Key events
Martin Pengelly
The incipient Republican civil war between Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis heated up a little today, with news of how the former president reportedly plans to attack the Florida governor in the presidential primary.
Axios reported that Trump plans to attack “Ron DeSanctimonious, as he delights in branding the governor”, in areas including perceived disloyalty, support for changes to Social Security and Medicare and his response to the Covid pandemic.
Trump recently denied road-testing another nickname, Meatball Ron, though he conveniently repeated it in his denial.
DeSantis did not comment on the Axios report. Axios pointed out that earlier this week the governor told Fox News he saw Trump’s attacks as “background noise”.
Trump and the former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley are the only major declared candidates for the Republican nomination in 2024. DeSantis is among others expected to run.
Trump and DeSantis dominate polling, though Trump has recently enjoyed a boost. Polls have also shown Haley and DeSantis splitting anti-Trump support, giving Trump the win.
Axios said Trump would focus on votes DeSantis cast as a congressman to raise the eligibility aid for Medicare.
In a related attack line, Trump reportedly wants to link DeSantis to Paul Ryan, the former vice-presidential nominee and House speaker now on the board at Fox and a regular Trump target.
Covid, Axios said, “is a top Trump target, even though the governor is known for resisting mask mandates. Trump plans to attack DeSantis’ caution in the earliest days of the pandemic – and try to fight the issue to a draw”.
On a similarly muddy issue, Trump reportedly wants to portray DeSantis as “wishy-washy on the war” in Ukraine, while he himself “toes the MAGA line of cutting aid”.
Finally, Axios said Trump planned to attack DeSantis for perceived disloyalty, after Trump supported his first bid for governor in 2018, and likability.
Speaking to Fox News this week, DeSantis said Trump “used to say how great of a governor I was. And then I win a big victory [in the 2022 midterms] and all of a sudden he had different opinions. And so you could take that for what it’s worth.”
Donald Trump may be beloved at CPAC, but he’s apparently been banned by Fox News? That’s what the Guardian’s Ed Pilkington reports:
Fox News has imposed a “soft ban” on Donald Trump appearing on the channel, his inner circle is reportedly complaining, even as the broadcaster extends a warm invitation to other Republican hopefuls in next year’s presidential election.
The news startup Semafor reports that the cooling of relations between the former president and his once-beloved cable news channel has gone so far that a “soft ban” or “silent ban” is now holding Trump at arm’s length. The former US president has not made a weekday showing on Fox News since he chatted with his closest friend among the network’s star hosts, Sean Hannity, in September.
Meanwhile, Trump’s rivals for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination are currently frequent guests on Fox. Media Matters for America, a watchdog that keeps a close eye on the network’s output, has counted seven weekday appearances by the former governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley since she launched her presidential bid last month.
Even the lesser known right-wing activist and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who threw his hat into the ring last week, has appeared four times on Fox. Florida’s rightwing governor, Ron DeSantis, who is widely expected to compete with Trump though he has yet to declare, is also repeatedly seen on the network.
Key question of CPAC: how does Trump’s popularity endure?
Many, many things have changed in American politics since 2016, but one thing has stayed the same – Donald Trump’s position as the most popular man in the Republican party.
He’s been in a commanding position among Republicans ever since clinching its presidential nomination more than six years ago, and that dynamic hasn’t meaningfully changed in the years since. Case in point: the latest batch of opinion polls show him essentially blowing all the other potential contenders for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination out of the water.
As Sebastian Gorka made clear at the start of today’s events, CPAC is very much a Maga convention. Trump speaks tomorrow, but his most powerful presumed challenger next year, Florida governor Ron DeSantis, isn’t showing up at all. Instead, CPAC attendees will today hear from Nikki Haley, who is running next year, and Mike Pompeo, Trump’s former secretary of state who is expected to launch a campaign.
CPAC attracts conservatives from across the country. We’ll try to let you know what they think of Trump’s challengers, and whether they agree that – after all that’s happened – he remains the best man to lead the GOP.
Conservatives convene for marquee convention CPAC
Good morning, US politics blog readers. We’re coming to you today from Oxon Hill, Maryland, a place not everyone has heard of but which is currently host to an event many of you have – the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. Sebastian Gorka, a former White House adviser to Donald Trump who just took the stage, encapsulated its purpose well in his greeting to the audience: “this is the hardest of the hardcore Maga, right?” The king of Maga himself is not expected at the conference until tomorrow, and today’s highest profile speaker is Nikki Haley, a fellow contender for the Republican presidential nomination who is due at 12 pm. Also speaking are conservative firebrands like Marjorie Taylor Greene, Donald Trump Jr and Steve Bannon.
There is a world outside CPAC. Here’s what’s happening in it:
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Joe Biden is at the White House, where he’ll award the Medal of Honor to retired army colonel Paris Davis for actions during the Vietnam War, and then welcome German chancellor Olaf Scholz.
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Kamala Harris is heading to San Francisco for a fundraiser and roundtable with small businesses.
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White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre briefs reporters at 12.45pm.
