After the lone declared candidate in the Republican primary race became one of several, an odd but familiar dynamic soon took hold in which none of the candidates seemed to have a bad word to say about the front-runner.
Perhaps sensitive to incongruous polling indicating that Republican voters were open to an alternative to Donald Trump but, at the same time, hostile to criticisms of the former president, the GOP’s Trump alternatives danced around the elephant in the room. Nikki Haley wouldn’t take the bait. Tim Scott presented himself as a cosmic ray of vigor and jubilance, which precluded displays of antagonism toward anyone, including the front-runner. And while Ron DeSantis waited in the wings, he pulled his punches against Trump, preferring instead to promote positive narratives about his record and biography.
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