US presidential election: Donald Trump encounters resistance from conservative donors

If your own strength is measured by the size of your opponents, then Donald Trump is still a serious player in his Republican party – despite legal trouble, a listless start to the campaign and more successful competition. Because what are probably the biggest donors to the US conservatives, Charles and David Koch, are now demonstratively opposed to the ex-US president. “Our country has to go ahead and put the past few years behind it. If we want better people, we have to put forward better candidates,” says a letter from the Americans for Prosperity organization, with which the billionaire Koch brothers finance conservative circles.

“Americans for Prosperity” is one of the most financially powerful supporters of right-wing and ultra-conservative Republicans. For example, they are among the climate change deniers and reject subsidies for electric cars, among other things. Although the presidential candidates backed by the organization have rarely been successful in the past, their influence could at least go so far as to “prevent” unwelcome candidates, according to Time magazine.

Donald Trump and Nikki Haley, who was UN ambassador under him, are the most prominent official contenders for the Republican presidential nomination so far. And at the Party base, the former head of the White House is still very popular. In many polls, he is ahead of the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, who has so far been considered the most promising competitor. The Washington Post, however, notesthat national surveys differ in part from those in individual states. In more liberal New Hampshire, for example, DeSantis leads. In Iowa, where the first Republican candidate vote will take place in 12 months, he is level with Trump.

However, with more than a year and a half before the presidential election, it is still too early to even guess which man or woman will ultimately be in the running for the highest office. But the mere fact that Donald Trump wants to know it again electrifies supporters and opponents alike. Especially since it is very rare that a US president who has been voted out of office starts a comeback attempt. The political site “Fivethirtyeight” has taken the trouble to determine Trump’s re-election chances using historical comparisons.

Result: With Grover Cleveland, only one ex-head of state has managed to return to the White House after a break. His second term ended in 1897. Theodore Roosevelt, among others, had tried. After the Republicans failed to nominate him as a candidate, he founded his own party, ran with it and lost.

Nevertheless, Trump also seems to be toying with the idea of ​​switching to a third party. Only recently was he open his network “Truth Social” an essay on Roosevelt’s secession posted from 1912. It also explicitly refers to the consequences for the Republicans: namely a split and, as a result, the victory of the competing Democrats. His reference to the past was probably meant as a threat.

While Donald Trump may still have a large following in his own ranks, and they may even nominate him again as a candidate for the White House, they may be reckoning without the rest of the country. Because when it comes to the actual elections in November 2024, the ex-president is only slightly ahead if his opponent is Joe Biden. However, the majority of Americans don’t really want either of them, and especially not a second duel. This is another reason why “Americans for Prosperity” emphasizes that they want to support a candidate “who can also win”.

Sources: “Time Magazine“, “The Independent”, “New York Post“, Fivethirtyeight, Realclearpolitics“The Daily Beast“, “Washington Post”.