In the newest indication of headwinds facing Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, the conservative political advocacy group Americans for Prosperity has indicated it will oppose his drive to return to the White House.
While the group didn't mention Trump by name, its rhetoric in a memo posted on Sunday to the AFP website left no doubt about the powerful, Koch-backed political group's stance on his campaign:
"To write a new chapter for our country, we need to turn the page on the past. So the best thing for the country would be to have a president in 2025 who represents a new chapter. The American people have shown that they’re ready to move on, and so AFP will help them do that."
Separately, an AFP Action official told CNN the group is not planning to back Trump.
Sunday's three-page memo also marks a major change in the group's political tactics: Where it hadn't previously backed presidential primary candidates, the group is poised to involve itself in a big way in the upcoming nominating contests.
AFP CEO Emily Seidel wrote that the new approach springs from some "hard truths."
"The Republican Party is nominating bad candidates who are advocating for things that go against core American principles. And the American people are rejecting them...If we want to elect better people, we need better candidates. And if we want better candidates, we’ve got to get involved in elections earlier and in more primaries."
Of course, AFP will work to influence non-presidential election results too.
Noting that "very few voters participate in primaries," Seidel wrote that AFP will work to target and bring new voters into the primaries -- where even a small change in the number of voters can make a big difference."
AFP's super PAC spent over $69 million on 2022 races.
In her memo -- titled "An Opportunity to Make a Big Difference for the Future of the Country" -- Seidel touted AFP's strength in key presidential primary states: "No one is better positioned to engage and mobilize people across those states than we are."
AFP's direction is likely to influence large Republican donors. Some have already voiced their readiness to move on from Trump. Following the midterm election, Citadel founder and major GOP donor Ken Griffin called Trump a "three-time loser," saying "I really do hope that President Trump sees the writing on the wall."
via zerohedge