Donald Trump is apparently champing at the bit to announce his intentions to run for president again in 2024. It was the events in Afghanistan that led him to ask his advisors if now is the time. According to the Washington Post, the advisors said no.
The reason? Democrats will frame the midterms around Trump. And, the Washington Post writes:
An announcement would force a reshuffling of his newly formed fundraising apparatus, advisers argued, and could complicate his ability to appear on broadcast television without triggering equal time rules.
The Post adds:
The arguments won Trump over, for the time being at least. Instead of a presidential campaign announcement, Trump, 75, has settled on a strategy of winks and nods. As some in his party worry, he is acting like a candidate for public office, and making clear he intends to be one again, without actually declaring so himself.
It strikes us as odd that the leader of the GOP, its probable presidential candidate, is told to hold off on announcing his intentions because he will be a drag on other Republicans in the midterms.
The Post also reports Trump is keeping a close eye on potential challengers such as his former Vice President and Florida governor Ron DeSantis, although he believes neither will run if Trump announces his bid. But there is also the issue of money. Will the GOP’s big donors get behind a third Trump campaign? The Post writes:
Many of the party’s top donors have privately told strategists and party leaders they want a nominee other than Trump, according to four strategists and officials. Part of the discussion inside the party has focused not on Trump’s overallpopularity, but on whether he might have trouble convincing Republicans in 2024 that he is best suited to be the party’s nominee for the third time. Joe Biden received 7 million more votes in the last election than Trump, who also earned 2.9 million votes less than Hillary Clinton in 2016.