I found Matt Continetti’s recent column about Donald Trump’s ever-improving chances for 2024 persuasive, particularly his assertion that a kind of complacency was settling over both parties even as the same dynamics that helped Trump win the nomination last time reasserted themselves. Last Friday, Continetti wrote:
At this writing, DeSantis presents the biggest obstacle for Trump. He sits atop the field in state-level polls of New Hampshire and South Carolina. He’s a proven winner and fundraiser who knows when to pick high-profile cultural battles that endear him to conservatives and the MAGA crew. His crusade against wokeness is a way to unify the party behind a tough and competent executive who hasn’t alienated suburban independents in his home state. If nominated, he’d represent a rising generation for change against an 81-year-old incumbent who has been in politics for half a century.
Naturally, other Republicans have begun to attack DeSantis. That’s to be expected. No one is entitled to a party’s nomination, politics ain’t beanbag, and running for president ought to be, and is, an arduous task. Potential GOP candidates are probing for weaknesses in DeSantis’s stance on abortion, his hardball tactics with big business, his national appeal, and his personal demeanor. Notice, though, whom these Republicans are not criticizing. His initials are DJT.
Things changed fast over the weekend. Chris Christie, who has been making the rounds in Republican circles that you’d make if you were planning a presidential run, took to This Week on Sunday and began making a forceful argument against Donald Trump:
Former Pres. Trump “can’t win a general election,” especially after election denying candidates lost in the 2022 midterms, @GovChristie says.
“We could go through the entire list—loser, loser, loser, loser—and I think Republicans are recognizing that.” https://t.co/dNhW1EkeOU pic.twitter.com/zFNelRk96u
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) January 29, 2023
This is the kind of comment that can draw Trump’s attention and fire.