So when is Trump going to make this damn announcement? I’ll probably just file this column, knowing my luck. And I’m not the only one nervous about Trump’s timing. Some Republicans reportedly spent Monday frantically calling Trump and begging him not to announce his candidacy until after Tuesday’s midterm elections. The concern among some Republicans is that Trump’s news would overshadow the midterm elections and send Democratic voters to the polls. Trump, in an unusual display of restraint, suggested we all mark our calendars for November 15, when he will make a “very big” announcement from Mar-a-Lago. “We don’t want anything to detract from the importance of tomorrow,” he added, as he made an announcement he knew was guaranteed to make headlines and steal at least some attention from the midterm elections. I know it’s sad to think that we might all suffer through two years of candidate Trump (and that doesn’t even mean he might win), but there is a silver lining to this horror show. That is, there’s a decent chance that Trump throwing his hat in the ring will split the Republican party and, if we’re lucky, make them eat their own. Right now, you see, the leading unofficial Republican candidate for 2024 is Florida Governor Ron DeSandis, with whom Trump is extremely annoyed. Trump helped DeSandis go from relative obscurity to right-wing darling when he endorsed him in 2018. Since then, however, DeSandis hasn’t quite kissed the ring. He has gone from protégé to potential threat – a threat that Trump is very keen to neutralize. We know Trump is serious about dumping DeSantis because he’s hit on strategy #1 in his “How to Be a Political Genius” handbook: come up with a devastating nickname for your opponent. On Saturday, Trump revealed his new name for the Florida governor: “Ron DeSanctimonious.” It’s not bad, but it feels a bit of an effort. Probably because it is, in fact, an extremely hard effort. According to the New York Times: “Mr. Trump has been privately rehearsing derisive nicknames for Mr. DeSandis with his friends and advisers, including the disapproval he used on Saturday.” I know we should all be worried about the death of democracy and all, but I like the idea of Trump convening a little writers room where everyone makes up nicknames for his enemies. Speaking of strategies, Democrats, I believe, should be weaponizing Trump’s insecurities as best they can. Democrats should have operatives call Trump and say, “Hey, did you hear what DeSanctimonious said about you?” Then they should call DeSantis and say, “Hey, did you hear what Trump said about you?” Then they’ll have to sit back and watch two of the most popular—and most awful—Republicans tear each other apart. Forget Nixon’s “crazy theory”: here’s Mahdawi’s “middle school political theory.” Arwa Mahdawi is a columnist for the Guardian
