Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol, a prominent leader seeking to block Donald Trump from becoming president, is working to recruit conservative attorney David French, according to two Republicans familiar with the Never-Trumper’s efforts.
French, a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, is a constitutional lawyer, the author of several books and the recipient of the Bronze Star, according to his biography at National Review, where he serves as a staff writer. French lives in Columbia, Tenn., with his wife, Nancy, and three children.
(Credit: Gage Skidmore / CC BY 3.0)
(Credit: Gage Skidmore / CC BY 3.0)
Though Kristol, who is in Israel, was not interested in offering comment Tuesday, according to Bloomberg Politics, the two Republicans who confirmed the Weekly Standard editor’s efforts signaled that French is, in fact, open to launching a third-party campaign, but has not made a final decision.
French has not yet decided on a running mate or secured major financial backing, one of the Republicans added. However, according to the same source, some conservative donors are interested in the prospect of a French candidacy.
Many have been anxiously awaiting an announcement from Kristol ever since his Sunday tweet, indicating he found an “impressive” candidate “with a strong team and a real chance.”
In the June 6 issue of the Weekly Standard, Kristol asserts that “the fact of Trump’s and Clinton’s unfitness for the Oval Office has become so self-evident that it’s no longer clear one needs a famous figure to provide an alternative.” After seeking to recruit people like 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney, Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, Kristol seems fairly confident in French’s potential.
“To say that he would be a better and a more responsible president than Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump is to state a truth that would become self-evident as more Americans got to know him,” he wrote.
This news comes the same day Kristol fired off about Trump, who criticized the conservative leader’s efforts to recruit a third-party alternative candidate, calling the billionaire businessman a “roaring jackass.”
According to one person close to the efforts to recruit a third-party option, the search has focused on people who possess the following traits, which were deemed necessary in order to launch a viable campaign: major wealth, fame and elective experience.
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