How a Crowded GOP Field Helps Trump

More Republican would-be presidents are offering themselves as the 'Not Trump.' The main beneficiary of that, however, is the guy they want to stop 

- ANDREW STANTON

MORE HIGH-PROFILE REPUBLIcans joining the 2024 presidential primary are a boon to former President Donald Trump's chances to win the GOP nomination.

Former New Jersey governor and one-time Trump ally Chris Christie announced his candidacy on June 6, blasting the former president as a "lonely, self-consumed, self-serving mirror hog." He was followed the next day by former Vice President Mike Pence, who focused his fire on "President Joe Biden and the radical left," and conservative North Dakota Fovernor Doug Burgum, a wealthy former tech executive, who emphasized his business skill. The three joined previously announced Republican candidates Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

This is all good news for the former president, who previously benefited from a crowded field of candidates to win the GOP nomination and then the presidency in 2016. Some Republicans believe the GOP should shift away from Trump's slash-and-burn style of politics, which has cost the party in moderate, suburban areas. But multiple candidates dividing support among "Not Trump" GOP voters appear to make Trump's own path to renomination easier.