Word in political circles is that our criminal ex-president will announce his 2024 candidacy on the 4th of July in Florida — just to stick it to his main competitor — Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Several people close to Donald Trump recently told NBC News that they had been asked informally to hold July 4 as a date for a possible announcement for his 2024 presidential campaign.
Consider that:
- He has around $110 million currently in his war chest — topping what both national parties have in the bank.
- Trump has stuck his neck out with high-profile endorsements in key Senate and gubernatorial contests, winning some and losing others.
- He has been speaking at campaign rallies for a year and a half, to maintain a close relationship with his entranced supporters.
By being the first Republican candidate to formally announce, Trump could actively raise money and lock down supporters. That could derail plans of some of his potential competitors. But there’s another advantage to announcing early that Trump is surely considering. With possible criminal indictments looming from multiple investigations, formally announcing a presidential campaign could make any charges appear as politically-motivated. It might even make prosecutors reconsider their cases.
Associated Press: “Trump is actively weighing when he might formally launch a third presidential run. The debate, according to aides and allies who insist Trump has yet to make a final decision, centers on whether to announce a campaign in the coming months or, in accordance with tradition, wait until after the November midterm elections.”
“Trump has spent the past year and a half holding rallies, delivering speeches and using his endorsements to exact revenge and further shape the party in his image. But some say the former president, who has decamped from his Florida Mar-a-Lago club to Bedminster, New Jersey, for the summer, is also growing impatient,” AP said.
Trump, now age 76, spoke recently at a conference for religious conservatives in Nashville, and he said, “One of the most urgent tasks facing the next Republican president — I wonder who that will be?” Trump said. This prompted a standing ovation and chants of “USA!”
He asked the crowd, “Would anybody like me to run for president?” unleashing more cheers. Trump misses the days when he was actually King of America, particularly as he watches Democratic President Joe Biden struggling with low approval ratings.
However, a Trump candidacy will certainly inspire Democratic voters, reviving the energy that lifted the party in the 2018 and 2020 campaigns.
Trump told CNN he is closer than ever to announcing another run for office. He has been telling friends and advisers he wants to put his potential rivals on notice — and soon. With virtually no formal campaign apparatus in place, one person close to Trump said, “I don’t think the lack of planning means he’s not actually serious about running. It just means it’s going to be another fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants shitshow if he does.”
“He won’t have trouble attracting people if he runs, the trouble will be in who he attracts,” said the former Trump campaign official, who wasn’t ready to commit to working on his 2024 campaign if he runs. “If it resembles anything like 2016 or 2020, there were days when we spent 18 or 19 hours at Trump Tower because of how short-staffed he was. That scares me off a little bit.”