To the surprise of no one…
Donald Trump appeared to spill the beans and say he’s running in 2024 in a new interview with New York Magazine, Save Jerseyans, telling Olivia Nuzzi that he’s “already made that decision” and it’s only a matter of when, not if.
Here’s the meat of it:
He wouldn’t disclose what he’d decided. Not at first. But then he couldn’t help himself. “I would say my big decision will be whether I go before or after,” he said. “You understand what that means?” His tone was conspiratorial. Was he referring to the midterm elections? He repeated after me: “Midterms.” Suddenly, he relaxed, as though my speaking the word had somehow set it free for discussion. “Do I go before or after? That will be my big decision,” he said.
He was thinking aloud now. “I just think that there are certain assets to before,” he said. “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.”
There you have it.
The RCP average shows Trump well ahead of his potential 2024 GOP challengers, but Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is the clear second place competitor at the moment and has closed some ground with the ex-president in recent weeks.
One interesting angle: whether Trump does announce pre-midterms and, if he does, what impact if any does it have on the federal races.
DeSantis, meanwhile, is busily raising money from Republican mega donors in pursuit of his own anticipated run. He’s also drawing praise from some party quarters and even the likes of Elon Musk and Joe Rogan.
