WASHINGTON (HRNW) – As he mounts another run for president, Donald Trump by all accounts is still the same Donald Trump – aggrieved, petulant and tunnel-focused on his political standing. It’s the electoral landscape around him that has changed.
And after Republicans’ underwhelming performance in the 2022 midterm elections, people in the party increasingly want to look forward, not back. Trump is no longer the shoo-in for its presidential nomination that he might have been even a year ago.
His potential rivals, notably Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, have been sparking enthusiasm among Republican voters and, just as importantly, raising money from enthusiastic donors. DeSantis thrashed his Democratic opponent to win re-election last week, while many high-profile Trump-backed candidates lost their races.
In an Election Day exit poll published by Edison Research, six out of 10 respondents said they had an unfavorable opinion of the former president.