Trump’s 2024 rivals predict shift is coming in primary landscape

Republicans vying for the party’s 2024 presidential nomination are adamant that the dynamics in the primary are poised to change in the coming months, even as former President Trump builds on his sizable lead in the polls amid various legal problems.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley have in recent days separately argued that it’s too soon to anoint Trump as the party’s 2024 nominee, more than one year before such a nominee becomes official. Candidates and some strategists have noted that the first debate has yet to happen, and that in past presidential cycles, the eventual nominee was often not leading in the polls at this point in the process.

Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures” host Maria Bartiromo asked DeSantis in a Sunday interview to respond to reports about why his campaign has struggled to build momentum and break through with voters after the governor entered the race with high expectations as Trump’s chief challenger.

DeSantis argued the idea that his campaign was sputtering was a media narrative — “The media does not want me to be the nominee,” he said — but he acknowledged it would be a months-long effort to win over GOP voters. He suggested the first primary debate, scheduled for August, is when that shift would start to occur.