Rallying ‘Round Trump: Republican Rivals Unite for a White House Ballot Battle
As the Republican Party continues to battle in court for Donald Trump’s effort to reverse the results of the 2020 election, a strange thing has happened—Trump’s former White House rivals are now rallying around the former president.
Trump’s opponents during the Republican primaries, including former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld, former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, and former House Representative Joe Walsh, have all come out this week in support of the former president’s legal efforts. The sudden shifts in support have raised eyebrows, especially considering Trump’s longtime rivalry with the three former candidates.
Weld, who was Trump’s main rival in the GOP primaries for the 2020 election, has recently come out in a statement urging supporters to donate to the “Stand With Trump” fund and strengthen Trump’s election challenge. Sanford, who famously referred to Trump as a “global clown over the last three years,” also recently tweeted his support of the former president’s effort to challenge the election results. Similarly, Walsh, who ran against Trump in the 2020 primaries and claimed he was “unfit to be president,” issued a statement of support for the legal efforts.
The new wave of support from former rivals indicates that Trump still holds considerable sway within the party, particularly in his efforts to challenge the 2020 election results. Despite the vocal criticism and criticism of his policies during the primaries, it appears that Trump’s former rivals are willing to set aside differences in the face of this legal challenge.
Many view the show of support as an acknowledgment of basic party loyalty and a sign that the GOP members who have rallied around Trump understand the importance of backing the president in order to maintain his voter base. Others may view the Republican Party’s unified front as a desperate attempt to stave off a potentially catastrophic outcome for the GOP if the results of the election are not overturned.
Whichever way one may interpret it, the recent conversion of Trump’s White House rivals to supporters of the former president sends a clear message—that they are all prepared to stand with Donald Trump if it means a political victory.