Ignoring growing GOP concerns that an early presidential bid could backfire, Donald Trump said he will make a “special announcement” on Tuesday.
Jason Miller, a longtime adviser to Trump, told former White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon on Friday that he had spoken with Trump and he “of course” planned to run for president, adding that Trump was “fired up” about a 2024 run. Mr Trump is scheduled to make the announcement at 9pm ET on Tuesday from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Virginia Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears hinted that Mr Trump was a “liability” to the party, and that voters wanted to move on from the MAGA movement.
Former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu echoed that assessment, urging Mr Trump to wait at least until the Georgia Senate runoff takes place. Republicans lost the Senate and are expected to control the House only by a narrow margin after predicting a red wave in the midterms that did not materialise.
Here’s everything we know about what Mr Trump plans to announce:
What is Trump announcing?
Mr Miller said on Friday: “President Trump is going to announce on Tuesday that he’s running for president. And it’s going to be a very professional, very buttoned-up announcement.”
The adviser said that “all details are covered” and 1,000 people are expected to attend. He also noted that “already 250 cameras have requested access.”
“They’re building additional risers to make sure that they have the overflow capacity,” Mr Miller continued. “So people are wondering, ‘Hey, this is coming very quick.’ These guys are pros, these guys are ready to go. I personally did the checklist with them this morning. That’s going to be fine.”
What time is Trump expected to make his “special announcement”?
The former president’s event will take place at 9pm EST on Tuesday at his Mar-a-Lago Club.
Where can the announcement be streamed?
According to Mr Miller, more than 250 cameras have requested access to the event, meaning that national channels will likely broadcast it.
The cable network C-SPAN, which televises high-profile proceedings of the federal government, has already created an online streaming link for the event here.
The Independent will live-stream Mr Trump’s remarks on Facebook and twitter.
Why is the GOP asking Trump to hold off on the announcement?
Republican leaders have reportedly asked Trump to hold off on his announcement, at least until a Georgia Senate runoff takes place between Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker.
The run-off will take place on 6 December.
Mr Sununu openly criticised Trump’s strategy during a radio interview.
“He stands to potentially muck up the opportunity for [Herschel] Walker to win in Georgia in his runoff,” Mr Sununu said on Friday, per The Hill. “I think what the former president doesn’t understand is if he announces … he’s not going to keep anyone out of the race.”
Ms McEnany also voiced concerns about a potential presidential announcement on an edition of Outnumbered last week.
Who could be Trump’s biggest rival during the Republican primaries?
Mr Trump has voiced concerns that re-elected Florida governor Ron DeSantis is “playing games” by not shutting down speculation about his possible run for the presidency in 2024.
In an unhinged statement via TruthSocial on Thursday, Mr Trump charged at the GOP firebrand, baselessly claiming that he saved DeSantis’s 2018 campaign, and most recently had dispatched the FBI to protect DeSantis from defeat in key counties where electoral fraud supposedly was taking place.
Mr Trump’s daughter-in-law and Fox contributor Lara Trump said on Sunday that Mr DeSantis should wait until 2028 to run for president.
“I think that Ron DeSantis is very smart,” Ms Trump told Sky News Australia.
“Look, he’s a young guy. There will be a lot of opportunity for him in the future … to run for president.”
“And I think he’s a smart enough guy to know that it would be great to have all the support of this party, of the America First, MAGA movement, whatever you want to call it, fully behind him in 2028 than possibly has, you know, fracturing it in 2024.”
Mounting media coverage and reports from Republican leaders point to Mr DeSantis as one of the most prominent figures in the party and a likely strong candidate for the Republican primaries.
Mr DeSantis has not confirmed whether he plans to run for president.
