OPINION: This article contains commentary which may reflect the author’s opinion
President Donald J. Trump has been teasing Americans about the possibility of his return to political life since he left Washington DC in 2020 to make space for Democrat Joe Biden to occupy the White House. For a full year and a half, Trump’s supporters have waited patiently to hear if the 45th president was planning on challenging the disaster Democrats in 2024. And we may be getting closer to getting a full answer this week.
“We have to win an Earth-shattering victory in 2022,” Trump said. “Winning this election needs to be a national referendum on the horrendous catastrophes radical Democrats have inflicted on our country.”
But Trump has not committed yet to running again. About his announcement on the matter, he said:
“It’s certainly not a very long period; the time is coming,” Trump said. “I think people are going to be very happy, our country has never been in a position like this; we’ve lost everything.”
NBC’s Yamiche Alcindor said Monday during an appearance on MSNBC’s “José Díaz-Balart Reports” that people on the Democratic side of things were “very worried” about former President Trump or other Republicans stealing the election in 2024, so with their heightened panic, it really feels like an announcement is coming soon.
Alcindor talked about Biden walking the country off a cliff and about the left’s panic and anxiety in general. According to her, opponents of Trump are very worried about him reclaiming power in DC, because they believe that a threat to their Democracy is the biggest issue they face, even though- she said people were very concerned about their finances and not trusting of Biden.
While discussing a recent NBC News poll found that 74% of voters believe that the country is moving in the wrong direction and that 58% of voters said America’s best years are behind it. The poll also found that “threats to democracy” was ahead of “cost of living” and “jobs and the economy” when asked about the most important issue facing the U.S.
Speaking recently to hosts Clay Travis and Buck Sexton, Trump said it would be “very hard” for him not to campaign for the presidency, presumably against President Joe Biden.
“Knowing what you know and seeing what you see of Joe Biden, how do you not run in 2024?” Travis said recently to Trump.
“Very hard for me not to run, to be honest,” the former president responded. “And also, the polls indicate that, from the Republican standpoint, it would be easy.”
“Our country has never been at a worse point,” said Trump. “They gave away $85 billion worth of equipment, dead soldiers, you still have Americans over there probably as hostages, eventually will be hostages, there has never been a time like this.
“We’ll be making an announcement in the not too distant future,” added Trump.
“GOP candidates must campaign on a clear pledge that they can “shut down the border, stop the crime, the inflation, and hold the Biden administration accountable,” Trump added.
“There are some things we just have to ask you, Mr. President. If you’re gonna announce, when are you gonna announce? Can you tell us that?” Sexton said.
“Well, if I’m gonna announce, I’ll have to make a decision, is it going to be…? You know, two words: Is it before or after? And there are reasons for both. Some very good things about earlier. There’s some very good things about later. The way I look at it is if I announce early and we do well, I’ll get credit for having done well — as much as you’ll get ’cause the press won’t give you credit anyway. If I do poorly, I’ll get absolutely… It’ll be horrible. But if I announce later and we do well, I won’t get any criticized,” he said.
“I’ll make a decision fairly soon,” he said. “And my… I must tell you — and I think I can say this — in my mind, I’ve already made the decision.”
One recent report speculated that New York Rep. Elise Stefanik is likely a frontrunner for a running mate:
Two people familiar with the matter said Trump has been surveying close friends and allies on what they think of Stefanik, one of several Republican women he is possibly eyeing for the potential VP slot, though he has not ruled out a few male contenders, too. One of these people said the former President believes Stefanik has undergone a genuine transformation – leaving the moderate wing of the party to join its increasingly powerful “America First” flank.
“There is a part of Trump who thinks he needs a female VP. He definitely likes her, likely because of how effusive she is to him,” an adviser to the former president said.
“President Trump thinks very highly of Elise Stefanik. … She has been talked about in circles close to him as a potential vice president,” Chris Ruddy, a longtime friend of the former president, said. “And there’s a feeling among a lot of people on the Republican side that they need to have a woman on the ticket this time.”
Source: The Republic Brief