Nobody will admit it, but you know the non-Trump Republicans chasing the nomination are all hoping Trump gets convicted of some stuff. Realistically, the only chance they have is he gets convicted, begins appealing the conviction, and voters give up on him.
If that happens, other candidates may have a chance. Whether the nomination is worth having in that situation is unclear.
What nobody knows is whether Trump followers will vote for another Republican if Trump is out of the race. They won't vote for senile Biden but I can imagine some of them saying "a pox on both houses" and sitting out the 2024 election.
----------
People are writing that Ron DeSantis is turning into another Scott Walker, a successful governor who crashed and burned chasing the GOP's 2016 presidential nomination. At this point the parallels in their campaigns are discouraging.
