It has been unclear whether former President Donald Trump will run in the 2024 presidential election — until now.
Driving the news: In a recent interview with New York Magazine, Trump said he was still deciding when, not if, to announce his campaign.
“I would say my big decision will be whether I go before or after,” Trump said in an interview with Olivia Nuzzi, referring to the midterm elections in November.
“That will be my big decision,” he said, adding that making the announcement before the elections comes with “certain assets.”
“Let people know. I think a lot of people would not even run if I did that because, if you look at the polls, they don’t even register. Most of these people. And I think that you would actually have a backlash against them if they ran. People want me to run,” Trump said.
Worth noting: Trump said that he cares little about other popular Republicans like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has been vocal against pandemic lockdowns, racial justice protests and expanded ballot access, as Dennis Romboy reported for the Deseret News. DeSantis has not yet announced his bid.
Piggybacking: The former president doesn’t shy away from taking credit for DeSantis’ success.
“When he ran for governor, as you know, he was running and then he came to me for an endorsement because he was not, you know, he was at 3 percent,” he said in the interview. And with his blessing, “the race was over, and I think Ron knows that better than anybody. We have a good relationship, and, uhh, there may be some others soon, but that’s okay.”
State of play: According to The Washington Post, Republican House strategists are hopeful that if Trump announces his bid for 2024, it will not undermine the party in critical November elections. Others around him have advised him to become more involved in midterm campaigns.
“When Republicans have these massive wins in the midterms, if President Trump has not yet announced for 2024, the haters and the establishment Republicans and their allies in the media will say they can win in 2024 without him, and that the party should go and find somebody else,” said Jason Miller, former chief spokesman to Trump and Gettr CEO, per The Washington Post. “They will try to get that narrative to hold, and the Democrats will gladly amplify it.”