(Washington Insider Magazine) -The 2020 election captured the attention of the world stage as Donald Trump lost his second term to President Joe Biden. Speculation around the election’s legitimacy still runs rampant in Republican circles, with some vowing the return of their former leader. Trump, himself, has been very outright with his refusal to accept defeat, leading many to assume his leadership isn’t over. The question on every American’s mind is, will Donald Trump run for office in 2024?
Reasons he might
Although 2024 is years away, it doesn’t stop the world from contemplating if Donald Trump will attempt a second presidential term. Former Trump Senior Advisor Jason Miller states, “I would say somewhere between 99 and 100 percent….I think he is running in 2024.” While that seems like a pretty definitive answer, the former president has not confirmed. In an interview earlier
this year with Politico, Donald Trump stated that he would potentially run again if he is still feeling healthy. Furthermore, Trump is hosting rallies in battleground states, one of which is in Iowa this Saturday, an odd move for someone who doesn’t intend on candidacy. Although he hasn’t confirmed his intentions, it sure does seem that Trump and his team want his followers to believe he will be running with their not-so-subtle comments.
Reasons he might not
It’s safe to say that Trump suffered a lot of bad press during and after his presidential period. The insurrection on January 6th was damaging to his character within the Republican Party as the US government got dangerously close to chaos. It is hard for Republican officials to separate his involvement in the movement from that of his angry supporters. Former presidential aides have also deviated from supporting him. In an interview about her tell-all book, former press secretary Stephanie Grisham stated, “I don’t think he is fit for the job…I think that he is erratic. I think that he can be delusional. I think that he is a narcissist and cares about himself first and foremost. And I do not want him to be our president again.” Harsh words from someone who was by his side for his entire four-year term. Another potential threat to his presidential intentions is old age; Donald Trump will be 78 years old by the end of the 2024 election. Being physically fit to be president is not something that Trump and his team would take lightly.
What does this mean for the Republican Party?
The popularity of Donald Trump currently dominates the view of the Republican Party. It is very much in Trump’s favor to remain as politically powerful as possible, and his hints at running for office allow him to do just that. It enables him to manipulate the direction of the Republican Party from moving past his leadership as the party cannot rebrand itself to create broader mass appeal. Until Trump gives a definitive answer, he remains at the top of the Republican candidacy list and remains visible in the 2024 election.
