Former President Donald Trump appears to be focused on the 2024 general election while the other Republican presidential nomination hopefuls battle in the primary race.
Trump, the clear front-runner in the GOP field, seems more focused on defeating President Joe Biden next year than his Republican opponents, the Washington Examiner reported.
Trump's comments on the abortion issue are one example. He has warned that abortion restrictions that exclude extenuating circumstances such as rape, incest, or the health of the mother could hurt Republicans in future elections.
"Without the exceptions, it is very difficult to win elections,” Trump said Wednesday at a campaign stop in Dubuque, Iowa. "We would probably lose the majorities in 2024 without the exceptions, and perhaps the presidency itself."
During a Sunday interview on NBC’s "Meet the Press," Trump said the six-week abortion ban signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was "a terrible mistake." Numerous polls have shown DeSantis to be in second place in the Republican primary field.
Jeffrey Lazarus, a political scientist at Georgia State University, told the Examiner that Trump’s comments on the abortion ban were understandable.
"If you're a strategic Republican politician, the only reason you take a hardline stance on abortion is to win a primary election because that stance doesn't win general elections," Lazarus told the Examiner.
"So the abortion comment to me is a sign that Trump thinks he has the primary sewn up. And I happen to agree with him on that one very small thing."
Trump's emphasis in Iowa, which will hold first-in-the-nation caucuses on Jan. 15, along with his comments on a federal abortion ban, suggest the former president is setting his sights on winning the moderate and independent voters who will help decide the general election.
"He's definitely in general election mode. He's skipping debates. He's barely talking about his opponents. He's clearly focused on Joe Biden and the November 2024 election," national Republican strategist Brian Seitchik told the Examiner.
The Trump campaign is employing Alex Meyer, a former member of the Republican National Committee’s political data team, as a senior adviser focusing on Iowa and Missouri.
"Polling shows President Trump leading by nearly 40 points, but as he always tells us, put the pedal to the metal," a Trump spokesperson told the Examiner. "We don’t play prevent defense, and his aggressive upcoming schedule reflects President Trump’s continued commitment to earning support in Iowa one voter at a time.”
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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