(Tony Sifert, Headline USA) In an interview with the New York Intelligencer, former President Donald Trump came close to admitting that he plans to run for president again in 2024.
What is clear from his interview is that he has already made his decision and is now deciding when and how to make it known — in particular, whether to announce before or after the 2022 midterms.
“[I]n my own mind, I’ve already made that decision, so nothing factors in anymore,” Trump told the Intelligencer’s Olivia Nuzzi. “In my own mind, I’ve already made that decision.”
“I would say my big decision will be whether I go before or after,” he continued, referring to the forthcoming midterm elections in which Republicans are expected to retake both the House and the Senate.
Asked about possible 2024 primary opponents, Trump sounded a confident note, particularly in relation to a possible challenge from popular and pugnacious Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“Look, I feel very confident that, if I decide to run, I’ll win,” Trump said. “People want me to run.”
The former president suggested that he was entirely responsible for DeSantis’ meteoric rise to the national scene, and that the apprentice has not yet caught up to the master.
“I think Ron knows that better than anybody,” Trump said. “We have a good relationship, and, uhh, there may be some others soon, but that’s okay.”
Trump pointed to his recent successful appearances on behalf of Sarah Palin in Alaska and Adam Laxalt in Nevada.
“I’ll tell ya, the enthusiasm and the crowds are bigger than they’ve ever been,” he said. “The enthusiasm is greater than it’s ever been.”
In response to a query from Nuzzi regarding the role Ivanka Trump and husband Jared Kushner would play in a future Trump administration, an advisor suggested that this time around the pair “would not be involved in any decisions or process day-to-day.”
