Scott Walker: ‘Make or Break Time’ for Non-Trump GOP Candidates Clinging to Hope

Gov. Scott Walker, R-Wis., right, greets Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump af
AP Photo/Matt Rourke

GOP presidential candidates have failed to convince voters to leave Trump and may soon have to leave the race, said former governor and presidential candidate Scott Walker (R-WI).

Walker ran a highly anticipated campaign for the 2016 Republican nomination that, as he notes, effectively ended when Trump’s inevitable victory became clear during a debate on the same stage as last night’s debate. He suspended his campaign days later, a decision he indicated is inevitable for last night’s debate participants.

“Eight years ago, I stood on the debate stage at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum. A week later, I got out because it was clear that the Trump Train had left the station.

“The rest of the 2024 GOP field may soon have to make that same decision.”

The GOP debate Wednesday night was widely panned for the quality of the moderators and the performance of the candidates. Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND), a participant in the debate, went as far as saying, “The people that lost tonight [were] the American voters.”

Trump opted to skip the debate, as he did for the first one, and hold a counter-programming televised event in Michigan speaking to striking UAW workers. The former president took advantage of the opportunity to bash his low-polling opponents and accuse them of running only to audition for a job in his next administration.

Walker seems to agree with the former president that the current crop of candidates has done nothing to chip away at Trump’s hold on the party and his nomination once again is inevitable, noting the window is closing. “So far, none of them have made a convincing case to Trump supporters to change their vote. It’s make or break time.”

Follow Bradley Jaye on Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.

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