Recent comments made by a pair of top Republican officials seem to suggest that President Trump may not run for re-election in 2020.
The comments, made by Senator Rand Paul and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, have cast doubt on whether or not Trump would re-up despite raising millions for his campaign.
The question is whether Paul and Christie know something the general public does not.
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
The Kentucky senator’s comments were solicited last Sunday in an interview with MSNBC’s Kasie Hunt, who asked him at about 10:24 in the video below whether the country would benefit from a Republican presidential primary. (No doubt her hope is that the answer to that question would be yes.)
Paul replied that “no one can stop primaries from happening and there could well be a primary that happens,” but then added:
Before you even get to that, you need to know, is President Trump running for re-election? I think you won’t know that until you get into sort of – second, third year of his presidency.
Christie echoed Paul’s uncertainty during an interview with NBC’s Matt Lauer late last week, in which he offered support for the President.
“If he runs again I would support him, yes, but I’m not so sure what will happen,” adding:
Four years is a long time, and especially for someone who has not spent a lifetime in politics, so I think those years affect him differently. So I’m sure the president will make whatever decision is best for him and his family and the country.
Like Christie, Paul insisted the president would have his support should he decide to run.
“I can’t see myself supporting anybody but Trump,” he said.
The decision not to run would be highly unconventional, as only three previous presidents opted not to run for re-election at the end of their first term – James K. Polk, James Buchanan, and Rutherford B. Hayes.
If Democrats have their way, President Trump might not make it to the end of his first term, let alone be up for re-election.
Cross posted at the Mental Recession
