The campaign could launch as soon as next month.
QUICK FACTS:
- Sources close to former President Donald Trump said he is preparing to launch a 2024 presidential campaign.
- Some believe that the 45th president could announce as soon as next month, even before the 2022 midterm elections are passed.
- Trump reportedly wants to upstage his likely biggest contender, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is already looking for locations to launch his own campaign.
- Some of Trump’s supporters are skeptical about the early campaign launch, saying that they are concerned it could help Democrats in the midterms.
- “The clearest, cleanest path is to have a cage-match rematch,” one source told NBC. “If you have that rematch too early, it could actually help Biden a little bit. Trump in modest doses has been good for Trump.”
WHAT BOTH SIDES HAVE TO SAY:
- “One time that he did bring up the Florida [launch] scenario was quickly followed by him commenting on how terrible DeSantis was at public speaking and commanding an audience … [and that he’s] lacking in so much charisma and he’s so boring that Florida Republicans would leave Ron immediately for Trump [in a 2024 match-up],” a source told investigating journalists.
- As for the other side, even liberal publications like the New York Times have reported that there is concern among Democrats: “They have watched as a commander in chief who built a reputation for gaffes has repeatedly rattled global diplomacy with unexpected remarks that were later walked back by his White House staff, and as he has sat for fewer interviews than any of his recent predecessors.”
BACKGROUND:
- Recent polling by Blueprint Polling shows that Trump would beat Biden by a margin of 44%-38% in a hypothetical vote today.
- Polling has been less positive for the former president in some cases against DeSantis, however, with some data indicating that DeSantis would beat Trump if the 2024 presidential election were held today.
