The midterm elections were expected to open a avenue for him to launch his 2024 presidential bid. Instead, election night was a disappointing one for Donald Trump, who sees his main Republican rival galvanized by the results.
The former president, who was personally involved during the campaign, dreamed of a landslide victory for his foals before his “very big announcement” promised next week – his possible presidential candidacy.
But the announced “red wave” did not break, although the Republicans left to snatch – by a short head – the majority in the House of Representatives. The control of the Senate remains very uncertain.
“If in some ways yesterday’s election was somewhat disappointing, from my personal point of view, it was a great victory,” said Donald Trump on Wednesday on his Truth Social network.
Nevertheless, the most resounding victory on the conservative side was that of Ron DeSantis, triumphantly re-elected governor of Florida. However, it is the strongest potential opponent of Donald Trump in the race for the Republican nomination for 2024.
His big win cements his rising star status. Already, a column published by Fox News on Wednesday morning crowned him the new “leader of the Republican Party”.
“Counter-performances”
Before the election, the leader of the Republican minority in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, had worried about the “quality” of the candidates pushed to the front of the stage by Donald Trump.
The star surgeon Mehmet Oz, dubbed by the ex-president, notably failed to win the key seat of senator in Pennsylvania, where the ultra-conservative and anti-abortion candidate Doug Mastriano, present during the assault on the Capitol, was also beaten. for the post of governor.
The former tenant of the White House could thus have lost his aura of “kingmaker”, despite the notable exception, in Ohio, of the victory of the Trumpist converted JD Vance to the post of senator.
The mid-term elections being generally favorable to the opposition, “it should not have been so difficult for the Republicans”, commented for Agence France-Presse Jon Rogowski, professor of political science at the University of Chicago. All the more so in a context of high inflation, combined with Joe Biden’s anemic popularity rating.
“Many of the candidates” supported by Donald Trump “have performed poorly,” said Jon Rogowski. Some of his pet peeves have on the contrary won.
Brian Kemp, openly opposed to Donald Trump, who criticizes him for his role in the certification of the 2020 ballot, thus retained his post as governor in Georgia.
These results show that “you can be conservative, have principles, oppose Trump and win,” George Washington University professor Peter Loge told Agence France-Presse.
“It’s time to move on,” said Geoff Duncan, Republican vice-governor of Georgia, critic of the former president, on CNN on Wednesday.
“Pans”
In Scottsdale, Arizona, some Republican voters were in favor. “We would prefer someone less divisive. Trump only has it for his ego,” Lisa Christopher told Agence France-Presse, blue cardigan over her shoulders.
This sixty-something woman who runs a small online business sees Ron DeSantis as a “better politician”. “He is more moderate, he could convince more people to work with him,” she says.
And Bob Nolan, another Republican sympathizer, to agree. Donald Trump “did a great job, he was the one we needed” in 2016, but he’s “dragging too many pans”.
“DeSantis is more down to earth, and ready to compete” in 2024, asserts this crane operator visiting from Ohio.
Wednesday morning, the ex-president was “livid” and “screaming at everyone”, according to one of his advisers quoted anonymously by CNN.
Donald Trump denied it to Fox News. And, when asked about the advisability of maintaining his “very big announcement” scheduled for November 15, replied: “Why change anything? »
A candidacy so early would mainly aim to pull the rug out from under the feet of possible rivals in view of 2024, according to Jon Rogowski, who sees it as a sign of feverishness.
This same November 15, another rival of Donald Trump, his former vice-president Mike Pence, will publish his memoirs, the good pages of which have conveniently appeared in the wall street journal Wednesday. Mr. Pence recounts the pressures he suffered to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.