Former President Donald Trump is tentatively planning to announce his widely anticipated 2024 campaign for the White House during the week after U.S. midterm elections, according to people familiar with the matter.
Trump has been discussing the week of Nov. 14 to make the announcement, according to the people, who requested anonymity to describe internal deliberations. The people stressed that the situation is fluid and no specific date for Trump has been chosen.
At recent rallies across the country, the former president has increasingly teased a third White House run, routinely telling supporters they will “be very happy” with his decision. During a rally Thursday night in Iowa, the state that traditionally holds the first presidential caucuses, he sent his strongest signal yet that he’ll announce soon.
“And now, in order to make our country successful and safe and glorious, I will very, very, very probably do it again,” Trump told attendees at the event, held on behalf of Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley and his other endorsed candidates.
Trump would be the clear favorite for the GOP nomination if he ran, a move that would put him on a collision course with Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who’s widely expected to enter. An announcement by the former president is unlikely to stop DeSantis and a half-dozen other potential candidates from challenging him, said Republican strategist and pollster Frank Luntz. But it could dissuade South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem and other Trump-like contenders who are still loyal to him, he said.
“If Trump runs, he intimidates two-thirds of the candidates out of the race,” Luntz said.
Others who have signaled possible 2024 bids include Trump’s former Vice President Mike Pence, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson.
Polls show that DeSantis would be the preferred alternative to the former president should Trump pass on running again. Trump has increasingly been taking swipes at the governor, issuing a press release Thursday that highlighted a poll showing him with a 61-point percentage lead over DeSantis.
Trump has used the 2022 midterm election cycle to tighten his grip on the Republican Party, endorsing candidates in local, state and federal elections, alike. His inching closer to an official announcement comes as Republicans show momentum toward taking control of at least one chamber of Congress in next week’s midterms. Trump’s announcement in the wake of GOP success would help cement his status as the favorite for the nomination and discourage challengers.
Trump-backed candidates for the U.S. Senate including Herschel Walker in Georgia, Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania and Adam Laxalt in Nevada, are all locked in hotly contested races.
The America First Policy Institute, a think tank staffed with officials from Trump’s administration, is holding its annual private gala at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Nov. 17-18 with donors and officials, spokesman Marc Lotter said. The former president spoke at last year’s event.
Republicans are strongly favored to take the House, but party control of the upper chamber may be unknown the week after the election, should there be a runoff in the Georgia contest or Pennsylvania’s race is too close to call.
“Not commenting on the never ending media speculation and rumors,” Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich said in a statement. “As President Trump has said, Americans should go vote up and down the ballot for Republicans, and he will continue that message tomorrow night in Pennsylvania.”
Trump is holding a rally in Latrobe on Saturday in Pennsylvania for Oz and other candidates in that state and one in Ohio on Monday for Republican US Senate candidate JD Vance. Notably, a rally he is planning on Sunday in Florida will not include DeSantis.
Axios earlier reported on Trump’s possible plans for an announcement.
A comeback bid would be remarkable for Trump given the myriad inquiries into his conduct while in office. He is facing multiple federal and state investigations, including probes related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and taking classified documents from the White House and potentially obstructing efforts to retrieve them.
Should Trump announce the week after the midterms, it would occur while President Joe Biden is out of the country. Biden is scheduled to travel to Egypt for the United Nations climate-change conference on Nov. 10 with subsequent stops throughout Asia, including the G20 summit in Bali. U.S. presidents typically avoid discussing domestic politics while abroad.
Potential 2024 candidates shouldn’t wait for Trump before announcing because getting in the race after him makes it harder, said Republican strategist Alex Conant, the former communications director for Senator Marco Rubio’s 2016 presidential campaign.
“If you get in after Trump, your announcement is all about Trump — like you’re effectively running because you think Trump is flawed in some way,” Conant said. “You can expect to be pummeled by Trump on your announcement day, and the media coverage will all be about why you’re running in Trump’s shadow.”
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(With assistance from Jennifer Jacobs.)
