Ron DeSantis became the Republican nominee for Governor in 2018 and then the governor of Florida only because of the endorsement of then-President Donald J. Trump.
Ironically, he is now running against Trump only because Trump gifted him the platform to do so.Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley likes to tout the deep foreign policy background she attained while serving as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations. A position she was appointed to by then-President Trump.
Mike Pence became the Vice President of the United States. Forever more, he will be in our history books because he filled that position. A title, in reality, granted him by then-candidate Trump.
Does that mean that DeSantis, Haley, and Pence should blindly defend Trump in any situation? Absolutely not.
While loyalty, appreciation, and acknowledgment of facts are admirable qualities – and noticed and prized by voters – when choosing to defend someone in the public arena, each case must be based on its merits. And by that barometer alone, it is truly shameful that every candidate now running against Trump to become the Republican nominee in 2024 is not defending him at the top of their lungs against a widely orchestrated attempt to manipulate the 2024 election in favor of the eventual Democratic nominee. Or, to put it more succinctly, a preemptive Coup d’état against the leading Republican candidate.
Those running against Trump don’t have to like him, like his personality, agree with his past policy positions, or support any or all of his views pertaining to the 2020 election.
But what they must do, is acknowledge that since June of 2015, when he first rode down the escalator at Trump Tower to announce that he was running for president, the corrupt Clinton-Obama-Biden political machines, in conjunction with elements of the Deep State, have done everything in their power to smear him and take him down via hoaxes, false statements, and invented “evidence.”
Ultimately, this has nothing to do with Trump and everything to do with highlighting and protecting our rights given to us under the Constitution.
Shockingly but not surprisingly, the deceitful “Get Trump” cabal has no boundaries. The end justifies any dishonorable means.
Now, in addition to the Biden White House and far-left state prosecutors trying to criminalize political speech or the right to challenge an election outcome, certain secretaries of state or state election boards are trying to unilaterally remove Trump’s name from the ballot in their states.
Suddenly, these partisan politicians are going to be given a pass by the liberal media and various elected “leaders” to unilaterally remove a candidate from the ballot and thereby deprive millions of Americans in that state of voting for the candidate of their choice.
Not only is such an action anti-democratic and anti-American, but it begs the obvious question: Where do such totalitarian dictates stop? Which freedom will next be stripped from voters? Who next will these self-appointed mini dictators target in order to get a desired political outcome?
During the first Republican Debate, former Governors Chris Christie and Asa Hutchinson took every opportunity to remind the audience of their prosecutorial backgrounds – Christie as the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Hutchinson as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas. As such, both men know more than any other candidate on that stage that what the corrupt Democratic machines are trying to do to Trump is not only outrageous but illegal.
Again, in an effort to target just one man, the Democrats and their multiple allies have decided to criminalize political speech or the right to challenge an election outcome.
Earlier this week, former President Trump posted an ad on Truth Social which calls out Democrat after Democrat, including Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, and Barack Obama, for claiming the 2000, 2004, and 2016 presidential elections were stolen.
The former President rightfully accuses Democrats of "one of the most hypocritical acts in history" for charging him criminally over his 2020 election questions after members of the Democratic Party "violently claimed the last three Republican presidential wins were stolen, rigged, and illegitimate."
Every Republican candidate running against Trump and every Republican leader should band together to sign a letter defending him against this persecution created solely to manipulate the outcome of a presidential election.
Suppose any candidate or leader is hesitant to do so because they selfishly and irresponsibly fear giving Trump an edge in the primary or because of their own animosity toward him. In that case, they should remember it is their duty to speak out in defense of the rights granted to every citizen under the Constitution of the United States of America.
Former President Donald J. Trump is entitled to each of those rights as a citizen. Rights which far-left anarchists are trying to steal from him in broad daylight as specific Republican candidates and “Leaders” watch the crime in progress while remaining silent.
Douglas MacKinnon is a former White House and Pentagon official and author of the book: The 56 – Liberty Lessons from those who risked all to sign The Declaration of Independence.
