(Headline USA) Donald Trump was calling into yet another friendly radio show when he was asked, as he often is, whether he’s planning a comeback bid for the White House.
“We need you,” conservative commentator Dan Bongino told the former president.
“Well, I’ll tell you what,” Trump responded. “We are going to make you very happy, and we’re going to do what’s right.”
It was a noncommittal answer typical of a former president who spent decades toying with presidential runs.
But multiple people who have spoken with Trump and his team in recent weeks say such remarks shouldn’t be viewed as idle chatter.
Instead, they sense a shift, with Trump increasingly acting and talking like he plans to mount a run as he embarks on a more public phase of his post-presidency, beginning with a speech on Saturday in North Carolina.
The interest in another run, at least for now, comes as Trump faces perhaps the most serious legal threat of his career.
New York prosecutors have convened a special grand jury to consider evidence in their criminal investigation into his business dealings — seen by many as a “fishing expedition” in the two-year, wide-ranging investigation that has included scrutiny of hush money payments, property valuations and employee compensation.
Trump has slammed the probe as “purely political,” and those around him insist he isn’t concerned about potential legal exposure even as they suggest his political posture is evolving.
“I have definitely picked up a shift that there’s more of an intentionality to be leaning on the side of it’s going to happen than it’s not,” said Matt Schlapp, chair of the American Conservative Union, who is close to the former president. “I think it’s a very real possibility.”
Trump would be 78 years old on Inauguration Day in 2025 — the same age as Democrat Joe Biden on his own Inauguration Day this year — and multiple Republicans are already making moves for runs of their own. Trump’s former vice president, Mike Pence, is slated to visit the early voting state of New Hampshire on Thursday.
Trump has long dangled the prospect of presidential campaigns to gin up media attention and stay part of the conversation. And many had initially brushed off Trump’s talk of another run as a tool to maintain relevance and his status as a GOP kingmaker.
But there are tentative signs that he plans to follow through in more substantive ways to test his political strength, including by holding rallies this summer. His team is eyeing events in Ohio, Florida, Alabama and Georgia to bolster midterm candidates and energize voters.
Allies say Trump misses the office and is eager to return to the action — especially as he sees other potential candidates making moves.
He has also felt emboldened by some recent developments, including the ouster of one of his chief critics, Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, from her House leadership position.
“There’s a continued, enduring interest and folks encouraging him to run in 2024, but he’s in no rush to make a decision. And he’ll do that at the appropriate time,” said Trump spokesperson Jason Miller.
There is doubt, however, among some in Trump’s orbit that he will move forward unless he sees a clear path to victory.
For now, Trump remains obsessed with the 2020 election. One longtime ally said one reason Trump has not said he’s running outright is because he has refused to acknowledge the election is over.
Trump remains a commanding force in the Republican Party, despite his loss. A recent Quinnipiac University national poll found that 66% of Republicans would like to see him run for reelection, though the same number of Americans overall said they would prefer he didn’t.
Supporters in early-voting states are anticipating another Trump run, even as a long list of other would-be contenders, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, have been making visits.
“He’s definitely laying the groundwork, keeping his powder dry for a run,” Josh Whitehouse, a former member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives who worked for Trump’s campaign and administration, said of the former president. “I’d expect nothing less, knowing who he is and having worked for him for so long.”
While voters will certainly hear out other candidates, he said that, at the end of the day, support will coalesce around Trump if he decides to run.
“The energy’s still there,” Whitehouse said. “You can’t replicate it.”
Adapted from reporting by Associated Press.
