'Chaos agent' Trump could thrive as GOP field gets crowded: columnist

The growing skepticism over Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis could plunge the Republican primary into chaos for a third straight election cycle, according to an Atlantic columnist.

Many of the major GOP donors remain uncommitted toward any of the declared or presumed candidates, and while traditional conservatives never loved Trump much to begin with, they haven't been too impressed by DeSantis as he rolls out his expected campaign, wrote David A. Graham.

"The growing candidate list reflects skepticism about both DeSantis’s and Trump’s chances," Graham wrote. "DeSantis’s estimation has sunk sharply since last fall, as he has appeared lethargic, unsure how to take on Trump, and frankly just a little weird, and some Republicans simply don’t believe that Trump is as invincible as he looks. Perhaps this is because they think his legal troubles will eventually catch up with him, or perhaps they are indulging in wishful thinking."

That leaves an opening for a long list of candidates -- Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, Asa Hutchinson, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) have already entered the race, while former vice president Mike Pence, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, former New Jersey governor Chris Christie are considering runs -- and that could allow the former president to sneak through a crowded field again.

"As long as the big money hasn’t started consolidating around a few candidates, there’s no reason for the field to start contracting," Graham wrote. "But the splintering is a reminder of why so many donors gravitated to DeSantis in the first place: because they wanted to stop Trump."

"The irony is that a diffuse field is good news for the former president, just as it was in 2016, when he won the nomination despite plenty of party opposition split among his many rivals. Trump is often described as a chaos agent, but he’s happy to be a chaos client, too."