The partnership that could sink Trump: columnist

Donald Trump is not only maintaining his lead in the polls to be the 2024 Republican Party but is pulling away as no single challenger appears able to make up the difference.

However, Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin suggests, there is strength in numbers and an alliance between former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie could be one way to derail the Trump train.

In her column for the Post, Rubin — a former Republican until Donald Trump came along — noted a moment in the last GOP debate when Christie came to Haley's defense after she was smeared by Vivek Ramaswamy whose voting support is cratering faster than Haley's numbers are increasing.

According to the Post columnist, if Christie really wants to stick it to Trump, he should pull out of the nominating race and agree to be Haley's running mate which would allow him to be the Trump "attack dog" allowing Haley to campaign on bread and butter conservative policies.

As Rubin points out, an alliance to gain a presidential nomination has been attempted before, although ultimately coming up short.

"In late April 2016, Carly Fiorina signed on to be the vice president for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.). By then, however, it was too late to upset Trump’s path to the nomination," she wrote before adding that the two combined might have a certain appeal to Never Trump Republicans and independents.

"Haley has a more traditional right-wing appeal (having lurched right on abortion, for example) and could leave Christie with the traditional vice-presidential role of attack dog. In advance of Trump’s criminal trials, Christie, a former U.S. attorney, could focus on Trump’s lack of a winning defense to charges stemming from Jan. 6, 2021; pummel Trump on his declining energy and mental acuity; and needle him about his subservience to Putin," she wrote.

While noting voters should not get too "excited" at the prospect of the GOP duo unseating the former president as the party's nominee, the combination of the two could build off of that with a better-than-expected showing.

"If any GOP contender could trip him up, or at least slow him down in time for a possibly disastrous criminal trial in early March, a pairing of the two least unhinged and most national security-savvy contenders seems to be the best bet," she suggested.

You can read more here.