Too soon for ‘28 talk?

VIEWPOINT

By RALPH HARDIN

Evening Times Editor

So, Donald Trump’s unorthodox road back into the White House is complete, and he’s certainly gotten right to work over the past couple of weeks. With Congress and the Supreme Court on his side, he’s got a pretty clear path to getting what he wants done over the next four years.

But, then what? One way or another, we’re going to have a new president in 2028. I mean, I guess technically, Biden could pull a Trump/Cleveland and run again, but let’s be real here.

Sure, it’s way too premature to really have serious discussions about the next presidential election. We’re 21 months away from even having the mid-terms, which should not only give Team Trump time to show us what they’ve got for this goaround but also let voters decide if they want to keep the current Republican majority in Congress intact.

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But let’s go ahead and take a look into our crystal ball and see what the Election of 2028 might look like.

I think the guy with the clearest path to the White House is probably Vice President J.D.

Vance. Assuming he doesn’t have a falling out with Trump the way Trump’s last VP did, he makes a pretty logical choice to be the GOP nominee in four years.

But that’s not a guarantee. I’m sure there will be at least a few Republicans out there with high aspirations, and while some of them might be content to just be Vance’s running mate and wait four or eight years to seek the presidency, some definitely will not, including those who would be eager to steer the party away from MAGA ideology.

Some of those names might include familiar ones like Ted Cruz or Ron DeSantis, or perhaps someone more moderate like Georgia Governor Brian Kemp or Nikki Haley. Or it might be someone who hasn’t really stepped out onto the national stage yet.

For the Democrats, it’s a little more murky. After completely bungling 2024 in just about every way, the Democrats will have to try and convince voters they are ready to get their act and their message back on track.

A lot of their fortunes will ride on being able to put up a strong showing in the 2026 mid-terms, with congressional and gubernatorial wins a must for the party. Then, if that goes well, maybe they can unite around a presidential candidate in 2028.

We will at least get a primary season this time, unlike the mess that was Biden-no-wait-Harris last year.

So who, then, gets the nod?

There are more than a dozen serious options out there. Presumably Kamala Harris, if given a full campaign season to sell herself, would be the front-runner, but she might be tainted goods.

California Governor Gavin Newsom seemed like an easy option for 2028 — until California caught on fire and much of the blame, justified or not, fell at his feet.

If Pete Buttigieg were not gay, he might already be president.

He has all the skills and knowledge, but, honestly, I just don’t know if America is ready to voter for a gay president (or if it ever will be).

Tim Walz might run. I doubt he would excite the fanbase though, considering how little he seemed to help in the Midwestern swing states.

Josh Shapiro was almost Harris’s running mate — and as governor there, he almost surely would have won her Pennsylvania. But he’s Jewish, and while that shouldn’t be an issue here in the 2020s, it probably still is.

Fun fact: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the notorious AOC, just turned 35. It’s a longshot but if Trump’s brand of supercapitalism goes bust, the country could get behind her and her “Squad’s” democratic socialism ideology… maybe?