RINOs and never-Trumpers are re-writing their playbook on the fly as Donald Trump continually confounds their plans of keeping him off the 2024 ballot.
The playbook page where Trump couldn't run if he was indicted had to be shredded after Trump only gained in the polls after each of his four indictments.
What to do? Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was asked on MSNBC if he would support Trump as the nominee if convicted on any of the counts he faces in those indictments. "I don't think the party should nominate in that situation," came the reply.
What if this play works?
"Imagine what the electoral map will look like next year if they try to remove Trump at the RNC," Human Events Editor Jack Posobiec wrote on Thursday.
"They want to strip the nomination of Trump at the convention. They've already begun planting seeds on MSNBC this morning."
"DeSantis just ... suggested Trump should be removed from the primary if he is convicted in any of the cases against him: 'I don't think the party should should nominate in that situation.' What was DeSantis even thinking with that MSNBC interview? How could he not use that as an opportunity to speak out about our govt being weaponized against the American people? Truly crazy to me."
DeSantis was interviewed one day after NBC News ran an article under the headline "Trump is aiming to take over Ron DeSantis' base of power in the Florida GOP".
The report stated:
Trump allies in the state are organizing an effort to flip Republican lawmakers from DeSantis endorsers to Trump. Two sources familiar with the effort said as many as six could come out for Trump as early as next week. The move is scheduled to coincide with this Saturday's Florida Freedom Summit, which will feature all of the major Republican presidential candidates and shine a national spotlight on the state.On Thursday, Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott endorsed Trump for president.
"I know most of the candidates running for president, and I respect their decision to put themselves through this very difficult process," Scott said. "But Republican voters are making their voices heard loud and clear. They want to return to the leadership of Donald Trump."
And here's how all the RNC, RINO, and never-Trumper maneuvering is playing out with the voters: In the RealClearPolitics average of 10 recent polls, Trump leads by 46 points. Again, the former president doesn't have 46 points, he leads by 46 points.
Meanwhile, another anti-Trump RINO continues to fish for relevancy. Former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, who was soundly thrashed in last year's midterms, has labeled newly-elected House Speaker Mike Johnson a "dangerous" puppet of Trump.
“One of the reasons why somebody like Mike Johnson is dangerous is because when you have elected Republicans who know better, elected Republicans who know the truth but yet will go along with the efforts to undermine our republic, the efforts, frankly, that Donald Trump undertook to overturn the election,” Cheney said while pitching her new book to the anti-Trump crowd.
Cheney added: “Mike [Johnson] is somebody that I knew well. We were elected together. Our offices were next to each other, and Mike is somebody who says that he’s committed to defending the Constitution. But that’s not what he did when we were all tested in the aftermath of the 2020 election."
Having been humiliated by her constituents, Cheney enjoyed a soft landing with her appointment as Professor of Practice with the University of Virginia Center for Politics.
