Trump and Haley will battle for attention at CPAC

Former President Trump and his former UN ambassador Nikki Haley are set to deliver dueling speeches at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) next week, focusing on the ongoing tug-of-war within the Republican Party.

For the first time since Hailey announced her candidacy for president last week, the two announced mainstream Republican contenders for the 2024 election will present their candidacies at the same event. And while few Republicans expect Trump and Haley to go after each other directly, they say it could be one of the biggest examples of seething tensions within the party.

“There are a lot of next generation candidates and I think Nikki will tactfully try to prove that there is a real choice between these older guys like Trump and this younger generation of leaders who are changing the world.” said one longtime Republican consultant.

“Having both of them in CPAC will give you two very different personality types to compare.”

For now at least, Trump remains the front-runner in the race for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination; he towers over each of his Republican rivals by mere name recognition and status, and early polls show him clearly leading in an expectedly crowded primary field.

But he also stands as a wounded leader. A growing number of Republicans began to question his influence and political instincts after the party’s weak performance in the 2022 midterm elections, prompting other contenders like Haley to make the argument that the Republican Party – and Washington more broadly – needs younger leadership. . .

The former UN ambassador and governor of South Carolina has built her campaign around this very idea so far, and she is expected to make that argument again next week when she takes the stage at CPAC.

Saul Anuzis, a Republican strategist and former Michigan GOP chairman who has attended every CPAC since 1978, said the gathering near Washington, D.C. would give Haley a real chance to introduce himself to the party activist class and clarify his message. to the conservative base of the Republican Party.

“For Nikki, this is really an opportunity to present herself in a different way. People know her as a former governor, a former ambassador to the UN, but they don’t really know her,” Anuzis said. “She should basically show why she is credible, what her message is and how to do it without being anti-Trump, and I think that will be a balance for her.”

So far, Hailey has been careful to walk around Trump, only hinting at the mockery of her former boss. When she announced her campaign last week, she noted that the Republicans had lost the popular vote in seven of the last eight presidential elections and called for a change in the party’s leadership without directly mentioning current leader Trump.

Asked during a stop in Iowa this week why voters who have supported Trump in the past should support Haley in 2024, she said candidates don’t have to “have to be 80 years old to be in D.C.” before than calling Trump “friend” and “the right president at the right time”.

President Donald Trump meets with outgoing U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley in the Oval Office of the White House on Tuesday, October 9, 2018 in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

“I was proud to serve in his office. But as dire as the situation is, as much as all the media and everyone wants to talk about the past, we need to leave the status quo in the past,” she said. “We have a job. We must look ahead.”

This message could put Trump on the defensive. An NPR-PBS NewsHour-Marist National Poll published on Wednesday found that more than half of Republicans and independent supporters of the Republican Party – 54 percent – say the party has a better chance of winning the White House in 2024 if someone other than Trump is its candidate.

For Trump, the goal of the CPAC is to show how committed he is to the 2024 campaign, Anuzis said. Although the former president became the first candidate to enter the contest when he announced his bid in November, his campaign was criticized by some Republicans as lackluster and lacking a clear strategy.

It was not until the end of January that he made his first campaign through New Hampshire and South Carolina, the first two principal states. And he still hasn’t stopped in Iowa, where the first Republican nominee contest is taking place. It wasn’t until Monday that he unveiled his senior headquarters in Iowa.

“It’s important for Trump to convince people and show them how serious he is about running or not,” Anuzis said. “This is what he will have to face. Now he has a very selective, free infrastructure. So he will have to show his commitment to the race and set the base on fire.”

“This is a chance for him to excite and motivate his base,” Anuzis added. “These are very his type of people.”

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Of course, Anuzis said, while Trump and Haley may get the most attention, they are not the only ones with 2024 prospects to enter the CPAC scene.

The lineup also includes former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is considering entering the race, and Vivek Ramaswamy, a wealthy entrepreneur and conservative activist who announced the Republican nomination on Tuesday. One notable absence: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is preparing for a possible presidential candidacy.

“I think there’s a huge amount of interest in these new candidates, whether it’s Nikki, Vivek or Ron DeSantis,” Anuzis said.

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