Republicans begin the race to nominate an opponent who will defeat Biden

The battle for the soul of American conservatism could not have come at a worse time for the Republican Party. As the candidates pile into the starting line, the formation shows a deep division. The gap has a first and last name and defines the main issue hovering over the conservative candidates:Is there a Republican Party without Donald Trump in 2023?

The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) this week, he gave a good account of that debate. Former President Trump played at home at an event where his faithful were the majority, and they let the candidate know. nikki haley Friday afternoon. If Haley’s speech was persuasive, it wasn’t very persuasive, or so it seemed Cries of “We love Trump” which the crowd gave the former South Carolina governor as she headed for the exit.

The daughter of immigrants and ambassador to the United Nations during Trump’s presidency, Haley could be considered a candidate for the more moderate wing of the party, were it not for the fact that throughout her political career she conditioned her ideological firmness to the prevailing political winds of the moment. She may have been the first female Republican presidential candidate in the party’s second, post-Trump era, but it seems that it does not convince either the most moderate of its moderation or the most extreme of its extremism.

The other presidential candidate to take the CPAC stage was Mike Pompeo, former CIA Director and former Secretary of State, both of which he held during the Trump administration. Although Pompeo has not yet announced his candidacy, he used his speech to the audience gathered on the outskirts of Washington DC to inform them of what he believes “crisis of conservatism”.

The most unusual Republican candidate, Vivek Ramaswamy, was also on stage at CPAC on Friday. The Indian-born billionaire is launching a campaign aimed at avoiding what he calls a “national divorce” between Republican and Democratic states and fighting the excesses of American progressivism. Among the proposals Ramaswamy presented to the CPAC audience, the most striking was to “eliminate the FBI” and create “something new” to replace it.

The absence of DeSantis

The most notable absence from the event was the absence of the governor of Florida Ron DeSantis who attended a conservative donor retreat in Palm Beach instead. The Floridian’s candidacy could potentially make things difficult for Donald Trump since the two are tied in the polls and are leading significantly over the other candidates.

In favor of DeSantis, his excellent performance in the 2022 elections and the state of Florida, which is on its way to becoming the perfect ultra-conservative dystopia. On the contrary, the historical moment in which foreign policy – an area in which he stands out for his inexperience – seems extremely relevant ahead of the 2024 elections.

Evidence of Donald Trump’s control over CPAC is the prominence with which his last name appeared in every nook and cranny of the event. his two sons, Donald Junior and Lara have already taken the stage. Trump was booked for the closing speech of the conservative forum this Saturday night (early Sunday morning in Spain). He did it shortly after another of the flashy guests, the former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, addressed CPAC attendees to praise Trump, condemn gun control — “an armed people will never be enslaved” — and once again cast doubt on Lula da Silva’s 2022 election victory.