I wouldn’t encourage anyone to lay bets on this — after all, this is Donald Trump we’re talking about here. Anything could happen. But insider word from Team Trump says he will announce his 2024 presidential bid on Monday, November 14. No word on whether gold escalators will be involved.

DJT has been dropping hints for a while now that he plans to run, and many voices in the Republican party wanted him to wait until after the midterms. Well, the midterm elections are next week, and it looks like Trump just can’t wait to jump in.

Appearing at a Sioux City, IA, rally on Thursday night, the former president pumped up the crowd with this:

“In order to make our country successful and safe and glorious, I will very, very, very probably do it again … Get ready that’s all I’m telling you — very soon. Get ready.”

Plus, behind the scenes, Team Trump has been blocking off dates the week after the midterms for travel to a series of political events. With a red wave expected on Tuesday, they plan to surf the excitement among Republicans.

And, Senior Counsel Kellyanne Conway said this at a Thursday event sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor:

“I think you can expect him to announce soon.”

However, this is politics, and nothing is a done deal. A possible run-off in Georgia between Herschel Walker and Raphael Warnock could delay any decision to declare. But then again, this is also Trump, where anything could happen — or not happen. And no one can gin up publicity better than DJT.

Fellow Republicans, We Can Do Better

Yes I said it. We can do better with our 2024 GOP standard bearer than the 45th president.

Nor am I the only one to think so, either. I’ve held conversations with fellow Republicans who would rather have someone else be our nominee. One longtime activist told me that “Trump is dividing our party.”

She has a point. Reports are surfacing that show Trump may be losing support among GOP voters, as well as Republican donors. Even worse, some polls suggest that most Americans don’t want him to run again for president — and that would include most independents.

So who is treading on Trump’s turf? Ron DeSantis. While he still lags behind DJT among the base, he’s rapidly making inroads.

Last month I attended a rally for our gubernatorial candidate where DeSantis was keynote speaker. It was held in a large event center, and accommodations soon became standing-room-only.

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Another name I’ve heard bandied about here in Kansas is that of former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Pompeo isn’t as well known as DeSantis, but he has a lot of credibility to suggest he’d be an improvement over Trump. West Point graduate, Army veteran, attorney, co-founder of an aerospace company, former KS congressman, and former CIA director — Pompeo would be a formidable contender for the presidency. Plus, he still lives in Wichita, KS, not in Washington, DC.

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I would support either of these good Republicans in a heartbeat.

That is not to say that Donald Trump didn’t accomplish a lot while in office. We cheered when Trump appointed three originalist judges to the Supreme Court. We appreciated his strong stance on Iran and his removal of the ISIS threat in the Middle East. His presence helped contain Vladimir Putin and, to a certain extent, Xi Jinping (although Xi did take over Hong Kong). Our southern border was secure under Trump, and the economy was certainly stronger.

But aren’t these the things that another, less fractious president could’ve accomplished anyway?

The Case Against Trump

Kimberly Ross, writing at the Washington Examiner, speaks for me and others in my party who don’t want Trump in the White House.

Ross writes:

“Despite Trump’s achievements in office, his repeated lies about the 2020 election serve as the major red flag in the case against him.”

I agree. Ross continues:

“Viewing Trump as either the savior of the party or country and deserving of another chance at the presidency isn’t supported by all manner of evidence. The Republican Party should not select an unserious man who embraces conspiracies and throw him into the ring for a third round.”

And, like me, Ross believes that we should look forward, not back to the Trump years:

“Lessons learned from the midterm elections should be all about going forward, not backward. Choosing Donald J. Trump again would be going backward. Trump’s unchecked narcissism should not be rewarded. The strategy only hurts causes conservatives care most about: the unborn, education, national security, defense, immigration, and the like. If truth and decency aren’t core values seen in those chosen to lead, there is no reason for anyone to take seriously Trump’s claims of being a conservative on other issues.”

Truth and decency seem to have been lost among many in Trump’s base. If we as parents — especially those of us who are Christians — wouldn’t tolerate Trump-like behavior among our children, why should we tolerate it in our nominee?

If You Don’t Support Trump, You Must Be A …

I’ve seen many commenters on social media and various websites who throw all manner of shade at conservatives who don’t support Donald Trump.

1. “You must be a NeverTrumper.” Most of us who didn’t like Trump voted for him anyway. We knew he was better than the abject failure who now occupies the White House.
2. “You must be a cuck.” Short for cuckold, this particularly nasty name emerged from alt-right Trump supporters in 2016. Like the silly leftists at Twitter who throw the word fascist around, they probably don’t know what “cuckold” means.
3. “You must be a RINO.” Ah, yes, the ever-popular RINO, which emerged from the Tea Party days to mean “Republican In Name Only;” i.e., liberal Republicans. The  most hardcore Trump supporters now use it to mean “anyone who doesn’t adore Donald J. Trump.” It’s like the term “racist” among progressives, thrown out to shut up the opposition. Besides, what the hell does RINO even mean anymore?

Instead of tossing out meaningless epithets, perhaps staunch Trump supporters could let us know just why they want their man to become the nominee in 2024. Give us facts. We’ll listen.

Meantime, I’ll look forward to seeing another candidate become the standard-bearer for my party to regain the White House.

Featured image: Michael Candelori Photography/flickr/cropped/CC BY 2.0.