So French says he talked Ike's granddaughter, who is curator of the Eisenhower archives. The story runs to the effect that leading into the '52 election, Ike was deeply concerned about the fact that isolationism was already growing again in the US with the shadow of WWII barely in the rear view mirror. Both parties were offering him the nomination. So he went to talk to Taft, who was the odds on favorite to be the GOP nominee if Ike passed on the offer, and he asked Taft what he thought About NATO. Taft said he opposed it. That answer persuaded Ike he had to run as a Republican because as a GOP president, he could force the GOP into an outward facing foreign policy consensus with the Dems, control McCarthy (whom he hated) from the inside, and leave the isolationists without leverage in either party.
It's not the main point of French's essay but I found it the most interesting part, as we already know the rest of French's complaints about his ex-party all too well.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/03/opinion/trump-mcconnell-courage-leadership.html