Donald Trump may have declared that “America’s comeback begins right now,” but the latest polls paint a questionable picture of his controversial re-election bid.
That of the Republican Party lackluster performance in mid-term and the failure of a number of Trump-approved candidates many wonder if the former president is the right leader to challenge for the White House in 2024.
His former vice president, Mike Pence, has suggested there will be “better choices” for Republican and Florida voters Ron DeSantis he’s getting a lot of attention as a potential challenger.
Mr. Trump remains a deeply polarizing figure. In fact, 54 percent of voters in last week’s midterms viewed him very or somewhat unfavorably, according to the Associated Press’ VoteCast poll of more than 94,000 Americans.
And an October AP-NORC poll found that even Republicans have their reservations about him remaining the party’s standard bearer, with 43% saying they don’t want to see him run for president in 2024.
Will Florida’s “Trump 2.0” Side Against the Former President?
Sunshine State Governor DeSantis was re-elected with nearly 60% of the vote last week and has been viewed as Trump’s heir apparent in the past.
Some Republican commentators and outlets have called DeSantis “Trump 2.0” as he appeals to far-right conservatives.
Mr. DeSantis has achieved a massive lead over Trump in a series of recent polls of likely voters sponsored by the Republican Party-affiliated Club for Growth Action.
State primary polls showed DeSantis beating Trump by 11 (Iowa) to 26 (Florida) percentage points, with strong leads also in Georgia and New Hampshire.
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The former president has christened his possible challenger “Ron DeSanctimonious” and Mr. DeSantis has returned fire as the feud grows between the once-knit pair.
In a lengthy statement, Trump called DeSantis an “average REPUBLICAN governor with great public relations” and expressed anger that he hadn’t publicly ruled out challenging him.
When asked about the comments, DeSantis said it was all “just noise”.
“I’d just like to tell people to go check the scoreboard from last Tuesday night,” DeSantis said, referring to the midterms.
He called his resounding victory in the gubernatorial race “the greatest Republican victory in the history of the state of Florida.”
‘Better picks’ than Trump, says his former deputy
While some Republicans with presidential ambitions have long ruled out running against Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence is another who has taken increasingly public steps toward a campaign of his own.
In a recent interview, Mr. Pence told The New York Times that he was angered by Mr. Trump’s conduct prior to January 6, 2021, the day of the US Capitol riots, but stopped short of attacking his character.
He declined to say whether Trump should be re-elected, but added, “I think we’ll have better choices.”
