On the eve of the midterm elections, Donald Trump said he will make a “very big announcement” on Tuesday, Nov. 15 at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. But he did not, as was rumored, announce he was starting his campaign for the presidency in 2024.
He told the Dayton, Ohio, crowd that he did not want to “detract” from the midterms, which he called a “country-saving election.”
Trump was at the rally to campaign for Republican Senate candidate J.D. Vance and Gov. Mike DeWine, who is up for reelection this year. Both men are expected to win their races on Tuesday.
In what sounded like his 2024 stump speech set to cinematic music, Trump said President Joe Biden has done “damage” to the U.S., and that the country was a “nation that has just plain lost its way.”
“We’re not going to allow this horror to continue,” he said. “We will be a great nation again.”
“In 2024 we’re going to take back our magnificent White House,” he said, stopping short of saying he’d be the one to do it.
As Trump went over a list of his endorsements, he included Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who he had called “Ron DeSanctimonious” at a rally in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. The new nickname did not go over well with many Republicans.
Trump was likely looking over his shoulder, as some have suggested that DeSantis could beat Trump in a Republican primary. At the Ohio rally on Monday, the nickname was gone. Instead, Trump said DeSantis and his other potential 2024 opponents were all “very good people.” Trump shared polls numbers with rally attendees, which he said showed he was up among Republican voters compared to potential primary opponents like DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence.
Trump hit familiar themes at the rally — criticizing Democrats and Biden over crime, immigration, inflation and the price of gas. He accused Democrats of allowing drugs to flow over the border unimpeded.
“You’ve got to get these people out of office, they’re killing our country,” he said.
Referring to when he called MS-13 gang members “animals,” he said Nancy Pelosi was also an animal. “She impeached me twice,” he said.
Trump also defended his sons Don Jr. and Eric, who he said are the “most subpoenaed human beings in the history of the world,” more than “Jesse James” and “Al Capone.”
Trump criticized Pence and former Attorney General Bill Barr, who he said didn’t do enough to overturn the results of the 2020 election. “I ran twice and I won twice. I did better the second time than I did the first,” he said, repeating unfounded claims about election fraud.
This year, Trump has endorsed candidates across the country, including in close races in Nevada, Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania. Despite Democrats’ attempts to make the election about Trump, he has ranked low on lists of voters’ priorities. The focus instead has been on inflation and the economy, giving a boost to Republicans.