Former President Donald Trump wasn't the only one who was equated this week with future 2024 presidential ambitions. On Sunday, RINO Gov. Larry Hogan (R-MD) appeared on CNN's "State of the Union," where he was referenced by host Dana Bash as a "potential Trump challenger."
During the segment, Hogan, had no hesitancy in throwing Trump under the bus following last Tuesday's disappointing midterm results. Bash also stroked his ego by pointing out he was "a Republican warning against GOP extremism and specifically election denialism."
Hogan went on to promote how there should have been a red wave.
"This should have been a huge red wave. It should have been one of the biggest red waves we have ever had, because President Biden's approval rating was so low, one of the lowest historically," he aptly pointed out. "More than 70 percent of people thought the country was going in the wrong direction."
While there are many thoughts as to why the results were as disappointing as they were, in part to do with Trump, but also potentially a failure from other Republican leaders, Hogan insisted it had to do with the 2020 election.
"I think commonsense conservatives that focused on talking about issues people cared about, like the economy and crime and education, they did win. But people who tried to relitigate the 2020 election and focused on conspiracy theories and talked about things the voters didn't care about, they were almost universally rejected," he offered.
Hogan was steadfast that "it's basically the third election in a row that Donald Trump has cost us the race," adding "it's like three strikes, you're out."
The governor doubled down on his three strikes mantra when asked about his announcement at Mar-a-Lago, which was still a couple of days away at that point. "I think it'd be a mistake. As I mentioned, Trump's cost us the last three elections. And I don't want to see it happen a fourth time," Hogan said about Trump running in 2024.
When asked specifically about next month's Georgia runoff election between Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Republican opponent Herschel Walker, Hogan was just as adamant that his announcement could cost them the runoff. He did dismiss the effect a win or loss would have, while still blaming the former president, who had endorsed Walker.
"I mean, that's not as consequential now. We still would like to win Georgia, but we're not going to win back the Senate as a result. And that's Donald Trump's fault," he claimed.
While Democrats will indeed maintain control of the Senate, following Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto's (D-NV) reelection, should Walker defeat Sen. Warnock, Republicans will have prevented Democrats from expanding their majority.
Bash once more brought up Hogan running in 2024, with the governor reminding he's still in office until Jan. 18, at which point he "will be freed and unleashed."
The governor went on to tout his accomplishments in Maryland. "I think there's probably -- I have been saying since 2020 that we have to get back to a party that appeals to more people, that can win in tough places, like I have done in Maryland. And I think that lane is much wider now than it was a week ago," he offered towards the end of the segment.
While Hogan is a quite popular governor in bright blue Maryland, that may not necessarily translate to prevailing in what could be a crowded Republican primary, especially one where Trump is still potentially the favorite to win it.
Polls don't even include Hogan. Most regard the primary race as being between Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), or a rematch of Trump and President Joe Biden for the general election.
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