The election denier, the fundamentalist and the high flyer

The Republicans are on fire. The reason: Donald Trump has announced that he is running again for the US presidency. With his advance, the ex-president is probably playing into the hands of the Democrats in the state of Georgia. Because in a few weeks there will be a second round between a Republican and a Democratic candidate. And Trump just proved in the midterms that his electoral pull is waning. But is his time really over? In any case, he now has competition from his own party: two other well-known Republican faces are now also flirting with a presidential candidate. SonntagsBlick does the check: Who has a chance to win the party with the elephant in the logo in 2024 and possibly be declared the 47th president of the US?

The election denier

Lies, slander and an insane ego: these are the elements that make up former president Donald Trump (76). His permanent self-portrait still captivates many. Political scientist Thomas Jäger, 62, of the University of Cologne (D) says: “Trump announced his candidacy so early that everyone else is now thinking twice about whether they are really going against him.” However, Trump will likely stand in the way of not recognizing Joe Biden’s (80) victory in the 2020 presidential election — and fight by all means against the transfer of office, which culminated in the storming of the Capitol. This attack on democracy is likely to cost Trump the support of countless voters. On Friday there were more inconveniences: US Attorney General Merrick Garland (70) announced that veteran prosecutor Jack Smith will oversee the investigation against Trump. It is about the investigations into classified government documents that Trump kept in his private residence Mar-a-Lago after he left.

The fundamentalist

Mike Pence (63) wants to take advantage of Trump’s weakness. The former Indiana governor and Trump vice president, who was considered loyal, almost submissive, has broken with his former boss. On the ABC television network, Pence responded to Trump’s candidacy: “We have better choices.” Pence is relatively reserved, a follower of a church that expects the end of the world to be near, and a conservative family man. However, his political stance seems extreme to some. Pence does not accept the theory of evolution, positioning himself as an opponent of abortion and an enemy of LGBTQ equality. This is one of the reasons why experts give him low odds.

The high flyer

Politicians and media such as the ‘New York Times’ consider Ron DeSantis (44) to be Donald Trump’s most promising competitor. After his brilliant re-election as governor of Florida, he is the new star of the Republicans: DeSantis defeated his Democratic competitor with about 60 to 40 percent of the vote. Even in Miami-Dade County, a Democratic stronghold, he won by far. Like Trump, DeSantis is politicizing the party’s far right across the full spectrum of Republican favorites. However, DeSantis seems smarter and more self-aware to many. Some call him “Trump with brains”. However, he largely lacks charm and charisma. He likes to present himself as a doer, but sometimes comes across as wooden and not very authentic.