Can Trump Be Defeated If You Never Say His Name?

Here is DeSantis pushing back against a Trump Covid attack:

I think DeSantis is good on the counter-attack here, but he honors the norm that has grown up among most Republicans of never saying Trump’s name if they don’t have something nice to say. I understand the calculation here — a lot of Republicans are open to someone else but don’t want Trump criticized. So, you get this in-between approach. It might make sense for now, but it’s hard to see how it works in the long run.

Chris Christie, who is on a different path and has a different theory of the case, was perfectly willing to get booed at the Faith & Freedom event in Washington for criticizing Trump, and then go out and unapologetically make the case for what he’d done:

Most Republicans, one assumes, aren’t ready to hear this, but Christie is going to get credit from some voters for his willingness to speak his mind and stand up for what he believes.