Talk of Trump 2024 campaign increases
>> Donald Trump was calling into yet another friendly radio show when he was asked, as he often is, whether he is planning a comeback bid for the White House. “We need you,” conservative commentator Dan Bongino told the former president.
“Well, I’ll tell you what,” Trump responded. “We are going to make you very happy, and we’re going to do what’s right.”
It was a noncommittal answer typical of the former president who spent decades toying with presidential runs. But multiple people who have spoken with Trump and his team in recent weeks say such remarks shouldn’t be viewed as idle chatter. Instead, they sense a shift, with Trump increasingly acting and talking like he plans to mount a run as he embarks on a more public phase of his post-presidency, beginning with a speech on Saturday in North Carolina.
The interest in another run comes as Trump has been consumed by efforts to undo last year’s election, advancing claims that it was stolen and obsessing over recounts and audits that he is convinced could overturn the results, even though numerous recounts have validated his loss.
Serious legal threat
New York prosecutors have convened a special grand jury to consider evidence in their criminal investigation into his business dealings, seen by many as a sign that Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. is moving toward seeking charges in the two-year, wide-ranging investigation that has included scrutiny of hush-money payments, property valuations and employee compensation.
Trump has slammed the probe as “purely political,” and those around him insist he isn’t concerned about potential legal exposure, even as they suggest his political posture is evolving.
“I have definitely picked up a shift that there’s more of an intentionality to be leaning on the side of it’s going to happen than it’s not,” said Matt Schlapp, who chairs the American Conservative Union, and who is close to the former president. “I think it’s a very real possibility.”
Trump would face daunting headwinds, in addition to his legal vulnerabilities. He would run with the legacy of being the only American president to be impeached twice. A campaign would almost certainly revive memories of the deadly insurrection he helped spark at the U.S. Capitol earlier this year, potentially dragging down other Republicans who have sought to move past the violence.
Trump has long dangled the prospect of presidential campaigns to gin up media attention and stay part of the conversation. And many had initially brushed off Trump’s talk of another run as a tool to maintain relevance and his status as a GOP kingmaker. But there are tentative signs that he plans to follow through in more substantive ways to test his political strength, including by holding rallies this summer. His team is eyeing events in Ohio, Florida, Alabama and Georgia to bolster midterm candidates and energize voters.
Allies say Trump misses the office and is eager to return to the action, especially as he sees other potential candidates making moves. He has also felt emboldened by some recent developments, including the ouster of one of his chief critics, Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, from her House leadership position. And some see the presidency as offering potentially useful legal shelter as probes into him and his family business intensify.