It took President Donald Trump more than two months to concede his loss in the 2020 presidential election, but he nonetheless repeatedly teased launching a comeback White House bid in 2024.
According to a Sunday report from Politico , those familiar with Trump’s thinking believe he will keep teasing a potential 2024 campaign, but doubt he will actually seek office again.
“I think nothing is going to happen,” a person close to the commander-in-chief said, adding that “he won’t be around in 2024. He’s not going to run. He’s going to f*ck around and say he’s going to run … He’ll tease.”
Trump has reportedly “cooled” to the idea of running again in four years because formally declaring candidacy for office would require him to disclose financial information.
Being that New York investigators are probing the president’s business dealings to establish whether he improperly inflated his assets, he has become wary about launching a comeback campaign, according to people familiar with the matter.
“With such legal drama awaiting him, Trump is expected to keep teasing a presidential run — without actually filing the paperwork or erecting a campaign — to garner the attention he seeks.”
According to rules set by the Federal Elections Commission (FEC), if Trump makes a declarative statement about launching a presidential campaign in 2024 — or purchases ads and invests in marketing — he would have to formally register as a candidate.
Wednesday’s riots at Capitol Hill — which, Democrats and Republicans claim, were incited by Trump — have changed the political landscape and kick-started a civil war in the Republican Party, according to insiders.
“The Republican Party is more divided now than it was two months ago, which is not how it’s supposed to work,” said longtime GOP strategist strategist Alex Conant, noting that Republicans will have to spend at least the next two years opposing Joe Biden’s administration.
But some believe that Trump is not to blame for what happened at the Capitol. Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich said that the news media was partially to blame for the “outpouring of frustration and rage” and added that half the country will never accept Biden as president.
A senior Trump adviser said that “every Republican on Capitol Hill needs the support of these protesters” and opined that Trump’s popularity with the white working class will be hard to replicate, which could jeopardize the future of the GOP.
According to a December poll from Fox News, 71 percent of Republicans and 79 percent of Trump voters would like him to launch a White House bid in 2024.