It’s way too early to be planning for 2024, yet far too many people are focused like a laser on it. If Republicans don’t retake the House and/or Senate in 2022, there won’t be much left to defend by 2024. That’s where the focus should be. But because, in conservative circles, there’s little attention being paid – meaning clicks, cable news bookings, etc. – to anything unrelated to former President Donald Trump, too many people needed for those 2022 victories are pandering for attention rather than the cause.
Donald Trump has always been the focus of attention, everywhere he went. Growing up in Detroit, there was no reason on Earth I should have known about a real estate developer in a city I couldn’t find on a map. Yet, as a kid, I knew who he was. I knew about his wealth, I knew about his helicopter, I knew about his plane, his divorces, pretty much everything. I knew all this before The Apprentice, which I loved.
Trump wasn’t the richest man in the world, or even the richest man in New York. He probably wasn’t even the richest man living in Trump Tower. But he probably was the most famous in all those circumstances.
When he won the presidency, I was shocked. I voted for him, but didn’t expect a win. And his presidency was significantly more conservative than anyone could have expected.
That being said, a lot of the drama and problems of his presidency, which squandered political capital that could have been used to accomplish more, were of his own making. Not every question and attack has to be answered; most were elevated by his responses. His “fight” was, at least to me, his most appealing characteristic – I’ve always wanted to see a Republican fight back harder than past Presidents had, and it worked. But at some point, when not deployed selectively, the method overwhelms the message, a point of diminishing returns.
If one thing could have changed about the Trump Presidency it wouldn’t have been to turn down the intensity, it would’ve been to turn it off occasionally; to let the insignificant things go.
I say this knowing his sparring matches with some media charlatans are what endeared him to many, I enjoyed the hell out of them too. But I could’ve done with fewer of them and more accomplishments. Less arguing with reporters about the border and more action on the border, for example.
It’s hard to put my finger on one specific thing, one missed opportunity, that has me hesitant about fully embracing a return for Trump in 2024. It’s more the whole thing. If he were the Republican nominee, I’d absolutely, wholeheartedly, and happily vote for him. But I’m not locking in my vote for him or anyone yet; 2022 has to take priority.
If a primary came down to Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis or Kristi Noem, I don’t know how I’d vote. Both of those Governors seem to have learned the lessons of fighting hard, have a track record of conservative accomplishments, and have fought back against left-wing media attacks without being consumed by them.
Every once in a while, you need to say something that will tick off your audience. Not because you want to, but because you think it. Every writer, pundit, and TV personality holds opinions and have thoughts that go against what is “popular” with their audience. Most people avoid putting those thoughts down out there, but I know enough of these people to know they all have them. It’s just a matter of whether you want to be honest or liked. It’s easier to be liked; it’s better to be honest. Then you don’t have to try to remember which lie you told which people.
Donald Trump is a force to be reckoned with in the Republican Party, but he is not the only force, nor should he be. The Republican Party thrives when conservatives have to earn their way, not have it handed to them; to prove themselves continually. The party doesn’t “belong” to anyone, it belongs to all of us.
The idea that the 2024 nomination is Donald Trump’s, if he wants it, is a bad idea. He may well earn it, but it is up for grabs right now. As it should be. (Personally, I kind of hope he doesn’t run, focuses on helping the party across the board, not from the top. But that’s just me.) But the focus has to be on 2022, because without a win in at least one of the Houses of Congress and the ability to hold the Biden administration in check, there won’t be much left to fight over.
Derek Hunter is the host of a free daily podcast (subscribe!), host of a daily radio show on WCBM in Maryland, and author of the book, Outrage, INC., which exposes how liberals use fear and hatred to manipulate the masses. Follow him on Twitter at @DerekAHunter.
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