Former President Donald Trump will reportedly launch a 2024 presidential bid shortly after the midterm elections.
Summary
Former President Donald Trump will reportedly launch a 2024 presidential bid shortly after the midterm elections.
- The former president’s close advisers are eyeing an official announcement on November 14, followed by a series of political events, as first reported by Axios.
- Former President Trump hopes to benefit from an expected strong Republican performance in the midterm elections, although a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found the 45th President had a dismal 41 percent favorability rating among registered voters.
- Trump is one of three presidents descending on Pennsylvania Saturday just days before the midterm elections. Former President Barack Obama will headline a rally for Democratic Senate hopeful John Fetterman in Pittsburgh before joining President Joe Biden and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Josh Shapiro in Philadelphia.
- Trump’s third presidential campaign would kick off under a legal cloud. The Justice Department is considering establishing a special counsel to oversee the two sprawling federal investigations tied to Trump concerning his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the alleged mishandling of classified information kept at Mar-a-Lago.
- CNN broke the news that, in addition to a special counsel, the Justice Department is planning for a flurry of post-election legal activity, including possible indictments of Trump associates. An early Trump presidential announcement would complicate those efforts considerably.
- POLITICO reported on the “behind-the-scenes friction” between Florida’s two most powerful Republicans, Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis. Trump snubbed DeSantis by not inviting him to his Sunday rally in Miami with Sen. Marco Rubio. Trump’s expected presidential announcement could cause tensions to “burst into the open” as DeSantis considers his own White House bid.
- CNN noted a Trump presidential announcement could be pushed back if Republicans underperform in the midterms or if Senate control remains unclear after Election Day.
- The New York Times reported Trump is “eager to begin a new campaign, in part to shield himself from a stream of investigations” which are “expected to heat up after the midterms.”
- The Washington Examiner wrote, “the battle of Ron and Don” appears ready to begin after months of tensions between the two likely presidential contenders. DeSantis notably refused to commit to serving a full second term at last week’s gubernatorial debate.
- National Review noted the pending announcement comes as Trump ramps up his political activity, holding 30 rallies in nearly 20 states. His super Pac has spent $16.4 million so far this cycle, a paltry sum compared with the hundreds of millions spent by groups linked to Sen. Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
- Breitbart noted that although Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich insisted reports of a planned campaign announcement were “media speculation and rumors,” Trump himself teased a presidential bid at an Iowa rally, saying, “I will very, very, very, probably do it again.”
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© Dominic Moore, 2022
