The latest sign that Donald Trump is toast

Why is Republican Senator Tim Scott informally entering the 2024 presidential race? Donald Trump’s primary numbers are already weak and his legal troubles are going to finish him off. Ron DeSantis has predictably collapsed. It’s likely going to be a wide open Republican primary field, so everybody wants in.

This doesn’t mean Tim Scott can win the nomination. But somebody will end up being the Republican nominee, so he figures why not him? Also, a wide open field allows even unpopular candidates to limp all the way to Iowa before dropping out, which nets them a lucrative book deal.

It doesn’t matter if Tim Scott ever gets above 1% in the polls. With no clear Republican frontrunner, he can spend the entire primary process convincing donors to keep his campaign alive, because somebody has to win the nomination. Then he gets his highly lucrative book deal.

But this trick only works if it’s a wide open Republican primary field to begin with. And we’re now seeing everyone from Tim Scott, to Mike Pence, to Nikki Haley betting that it’s going to be a wide open primary field, so they can all at least limp to the finish line and get their book deals. It’s the latest sign that Trump is toast and everyone on his side knows it, whether any of them are ready to say it or not.