My preferred scenario looks a lot more likely now....

Greetings PT board, I've stayed away since the 2020 election but dropped in just for today (and won't be back until the 2024 election) to opine on today's horrific events that show the slide to a banana republic is much worse than we had thought.

I think the best scenario for conservatives was for Trump to be indicted (and then drawn out in a lengthy legal battle where he ultimately isn't convicted) as it will prevent him from running, rile up the conservative base, make Trump a martyr, and then pass the torch onto DeSantis.

I do not believe Trump is criminally liable for January 6th, but January 6th was a fatal torpedo to his re-election bid in '24. At best, before today's events, he was a 50/50 shot to beat Biden in '24 while DeSantis would probably be 90%+ odds to win against Biden. DeSantis would also be a much more effective President given his track record in Florida.

I don't get you folks who think DeSantis will suddenly become a wimp if he became President. Trump ran on draining the swamp and then turned around and hired most of the swamp for his administration and they backstabbed him from day one. DeSantis has shown the ability to defeat the media and enact one conservative legislative victory after another in Florida.

After today's events, Trump is probably less than 25% chance to win if he ran in '24. Is it really worth giving Biden another 50+% odds to win to run with Trump as your horse and "stick it to the libs" in '24 vs a close to sure bet with DeSantis? There are millions of swing suburban voters that will never vote for Trump again but would swoon over DeSantis. If Trump were to run, all the media and debates would be about January 6th and the 2020 election, while if DeSantis runs the debates can be about the terrible Afghanistan withdrawal, inflation, higher taxes, etc. Those are the hills we should choose to fight on.

The 2016 election night was one of the best nights in my life, but it's time for Trump to ride off into the sunset, and endorse DeSantis to "avenge" him. Join the cause and help us elect DeSantis as he has a much better chance of draining the swamp than Trump (or Joe Biden by almost default if Trump runs) does.