OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Donald Trump has hired two veteran political operatives with backgrounds in running campaigns in Iowa, which seems to suggest the 45th president could be leaning towards a 2024 return the campaign trail.
According to Bloomberg, a memo from Save America reportedly informed staff and advisers that Eric Branstad and Alex Latcham were joining the team.
One spokesman told Bloomberg that the two will help on “many political matters.”
Trump has been hinting about another presidential bid, even as he has tried to steer clear of activities that would trigger federal election laws that would require him to register as a candidate — and limit spending.
Trump has spent most of his time since President Joe Biden was inaugurated at his homes in Florida and New Jersey. But he has recently begun to move to prevent other potential 2024 GOP candidates from gaining traction.
“We are going to make you very happy,” Trump said in May on “The Dan Bongino Show” when asked about his 2024 plans. “And we’re going to do what’s right.”
The chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa, Jeff Kaufmann, tweeted that Trump called him Sunday, and “asked about Iowa’s farmers and other topics including Iowa’s first-in-the-nation status.”
Had a great 15 minute call from President Trump this evening.
He asked about Iowa’s farmers and other topics including Iowa’s first-in-the-nation status.
— Jeff Kaufmann (@kaufmannGOP) August 9, 2021
Some of Trump’s top allies seem to think he’s going to run in 2024.
The Washington Examiner reported that former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer says Trump is gearing up to run.
“He’s in,” Spicer said during a preview interview of his upcoming book, “Radical Nation: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’s Dangerous Plan for America.”
Spicer said Trump is looking beyond 2022 but will play “kingmaker” in the crucial midterm elections next November.
Spicer told the Examiner that Trump “has banked $102 million, lost weight, and has kept his approval ratings high.”
Earlier this month, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said Trump and his allies are looking to “move forward in a real way.”
Meadows said that both he and Trump were meeting with “some of our Cabinet members” as recently as that day, but he added that he was not “authorized to speak” on behalf of the former president to divulge too many details about the meeting.
According to Meadows, the meeting would not have happened at all if there were no plans to “move forward in a real way.”
“We met with several of our Cabinet members tonight. We actually had a follow-up … meeting with some of our Cabinet members. And as we were looking at that, we were looking at what does come next,” Meadows said.
“I’m not authorized to speak on behalf of the president, but I can tell you this: We wouldn’t be meeting tonight if we weren’t making plans to move forward in a real way, with President Trump at the head of that ticket,” he added.
Trump previously told Fox News host Sean Hannity that he made a decision on 2024 but did not say exactly what it was.
Trump did hint at running for office again.
“It’s not that I want to,” Trump said to Hannity. “The country needs it. We have to take care of this country. I don’t want to. Is this fun? Fighting constantly? Fighting always? I mean, the country, what we have done, is so important.”
Trump remains the overwhelmingly most popular figure in the Republican Party, with several polls suggesting that voters would choose to elect him again if he runs for office.
