Tom Cotton Declares His Candidacy for 2024

Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas launched his 2024 presidential campaign yesterday. His op-ed in the New York Times has created a blizzard of protest both within the nation’s most elite liberal newspaper (for publishing it) and beyond (for what it says). Both debates are valid. However, his column is best understood as a marker: Cotton is laying down a stake on a future debate, not one in the present.

Titled “Send In the Troops,” the column does indeed say that “it’s past time to support local law enforcement with federal authority.” Federal troops are necessary to crack down on the “anarchy” unleashed by “cadres of left-wing radicals,” Cotton writes. (No, he doesn’t bother with the nuisance of proving such “cadres” exist.) Only military force can smash the looters and rampaging criminals, who include “the thrill-seeking rich as well as other criminal elements.”