If you’re in a race — say it’s a foot race — and the people coming in a far second and third find themselves running side-by-side for a moment or two. Should they collaborate to slow down the front-runner?
As of early January, Donald Trump was leading Ron DeSantis nationally by almost 50 points and Nikki Haley by over 50 points in the Republican presidential primary, according to FiveThirtyEight. If DeSantis and Haley teamed up, they’d still be behind by about 38 points. That’s a lot of ground to make up.
What Haley and Desantis are hoping for is to stay in the race in the hope Trump trips, pulls a hamstring or is disqualified for performance-enhancing rhetoric. At this point, that looks to be their only chance at winning the race.
Haley — the U.N. ambassador under Trump and former governor of South Carolina — is open to teaming up with DeSantis to at least slow Trump’s momentum, according to NBC News.
On Friday, Haley said she would “maybe” consider Ron DeSantis — the current governor of Florida — as her running mate in a joint interview with NBC News and the Des Moines Register on Friday. “If he wants to join forces with me, I welcome that,” Haley said.
When asked about her chances when it comes to beating Trump, Haley said, “I am going to defeat Donald Trump on my own. That’s the goal that we have. If he wants to join forces with me, I welcome that. But right now, we’ve got a race that we feel good about. We’ve got a surge. We’ve got momentum.”
A political race is not a foot race, but being 50 points down to Trump nationally in the GOP primary is like running 50 yards behind the front-runner in a 100-yard dash. Even if you do feel a second wind coming on, it’s not a lot to feel good about, though the rush of adrenalin could impact the brain and lend a momentary sense of euphoria.
DeSantis, when asked in an interview with NBC News and the Des Moines Register on Thursday whether he would consider joining forces with Haley, dismissed the idea. “For what?” he answered and then called Haley a “phony” and a “darling of the Never Trumpers.”
DeSantis wasn’t finished. He accused Haley of running to be Trump’s vice president, something he would never do. No runner’s high in the DeSantis camp. It sounds like they’re bent on finishing the race on their own. No chance for a relay race here.
Would this be a good matchup?
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For her part, Haley did not give a direct answer as to whether she would be Trump’s vice president if asked to do so. She waved off the question as a set-up by her opponents.
“The reason I don’t answer that question is I don’t play my opponents’ games,” Haley said. “I am not running to be vice president,” she added.
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I guess that means if DeSantis did consider teaming up, he’d have to settle for VP himself. Would he do it? Maybe. Politicians do strange things, but I doubt it. Unless Trump is convicted on one of his numerous trumped-up indictments, kept off the ballot in some states or ends up in the hospital from high blood pressure from all the piling on from the left, the question of DeSantis as VP is moot. It’s safe to say Trump, if nominated, won’t ask him.
It’s not only the left that is after Trump. Chris Christie — the former GOP governor of New Jersey turned RINO — is one of a number of Republican Never-Trumpers. He also happens to be in the GOP primary race, where he is almost 59 points behind Trump nationally, according to FiveThirtyEight.
In November, Christie’s campaign accused DeSantis and Haley of setting their sights on the 2028 presidential election because they were reluctant to criticize Trump, according to the New York Post. He’d team up with anybody who hates Trump, even the devil himself.
Christie should just quit the race. He’s so winded, he’s in danger of passing out. He should go home and eat worms. (I hear they’re low-calorie and full of vitamins.)
Let’s see, if Christie, Haley and DeSantis all teamed up to throw Trump off his game, they’d still be about 35 points behind, with the finish line ominously near.
Whatever happens — and almost anything could — at this point in the race it looks like Trump is going to cruise in for an easy win in the 2024 Republican primary. DeSantis and Haley might have a shot in 2028, especially if they make a relatively decent showing in this race. That means coming in second or third.
Anything else could mean throwing in the towel, along with their presidential dreams.
