[Hoot Gibson]

I don't think steam is the issue. I believe that Trump made a good faith effort to "drain the swamp," but the Executive Branch is so full of "public servants" who would be happy to see socialists running this country, that the job is too big for one man or one woman. Republicans need to retake the White House with a real team of people who believe in our republican form of government. Whoever Republicans nominate need to have a long, prioritized list of people who need to be cut loose from their cushy federal jobs. That list should include a large number of Democrats and Republicans. This is an area in which Trump failed miserably, IMO. Aside from pushing some good Supreme Court nominees through, Trump did not leave much of a legacy. If a Republican president cannot rid the federal government of Faucci, then something is wrong.

Governors who have been elected president in the past have tended to bring a loyal team from their home states to Washington. If Trump would step aside and stop trying to discourage qualified Republicans from running in 2024, he would be doing a great public service, IMO. Whoever is nominated needs to promise pardons to the political prisoners taken by the Biden administration. They also need to appoint a highly qualified, non-political Attorney General to clean out the Justice Department and the FBI. Justice should never be a political tool used to punish enemies.

Trump IMHO, also failed miserably where it came to his nominees/appointees. Examples include Dan Coats and General Milley, both miserable picks, as were both his attorneys general. Whoever advised Trump to that end must still be laughing.

I agree, TRT. He also had a few great Secretaries in his Cabinet, such as Pompeo, Carson, and Richard Grenell, but he nominated too many political hacks who were never really on his "team." I supported a lot of what did and attempted to get done, but I have a real problem with him running a third time and trying to intimate other Republicans from running. I will vote for him if he gets the nomination because the alternative will be unbelievably awful, but I won't have much good to say about Trump until and if the day that he clinches the nomination. Even then, I will probably just vote and keep my mouth shut.

At this point, he has become a corrosive figure in the Republican Party. He still has enough zealots supporting him to deny any other Republican the general election. I still cannot believe the fools that refer to Cruz and "Lyin' Ted," and Cruz was probably the most honest candidate who ran in 2016. I do not believe that running for president again is going to keep Democrats from indicting him and retaining documents, which were allegedly stamped "Classified," has got to be the most stupid thing that he could have done. I do not understand why Democrats are so afraid that Trump might run again because I think that he would have a difficult time defeating any Democrat nominee, including Biden - and that is a sad thing to imagine.