‘Do I Go Before or After’ the Midterms? Trump Basically Admits He’s Running in 2024
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Former President Donald Trump dropped a bunch of hints lately that make it abundantly clear he intends to run for the White House once more.
Since leaving the Oval Office, Trump has signaled time and time again that he would launch a presidential campaign for 2024, though he has remained ambiguous in terms of openly declaring his candidacy. Now a combination of reports and signs from the ex-president himself seem to have made his 2024 plans exceedingly obvious.
The right-wing opinion website American Greatness recently published an essay called “Trump in 2024? Bet on It,” where author Ned Ryun describes Trump’s next campaign as an established “fact.” As Ryun slammed President Joe Biden and predicted a rout for Democrats in the 2022 midterms, he wrote that no Republican primary opponent, not even Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, stands “a snowball’s chance in hell against Trump.”
“Trump can win the general election in 2024, against Biden or whoever the Democrats decide to put up there,” Ryun wrote. “You can be nervous about Trump in 2024; you can be frustrated and have concerns. As for me, I’m all in.”
Between the headline and the contents, the article is a massive love-letter to Trump, and the ex-president left very little to the imagination as he shared it with his followers on Truth Social.
Beyond the blatancy of Trump’s Truth post, a series of reports have come out about how he and his inner circle have debated when to make the official announcement. The Washington Post spoke to multiple Trump allies and advisers who say he’s looking to announce in September, but is weighing his options and thinking about what kind of impact it would have on the GOP’s midterm performance.
If that still isn’t enough, New York Magazine’s Olivia Nuzzi recently interviewed Trump at his Bedminster property, where he strongly teased his likelihood to run.
“I feel very confident that, if I decide to run, I’ll win,” Trump said. Nuzzi asked him to elaborate, and he wound up admitting it’s all just a matter of timing for him.
From the report:
“Well, in my own mind, I’ve already made that decision, so nothing factors in anymore. In my own mind, I’ve already made that decision,” he said.
He wouldn’t disclose what he’d decided. Not at first. But then he couldn’t help himself. “I would say my big decision will be whether I go before or after,” he said. “You understand what that means?” His tone was conspiratorial. Was he referring to the midterm elections? He repeated after me: “Midterms.” Suddenly, he relaxed, as though my speaking the word had somehow set it free for discussion. “Do I go before or after? That will be my big decision,” he said.
He was thinking aloud now. “I just think that there are certain assets to before,” he said. “Let people know. I think a lot of people would not even run if I did that because, if you look at the polls, they don’t even register. Most of these people. And I think that you would actually have a backlash against them if they ran. People want me to run.”
Trump wouldn’t confirm if he was leaning toward September, but he did take a swipe at the “fake news” over previous reports about the possibility he was going to announce on the 4th of July.
