Following the lackluster start of the 2024 campaign, Donald Trump’s meeting with an extremist who opposes the Holocaust is finally receiving considerable GOP criticism while raising questions about his electoral viability.
Some Republicans are starting to explore if the political benefits of attacking the former president could exceed the risks, albeit cautiously and frequently with self-protective caveats. This pattern is evident in Mike Pence, the ex-vice president, and other leading politicians’ responses to Trump’s dinner with Nick Fuentes, the White nationalist. It was evident this month earlier in criticisms of the former president after his election-denying, inexperienced candidates failed to win any seats in the House of Representatives, raising the possibility that he would once more doom Republicans for the 2024 general election.
Donald Trump’s influence is still strong, as evidenced by the radical new House members. The majority are poised to seize control in January, and the possibility that GOP leader Kevin McCarthy would need Trump’s favor to become speaker. Trump’s decision to dine with antisemitic figures like Kanye West and Fuentes fueled concerns about his ability to attract more socially acceptable companions.
Pence Slams Donald Trump’s Ideologies Once More
The most vehement denunciation of Trump’s meeting with Fuentes emerged from Pence, who frequently looked on admiringly as his boss breached office rules – until he refused to join the former president’s plot to rig the 2020 congressional election.
In a public clip on Monday, Pence said that Donald Trump made a mistake by inviting a Holocaust denier, a White nationalist, and an antisemite to the table. Pence criticized Trump’s profoundly poor judgment in offering such people a seat, saying, He should reject those individuals and their terrible rhetoric without question. Pence’s bold refusal to support Trump’s attempt to prevent Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election significantly determined his political choices in the future.
Only in a GOP after Donald Trump would the former vice president’s successful presidential bid take shape. He is attempting to broaden that political lane with his remarks. Moreover, despite the fact that these remarks are sharper and more principled than those of the majority of other Republicans, political considerations are still there. Pence stated clearly that he didn’t believe Trump had been a bigot, even if he’d still have to win over supporters of his former boss.
