Advisers to former president Donald Trump say the ex-president is eager to jump back into electoral politics as a candidate in the 2024 election and could announce a third presidential run this summer.
According to NBC News, Mr Trump’s aides are divided over whether he should declare himself a candidate before or after the November midterm elections because waiting would keep Democrats from harnessing his re-emergence as fuel for their own re-election bids this year.
Others believe an earlier declaration of his intentions would freeze the GOP primary field by blocking out other candidates who could also potentially announce, including Florida governor Ron DeSantis and Mr Trump’s former Vice President, Mike Pence.
One Trump aide, Jason Miller, told NBC he has laid out a case for Mr Trump to announce sooner rather than later.
“I think that there being clarity about what his intentions are [is important] so he can start building that operation while it’s still fresh in people’s minds and they’re still active — a lot of that can be converted into 2024 action,” he said.
Two sources close to Mr Trump told NBC they’d been asked to block off 4 July — America’s Independence Day — as a possible announcement date.
