Democrats have been quick to remind their audience of the turmoil and what they call the “failures” of the Trump years, and cracks in Republican support for the former president have become more apparent. While many far-right Republicans rushed to support Trump, some conservative news outlets and commentators warned the GOP against realigning behind him. The announcement late Tuesday came as Trump’s Republican Party grappled with its disappointing performance in the midterm elections under the former president’s de facto stewardship. “Florida man makes announcement,” read a headline at the bottom of the front page of the New York Post, a conservative tabloid that has supported Trump for years. The news of the announcement was buried on page 26. National Review, another conservative publication, published an editorial by its editorial board entitled “No.” The article described Trump’s presidential bid as “an invitation to double down on the outrages and failures of recent years that Republicans should reject without hesitation or doubt.” A solid, unmistakable, No. pic.twitter.com/ryoh9YWPdY — National Review (@NRO) November 16, 2022 Since running for president in the 2016 race, Trump has purged the Republican Party of his critics — endorsing the primary challengers of his congressional opponents and driving others to withdraw. The Republican Party had become synonymous with Trump’s populist Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement. But after last week’s midterm voting — in which many Trump-backed candidates lost key races, costing Republicans a chance to control Congress — many in the party began to distance themselves from the former president. His announcement Tuesday night of a presidential run reinforced that trend. “We need more seriousness, less noise and leaders who are looking forward, not looking in the rearview mirror and claiming to be the victim,” tweeted former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a potential 2024 Republican nominee. Trump. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told reporters Wednesday that “the world has changed significantly” in recent weeks, predicting that there will be other GOP candidates seeking the presidency in 2024. “I’m going to support the Republican nominee, but I don’t know that it’s going to be him,” Cornyn said. As some conservatives ran in the opposite direction of Trump’s campaign, Democrats went on the offensive. President Joe Biden shared a video – captioned “Donald Trump has failed America” - of flattering news clips of his predecessor, including Trump saying there were “good people on both sides” after a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia that faced counter-protesters in 2017. The Biden campaign later sent an email to supporters asking for donations to the Democratic National Committee in response to Trump’s announcement. “This team defeated Donald Trump two years ago. It was not an accident,” he said. “Trump has pitted neighbors against neighbors. He propped up the economy for the rich. He left behind a mess. But a dedicated base of millions of grassroots supporters … rallied to donate, volunteer and vote in record numbers, and together we defeated him.” Biden has previously said he intends to run for re-election, but has not made his candidacy official. Democratic Congresswoman Barbara Lee called for Trump to be barred from seeking public office again, citing the January 6, 2021 attack by his supporters on the US Capitol. Let’s be clear: Donald Trump is not simply “unfit to serve” as President. He instigated a violent coup attempt against our democracy. He needs to be barred again from holding any public office and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. — Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) November 16, 2022 “When Trump first ran, he claimed to be an outsider. Now the emperor has no clothes,” tweeted Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern. McGovern added that the former president “screwed over America to get rich” and suggested Democrats are looking forward to a rematch with Trump in 2024, writing: “Bring it on.” Rep. Lori Trahan also pledged to work to ensure Trump does not win the presidency. “Donald Trump only cares about one thing – himself. He divided our nation to serve his political ambitions. He tried to subvert our democracy when he lost the election. Now, he wants to do it all over again,” he said in a social media post. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand echoed the congresswoman’s remarks. “Our country cannot afford four more years of Donald Trump’s chaos. But we’ve beaten Donald Trump before — and we’ll do it again,” he said in a tweet. New Trump campaign. Same old lies. Lies about his record. Lies about immigrants. Lies about Biden. Lies about our children. Lies about our LGBTQ+ neighbors. Lies upon lies upon lies. New trouble. Same old shredder. — Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) November 16, 2022 Despite his seemingly waning appeal, Trump won several endorsements from right-wing US lawmakers, including Republican members of the House of Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Elise Stefanik. “My friend Donald J. Trump has my full and total support for president in 2024,” Rep. Troy Nels, R-Texas, tweeted Tuesday night. “He’s the leader of the Republican Party and we’re going to make America great again!” Carrie Lake, a Trump-backed candidate who recently lost a gubernatorial race in Arizona, also offered her “full and complete support” to the former president’s 2024 campaign. Trump 2024! pic.twitter.com/9IYFDtLkvh — Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) November 15, 2022 The announcement of Trump’s presidential bid was the first of the 2024 season. It came about 15 months before the primaries begin with the Iowa caucuses. The timing has led some of the former president’s critics to raise questions about whether he is trying to distance himself from his legal issues. Trump is facing multiple lawsuits and investigations, including a criminal investigation into the possible mishandling of secret government documents. But the former president remains private, even as a candidate. “For anyone who needs to hear this – Trump [sic] The announcement that he is running for President has no legal impact on the investigations. No one at the DOJ [Department of Justice] watched that speech and destroyed all the work they were pursuing,” former Biden White House press secretary Jen Psaki tweeted.
