Republican rivals start to pick apart Trump’s record

Potential 2024 rival Chris Christie has attacked Mr. Trump’s record as the 45th president in unusually stark terms, opening the door to closer scrutiny of Mr. Trump’s wins and losses on the policy front.

Mr. Trump on Friday said his top rivals should learn from Vivek Ramaswamy, a businessman who is flooding the airwaves as a 2024 GOP presidential candidate and tied former Vice President Mike Pence in a recent CBS News-YouGov poll. Mr. Trump leads in early 2024 polling and has a special hold on the GOP’s blue-collar base, so it’s no surprise that his rivals are proceeding cautiously in their attacks.

The same PAC launched an ad characterizing Mr. Trump as a “gun grabber” because he offered support for red flag laws, banning bump stocks, improving background checks and raising the age for gun purchases from 18 to 21 when Congress debated new restrictions after mass shootings. “I will implement a four-year plan to phase out Chinese imports of essential goods and gain total independence from China,” Mr. Trump said at a recent rally in Waco, Texas. “I will hold the Chinese Communist party responsible for unleashing the China virus upon the world.”

Mr. Trump has been out of office for over two years but GOP initiatives in the current Congress could expose him to new attacks on his record. Mr. DeSantis is teeing up his 2024 bid by stiffening crime penalties, a move that could provide a political contrast with Mr. Trump’s marquee initiative. The governor signed bills this month that would make child rapists eligible for the death penalty, increase penalties for fentanyl offenses and drug-related crimes aimed at kids and restricts “bail reform” policies that could let defendants out of jail.

“From the exploding national debt to empowering Fauci to the unfinished business at the southern border, there is a lot of room to Trump’s right for his primary opponents to run in,” said Colin Reed, a GOP strategist and former spokesman for Mr. Christie. “Trump is and always has been a populist more than a conservative. The right messenger could exploit these opportunities if they’re able to go toe-to-toe with Trump on the inevitable counterattacks.

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