Bolton: Republicans are looking for a ‘fresh face’ to lead GOP

Former US national security adviser John Bolton says he believes Republicans are looking for a “fresh face” to lead the party, adding that Donald Trump’s “act is old and tired now.”

Bolton, who served in the Trump White House from 2018 to 2019, suggested Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) as a possible Republican candidate, following the unsatisfactory performance of several candidates he supported in the recent midterm elections.

“[DeSantis has] had a very successful run as governor of Florida. He won re-election on Nov. 8 with a big majority. A lot of people look to him as the next generation candidate,” Bolton said in a recent interview with The Guardian. “That’s one of Trump’s biggest problems – his act is old and tired now.”

Trump last week formally entered the 2024 race for the White House, his third serious presidential bid, and his embrace of a white nationalist unsettled some of his one-time administration officials.

So far, he is the only prominent Republican to enter the race to challenge Joe Biden.

In the meantime, multiple other GOP officials and members of the Trump administration have voiced their readiness to take part in the 2024 US presidential race.

Among the more prominent Republican volunteers include former Vice President Mike Pence, and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and DeSantis.

After the Republican Party’s anticipated “red wave” failed to materialize in the midterm elections, several Republicans blamed the former president and his endorsed candidates for the disappointing results.

Bolton said he has talked to supporters and others about “what happened” in the midterms and that a number of people have “just switched Trump off in their brain.”

“Even if they loved his style, loved his approach, loved his policies, loved everything about him, they don’t want to lose and the fear is, given the results on Nov. 8, that if he got the nomination, not only would he lose the general election, but he would take an awful lot of Republican candidates down with him,” Bolton told The Guardian.

A new ballot has shown voters and Republican operatives alike have labeled Trump the biggest loser of the midterm elections.

The Harvard CAPS/Harris poll reported exclusively by The Hill, 20 percent of voters said Trump was the clear loser after the November 8 election, while 14 percent said MAGA Republicans were and 12 percent pointed to mainstream Republicans. Additionally, 15 percent said Democrats were the biggest losers, while 23 percent said they were unsure or didn’t know.

The poll was conducted after a number of Trump’s endorsed candidates lost up and down the ballot earlier this month, raising speculation about his waning influence among members of the Republican Party.

Many leading members of the GOP cast doubt about Trump's popularity heading into the 2024 US presidential election.

This is while a majority of American voters in another poll say Trump should definitely not run for the White House again.

The Politico-Morning Consult poll, released last week, showed that 53 percent of registered voters believe Trump definitely should not run, while 12 percent said he probably shouldn’t, The Hill reported.

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