Is Bill Kristol Setting Himself Up For A 2020 Presidential Run?

Founder of The Weekly Standard and unabashed, vocal opponent of Pres. Donald Trump, Bill Kristol, will speak at an event in New Hampshire long regarded as a must-attend for presidential hopefuls. The “Politics and Eggs” forum has been attended by every future president for two decades.

Advertisement

This has people wondering if the man who tried to recruit several Trump challengers in 2016, including Mitt Romney, Sen. Ben Sasse, and National Review‘s David French — none ultimately said yes — to consider a William F. Buckley-esque run for the White House?

After all, as the saying goes, “You have to put up or shut up.”

Most since Buckley’s ill-fated run for New York City mayor in 1965 have opted not to do either, but have thrown their weight behind preferred candidates they believe agree on policy and ideology. Of course, Kristol surely knows any run he makes would largely be symbolic, as the likelihood of a challenger besting an incumbent is slim.

However, it stands to reason that Kristol would see the value of taking his Against Trump message to the national stage and giving traditional conservatives (i.e. pre-Trump “conservatism”), not only an alternative to Donald Trump but also remind people what American conservatism has been for decades.

Advertisement

Only time will out how 2020 will shape up and if Kristol will announce a challenge. But as executive director of the NH Institute of Politics, Neil Levesque, said, “Bill Kristol is up here for a reason, and he’s going to be very interesting to listen to.”

Indeed.

Recommended

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Trending on RedState Videos