NEWS AND OPINION:
The 2024 presidential election will not arrive for another 456 days, as of Monday. Those Republicans who hope to face off against President Biden on Nov. 5, 2024, are already sharing their productive strategies for the big bout.
Those hopefuls include Vivek Ramaswamy, who currently ranks third in popularity behind former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. See the Poll du Jour at column’s end for more insight.
Meanwhile, Mr. Ramaswamy has this advice for Republicans in general:
“Here’s the truth on how to win 2024 in a landslide. Stop talking about President Biden and start talking about our own vision. The dirty little secret is that Biden isn’t even the one who’s in charge. The people we elect to run the government aren’t the ones who actually run the government right now. It’s the managerial class in the deep state. I’ve offered unprecedented detail on exactly how we will shut down three-letter government agencies, and if we explain to the public how that will revive our economy and restore accountability in government, we will win,” he said in a written statement shared with Inside the Beltway.
“The sad truth is that the Republican Party right now is a party in search of an agenda. We blew the 2022 midterms because we acted like a bunch of partisan hacks spewing poll-tested platitudes about the ‘failed Biden agenda.’ Well, we should expect the same fate in 2024 unless we level up and actually articulate what we stand for,” Mr. Ramaswamy declared.
THINK POSITIVE
Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump offered his own positive interpretation of his current legal challenges as related to the recent four-count indictment by special counsel Jack Smith in the election-overturn case.
“Anytime they file an indictment, we go way up in the polls,” Mr. Trump said during his speech Friday before an audience of 2,700 at the Alabama Republican Party Summer Dinner in the state capital of Montgomery.
“We need one more indictment to close out this election. One more indictment and this election is closed out. Nobody has even a chance,” he declared.
A SITUATION SUMMARIZED
Meanwhile, radio host and commentator Tammy Bruce has her own terse summary of former President Donald Trump’s predicament — and the implications for the nation’s future.
“The details of what Trump is facing will be discussed ad infinitum by analysts and at our dinner tables. But the real question is whether or not we want politicians using the behemoth of government to kneecap their main political opponent to be established as normal in our country,” Ms. Bruce wrote in an editorial for the Association of Mature American Citizens, a conservative grassroots advocacy group that now boasts 2 million members.
A LITTLE LEARNING
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute offers a very comprehensive student program which concentrates on offering high-school students “the opportunity to transform themselves as impactful civic-minded leaders,” among other things.
The Reagan Academy offers online courses — yes, there are tuition fees, but there are also a pair of free student courses available, titled “Exploring Great Communication” and “Exploring Leadership.”
In addition, scholarships for $10,000 per year for up to four years toward college expenses are available through the GE-Reagan Scholarship Program. To date, the program, now in its 13th year, has awarded $8.62 million to 216 students from 42 states and attending 120 undergraduate campuses.
Curious about all this, or know a young person who would be? Consult Reaganfoundation.org/education. Check under the listings titled “Scholarships for High School Students” and “Reagan Academy.”
IT’S STILL THE ECONOMY
The numbers are very stark.
In a written report shared with Inside the Beltway, Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel advises, citing the Bureau of Labor Statistics, that prices in the U.S. have increased by 16.6% since President Biden took office.
Average gas prices around the nation sit at $3.83 a gallon, according to the American Automobile Association, up by $1.40 per gallon since Mr. Biden took office, Mrs. McDaniel points out.
“The Fed recently hiked interest rates for the 11th time since March 2022 — and they are now at their highest level in 22 years — making it harder for families to buy a home, finance a car, pay off debt, and perform various other financial transactions,” she also says.
“The U.S. economy added 187,000 jobs in July — coming in lower than economists’ expectations for the second month in a row,” Mrs. McDaniel also pointed out, citing a report from CNBC released Friday.
And her reaction to all this?
“Bidenomics is simple: you pay more to get less. Families and small businesses, who are already failing to keep up with sky-high prices and falling real wages, are left to foot the bill as Biden bounces from vacation to vacation avoiding any accountability or responsibility for his failed economy. Come next fall, Americans will choose commonsense over crazy and vote Biden out,” Mrs. McDaniel said in the statement.
POLL DU JOUR
• 58% of Republican voters who plan to vote in the 2024 presidential primary or caucus will cast their vote for former President Donald Trump.
• 15% plan to vote for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
• 9% plan to vote for entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
• 7% plan to vote for former Vice President Mike Pence.
• 3% plan to vote for Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina.
• 3% plan to vote for former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
• 3% plan to vote for former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
• 1% plan to vote for North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
• 1% plan to vote for former Rep. Will Hurd of Texas.
• 1% plan to vote for “someone else.”
• 0% plan to vote for Miami Mayor Francis Suarez.
• 0% plan to vote for former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
SOURCE: A Morning Consult poll of 3,716 registered Republican voters who plan to vote in the 2024 Republican primary or caucus, conducted July 28-30. Respondents were given a list of candidates.
• Follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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