Leading Republicans try to ignore Trump campaign launch - The Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Leading Republican officials connected Wednesday sought to disregard Donald Trump’s formal step into the 2024 statesmanlike contest, insisting determination were much pressing priorities arsenic GOP leaders grappled with the fallout of a large midterm disappointment.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said it was overmuch excessively aboriginal for Republicans to absorption connected the adjacent statesmanlike predetermination erstwhile asked astir a brewing GOP disagreement during a quality league the greeting aft Trump’s announcement. Declining to accidental the erstwhile president’s name, DeSantis, a imaginable Trump rival successful 2024, said helium was focused alternatively connected Georgia’s upcoming Senate runoff and his governing priorities successful Florida.

“We conscionable finished this election. People request to chill retired a small spot connected immoderate of this stuff, I mean seriously,” DeSantis said. The 44-year-old Republican politician continued: “At the extremity of the day, it’s been a agelong election, we’ve got the Georgia runoff, but for maine it’s like, OK, what much bash we request to bash to proceed to marque Florida pb the way? We’re going to beryllium focusing connected that.”

The sentiment was echoed by starring Republicans crossed Ohio, New Hampshire and Washington arsenic the GOP grappled with rising interior tensions and questions astir its aboriginal pursuing a profoundly disappointing midterm cycle. History suggested the Republicans should person celebrated monolithic gains past week, but the sweeping triumph enactment leaders predicted did not materialize arsenic Trump loyalists were defeated crossed respective plaything states.

Democrats held the Senate, portion Republicans won a razor-thin House majority Wednesday.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine deflected a question astir Trump’s announcement astatine the Republican Governors Association gathering successful Orlando connected Wednesday.

“It’s a small aboriginal to beryllium commenting connected the statesmanlike race,” DeWine said arsenic helium walked into a forum connected “The Future of the GOP.”

“We are inactive trying to analyse what happened a week ago,” said DeWine, who won his reelection by 25 points aft refusing to clasp Trump’s lies astir the 2020 election.

Trump won’t marque it casual for his enactment to disregard 2024, however, adjacent with the opening contests of the adjacent statesmanlike superior play apt much than a twelvemonth away.

Trump launched his 3rd statesmanlike bid Tuesday nighttime earlier an assemblage of respective 100 supporters successful a chandeliered ballroom astatine his Mar-a-Lago club. That’s adjacent arsenic the governmental parties person yet to acceptable their superior voting calendars.

“America’s comeback starts close now,” Trump said.

The erstwhile president, who sparked a deadly insurrection aft losing his 2020 reelection bid, hoped to motorboat his 2024 run successful the glow of resounding GOP midterm victories. Instead, helium entered the contention successful a infinitesimal of heavy governmental vulnerability pursuing a bid of stringing losses that galore enactment leaders blamed connected him.

High-profile Republican candidates for the Senate and politician crossed Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin who parroted Trump’s baseless conspiracy theories astir the 2020 predetermination were defeated.

DeSantis, meanwhile, won his reelection by astir 20 points successful what has historically been a plaything state. With enactment activists openly encouraging DeSantis to question the presidency, Trump has been progressively captious of the Florida politician successful caller weeks — adjacent unveiling a caller nickname: Ron DeSanctimonious.

Asked astir Trump’s barbs connected Monday, DeSantis quipped, “Check retired the scoreboard.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, progressively a Trump critic, declined to measurement successful connected the aboriginal 2024 statement erstwhile asked, though helium acknowledged that the GOP “turned disconnected a batch of these centrist voters” successful the 2022 midterms.

“The mode I’m gonna spell into this statesmanlike superior play is to enactment retired of it. I don’t person a canine successful that fight,” McConnell said.

On the different broadside of the Capitol, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, a Trump loyalist who hopes to go the House talker should the GOP prehend that chamber’s majority, walked distant from reporters connected Wednesday erstwhile asked whether helium would enactment Trump’s 2024 bid.

Still, a fistful of Republican elected officials person already endorsed Trump’s nascent run — House Republican Conference Chair, Rep. Elisa Stefanik, R-N.Y., and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., among them.

In New Hampshire, which is successful enactment to big GOP’s opening statesmanlike superior predetermination successful 2024, Gov. Chris Sununu predicted that fewer would wage attraction to Trump’s announcement successful the abbreviated term.

“He won’t wide the field,” Sununu told Fox News, declining to regularisation retired a 2024 statesmanlike tally of his own.

Sununu, a Republican, won his reelection by much than 15 points aft pushing backmost against Trump’s predetermination lies. At the aforesaid time, New Hampshire Republican Senate campaigner Don Bolduc, a Trump loyalist, mislaid by 9 points.

“You could marque the statement he’s ne'er been weaker politically,” Sununu said of Trump. “It’s truly an announcement from a antiaircraft position. Therefore, I deliberation it’s going to marque a small spot of quality and we’re each going to determination on. There’s inactive going to beryllium a batch of folks that participate this contention — astir apt not until precocious ’23.”

Conservative media has besides been chill to Trump’s 2024 governmental ambitions.

The New York Post, 1 of Trump’s favourite hometown newspapers, marked Trump’s run motorboat with lone this enactment connected the precise bottommost of the beforehand page: “Florida antheral makes announcement.”

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Peoples reported from New York. AP writers Mike Schneider successful Orlando, Farnoush Amiri and Lisa Mascaro successful Washington contributed.