VICTOR JOECKS: Trump has no plan to win in 2024

Republicans should nominate a presidential candidate who has a realistic plan to win. At the moment, that isn’t Donald Trump.

Trump visited Las Vegas over the weekend. He may have come primarily to attend UFC 290, but he did speak at a Republican event. Before his visit, I wrote he needed to answer this question. Given your assertion that the 2020 election was stolen — while you were running the government — how are you going to win in 2024?

During his visit, Trump did an interview with Megan Barth of the Nevada Globe. She asked him a version of this question, “How do you win in 2024 if the system, in your words, is rigged?”

Trump responded, “You have to swamp them. They’re cheaters. They cheat. They lie. They’re horrible.” He continued, “You have to hope the courts get tougher because they see a lot of it.”

This isn’t an answer or a strategy, especially if you accept Trump’s version of what happened in 2020. He fancifully contends that Democrats and the deep state stole that election, but this time his supporters can out vote this far-fetched conspiracy. What? Are we supposed to believe the bad actors willingly gave up this enormous power? Expecting the courts to intervene is a baseless wish, not a blueprint for success.

Barth then asked, “How do you win Nevada?”

“I think I won the last time. I think I won both times by a lot,” Trump said.

There’s a reason the first step in Alcoholics Anonymous is admitting you have a problem. If there’s no problem, there’s no need to change. If Trump thinks he won Nevada in 2016 and 2020, he won’t change. If he doesn’t change, he’ll lose this state a third time if he secures the nomination.

“If we don’t win this election, this upcoming 2024 election … it will be a country no more,” Trump said during his speech.

The implication here, intentional or not, is that Republicans must nominate a candidate with a realistic path to victory. The stakes are too high to do otherwise. Trump’s personal freedom likely hinges on if a Republican wins in 2024 or not too.

Trump’s answers on this subject don’t inspire confidence. Swing voters want an alternative to President Joe Biden’s awful policies, not someone fixated on a version of events from 2020 that most swing voters reject.

Contrast this with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. In an interview with me this year, he said that he opposes ballot harvesting. But he’s not going to fight with one hand tied behind his back. “Whatever the rules are, it’s our responsibility as Republicans to utilize those to our advantage,” DeSantis said. “So Nevada allows ballot harvesting. We need to ballot harvest.”

Support DeSantis or not, but that’s an actual plan.

Another way to tell that Trump will have general election troubles is to watch who the media attacks. The Washington Post tried to slime DeSantis for having a loving relationship with his wife, Casey — yes, really. The Atlantic was scandalized that he didn’t like schmoozing with other politicians. Vanity Fair called an him “unlikable jerk.”

Liberal journalists don’t like Trump, but they’re holding their fire in a bid to destroy the more-electable DeSantis in the primary.

Before you vote for Trump, ensure he has a realistic plan to win the 2024 election. At this point, he doesn’t.

Contact Victor Joecks at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on Twitter.