeful Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania and Michigan gubernatorial nominee Tudor Dixon – have raised a lot of eyebrows about Trump's viability against incumbent Democratic President Joe Biden (presuming that he seeks a second term).
Similarly, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' nearly twenty-point reelection victory over Democratic challenger Charlie Crist signals that Trump's grip over the GOP's conservative base may be dwindling. Trump's mounting legal battles and potential criminal indictments are additional baggage that could weigh down the Republican ticket in 2024. And that presents an undeniable opening for ambitious politicians like DeSantis, who, ironically, was thrust into the national spotlight by Trump.
That was a primary topic of conversation on Thursday's edition of The Story with Martha MacCallum on Fox News. The segment began with host Martha MacCallum quoting conservative columnist and historian Victor Davis Hanson, who opined in a RealClearPolitics editorial on Wednesday that "Democratic opposition to a flawed and impaired Biden running again in 2024 will recede. Republican loyalty to the unpredictable Trump could fade. And both those realities will empower DeSantis."
The discussion that ensued was not the Trump-friendly prattle that typically comes from Fox News pundits.
"What do you think of that?" MacCallum asked her guest Brian Kilmeade, a co-host of Fox & Friends on weekday mornings.
"When it comes to President Trump, anyone who says they know is just projecting. So, Victor Davis Hanson knows President Trump really well. I know they do talk. So, and he does – if anyone has a broad scope swath of what military history, military history especially – it's Victor Davis Hanson. I will say this. I do think President Biden is running and I don't see anyone out there. I could name – and we've done this on the radio – twelve people, talented people on the right, that could run for president in the prime of their careers – from Ron DeSantis, to [former Secretary of State] Mike Pompeo, to the vice president of the United States [Mike Pence], to Governor Kristi Noem [South Dakota], to [ex] Governor Nikki Haley [South Carolina]. I can't do that on the left. So that's how he got the job in the first place. There was no alternative," Kilmeade replied.
"Now with President Trump, I would think the first thing – the first indication I would look for to see if he was serious about being savvy and being, and recalibrating – is if he puts off his announcement Monday," Kilmeade continued. "If he puts up his announcement Monday, it's putting team first. If he takes his announcement Monday, that'll show that it's so Trump-centric, it's going to be playing to the DeSantis or broad scope – the big jungle primary."
MacCallum noted that "a lot of people would like, you know, his supporters would like to see him get all behind Herschel Walker right now in the most helpful way possible."
Kilmeade, however, disagreed, pointing out that Trump's best move might be "being quiet because in Georgia, he's not that popular."
MacCallum added that "it might be being quiet and also to sort of stop the bows and arrows that he's shooting at DeSantis."
Kilmeade concurred and said that the rift between Trump and DeSantis is "insane because it's like shooting at somebody – because DeSantis is so much like Trump in so many ways – but different enough at 44 years old to offer different attributes and different skill set. So I think that a lot of people are having difficulty when you see them fight with each other that are on the right because they say, they're – I'd like them both to win."
MacCallum agreed, and recalled that "Biden was asked about that yesterday, and he said, great, like, let 'em go at it. I love it, I love it. I love watching them go at each other. Very interesting."
