SIOUX CITY, Iowa: Donald Trump is expected to announce a third White House campaign soon after Tuesday’s US midterm elections, possibly as soon as the week of Nov 14, according to people familiar with the former president’s planning.
Advisers cautioned that no final decisions had been made and that Trump could change his mind on the details. The potential announcement date was first reported by the news website Axios.
The timing of an announcement could depend on how well the Republican Party, and in particular its most vocally pro-Trump candidates, performs on Tuesday. Opinion polls suggest the party has a good chance of taking control of both the House and the Senate from the Democrats.
Trump has been eager to begin a new campaign, in part to shield himself from a stream of investigations, including some focussed on his attempts to cling to power after losing the 2020 election. Several of those investigations are expected to heat up after the midterm elections.
The campaign’s core team is expected to be small at first, partly to avoid the swell of the 2020 campaign, and partly because it may be difficult to add staff members quickly given the continuing turmoil around Trump.
On Thursday night, Trump opened a swing of four rallies in the final five days of the midterm election campaign in Iowa, where he was joined by Republican Sen Chuck Grassley, who is seeking an eighth consecutive six-year term.
His Iowa stop highlighted both the power and the limitations of the Trump political brand as he inches closer to announcing a third presidential campaign.
Even though he is not on the ballot this year and his stump speech is spent mostly rehashing old grievances and policies, Trump still drew thousands on a night when temperatures dipped below 5C.
But the fact that he was campaigning in a remote stretch of a state that remains far down the list of midterm battlegrounds was a reflection of Trump’s political baggage.
In the five states with tossup Senate races, according to Cook Political Report, Trump has not held rallies in two — Georgia or Wisconsin — since the primary season ended. He’ll visit just one of those tossup states, Pennsylvania, in his final four rallies. He was scheduled to campaign in Florida and Ohio over the weekend.
Still, Trump is preparing his supporters for a third consecutive presidential bid.
Wearing black gloves and a matching overcoat, Trump spoke at length about the possibility of his own potential campaign before bringing to the stage Grassley and Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, the two candidates he was in the state to promote.
“In order to make our country successful and safe and glorious, I will very, very, very probably do it again,” he said of another presidential bid. “Very, very, very, probably.”
The crowd erupted in applause and chants of “Trump! Trump! Trump!”
“Get ready — that’s all I’m telling you,” Trump said. “Very soon.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times
