Francis Suarez Is Running

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has made it official.  He’s running for President in the Republican primaries.  A lot of people are asking why.  I’m also asking why.

If I had to guess, I’d say that Suarez probably thought he would be governor of Florida by now.  In 2018, no one gave Ron DeSantis much of a chance when it came to defeating Andrew Gillum.  Suarez himself even endorsed Gillum.  The Suarez plan was probably to run for governor in 2022 and then for president in 2024.  But DeSantis narrowly won in 2018 and then overwhelmingly won in 2022.  Rather than wait until 2026 to run for governor and then 2028 to run for President, Suarez just decided to take the plunge in 24.  After all, Pete Buttigieg proved that a mayor can make a splash as a presidential candidate and Miami is considerably larger than South Bend.  Plus, unlike Pete, Suarez can at least claim to have been somewhat competent as an executive.

I wish Francis Suarez luck in his campaign to become the next Secretary of Transportation.

Dear Valued Customer

I got a form letter from my bank today telling me (a.k.a “valued customer”) that they had survived hard economic times in the past and they’re going to do so again. The letter told me not to worry. It’s having the opposite effect.

(It didn’t help that, after I read the letter, I turned on the TV and got hit with one of those, “Invest in gold before it’s too late” commercials.)

Trump Fatigue Is Real

Last week was a busy one and I was so swamped with work that I missed my chance to comment on the latest Trump indictment.

Or maybe I was just looking for an excuse not to comment.

Trump Fatigue is a very real thing and it seems like each day brings another dose.  It has nothing to do with his policies, some of which were good and some of which were not.  Instead, it’s all about Trump as a person.  Has any public figure ever committed so many unforced errors?  I’m all for pointing out that Trump is being indicted for doing the same thing as Hillary and Biden.  I’m all for pointing out that the DOJ should be going after Hunter Biden.  If you want to talk about the hypocrisy of Merrick Garland, I’m all for it.  But let’s not pretend like Donald Trump didn’t do most of this to himself.  Even when he knew that he had the DOJ after him, he still not only bragged about breaking the law but also bragged about knowing that he was breaking the law.  That this is largely a political prosecution doesn’t change the fact that Trump went out of his way to give the DOJ something to prosecute him for.

At a time when there is so much that needs to be done and when both Ron DeSantis and Gavin Newsom are both interested in the job and capable of speaking in c0herent sentences, America deserves better than being forced to endure another Trump/Biden election.  It’s time for both men to move on and give America a break.

Chris Sununu Is Not Running

And I am breathing a sigh of relief.

Earlier today, after spending the last few weeks teasing a presidential run, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu announced that he had come to his senses and would not launch a vanity campaign that would ultimately do little but help Trump win the nomination for a third time.  He joins Larry Hogan as being one of the few people mentioned as a possible candidate to not take the plunge.  I respect Sununu for accepting reality but it’s still hard to forgive him for not running for the Senate in 2022 and instead, leaving New Hampshire Republicans with Don Bolduc as their candidate.

Now, I guess we’re just waiting to hear from Doug Burgum, Chris Christie, Mike Rogers, Francis Suarez, John Bolton, Will Hurd, and Rick Perry.  We could still have 15 “major” candidates running for the nomination but everyone knows that only Trump, DeSantis, and (if DeSantis falters) Tim Scott are the only three who have a chance of winning it.