Covid, Russia and crime: GOP presidential hopefuls take swipes at Trump’s record

The three potential candidates who hail from the more moderate wing of the GOP are being guarded in their criticism of Trump. Each critique has attracted special attention because of Trump's party support. Taken together, they show how the prospective candidates are trying to establish their own political identities, while also signaling to donors and party activists that they are serious about running.

The clock is about to run out for anyone thinking about that year. Tucker Martin, who was an adviser to former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, said that if you are interested in the next cycle, you have to start defining yourself.

One of the most striking and direct breaks came last week, when Cotton hammered Trump's First Step Act, which was intended to reform criminal sentencing laws and reduce the prison population. Cotton called the bipartisan legislation the worst mistake of Trump's tenure during a high-profile speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

Cotton said that the First Step Act hurt the party of public safety more than any other piece of legislation.

Criminals released from prison under the First Step Act have committed many more heinous crimes.

Cotton compared Trump to Reagan at one point during the speech. Cotton's comments about the First Step Act were his most pointed criticism of legislation he has long opposed. It showed that the second-term senator, who spoke at the 2020 convention and was once rumored as a potential Trump pick to lead the CIA, was willing to call out the ex-president.

After his relationship with Trump soured after he refused to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential race, the vice president spoke out about the former president's posture toward Russia. He said that elections are about the future and that we can't win by fighting now.

There was no room for apologists for Putin in the party, said the former vice president.

Senior Republicans viewed the meeting with the Ukrainian refugees at the Poland-Ukraine border as an implicit contrast to Trump.

Scott Jennings, a Republican strategist who served as a top political adviser to George W. Bush, said that Pence had little choice but to differentiate himself from Trump because of the high-profile clash with the former president.

You can't pretend that you're aligned with Donald Trump because you're obviously not. You have taken him on, he has taken you on, and the most authentic thing is to embrace it. I answered the call from my party. I helped Donald Trump. There are some things I don't agree with.

Trump has been criticized for his handling of the coronaviruses. When asked to identify a regret from his time as governor, he picked one that reflected on Trump, saying he wished he had spoken out.

I didn't think that the outbreak would lead to locking down the country. I didn't think that was on the radar.

Tensions between Trump and DeSantis were raised by the remark. The former president appeared to take a jab at the governor, when Trump ripped politicians who refused to say if they had gotten the Covid-19 booster shot. The idea of a rift between Trump and the governor has been called fake news.

Some would-be candidates, including Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, are taking a more cautious approach than Cotton, Pence and DeSantis. Hogan said recently that Trump is the biggest threat to Republican success in this year's elections. During an appearance last fall before the Republican Jewish Coalition, Christie said the party was re-litigating the 2020 election. Hogan and Christie said that a Trump comeback bid wouldn't deter them from running their own campaigns.

There is no reason to think that Trump would be vulnerable in a primary. The former president is trying to push back. Trump spoke at the event where he rebutted his former vice president after he addressed the RNC donor conference.

Trump said that someone called him a Putin apologist the other day.

The criticism of Trump from within his own party indicates that his support has begun to weaken.

Trump is still influential within the party, but his influence decreases each day. Mike DuHaime, a veteran GOP strategist and former RNC political director, said it was natural that each day moved us further from his presidency.

It is not clear whether any of the other candidates would be willing to run against the former president. Behind the scenes, each has begun assembling political organizations that could be used to lay the groundwork for national campaigns.

Cotton has set up a political action committee to help candidates in Iowa and New Hampshire. A $10 million advertising campaign targeting House Democrats was announced by a nonprofit political advocacy group founded by Vice President Mike Pence. The rising prominence of the congressman and his reelection campaign will allow him to cultivate a national donor network.

Republicans say that doesn't mean that Trump's status in a primary is in danger.

He is in a good position to run if he wants to. I don't think he's going to get it byacclimation, and I think someone should run against him, because he's the worst nominee, not the best.