OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Former President Donald Trump has yet to announce formally whether he will jump in the 2024 presidential race, but there have been lots of signs he is considering doing just that or, what he has said, making a third ‘successful’ bid for a second term.
And recently, another sign has emerged that seems to suggest he will toss his hat back into the ring for another shot at the Oval Office.
“Trump’s post-White House super PAC, Make America Great Again, Again, recently commissioned a head-to-head poll pitting the 45th president against his successor, President Joe Biden. The poll, conducted between Nov. 11-16, showed Trump besting Biden in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, all states that were critical to Biden’s 2020 victory,” writes Christian Datoc at the Washington Examiner.
“Poll after poll clearly demonstrates that former President Donald Trump is still the 800-pound gorilla in the GOP and would be its 2024 nominee should he run,” said Tony Fabrizio, who conducted the poll on behalf of MAGAA, in discussing the results with Politico.
“This new data clearly shows that today the voters in these five key states would be happy to return Trump to the White House and send Biden packing,” he added.
Datoc notes further:
Furthermore, Trump will expand his campaign war chest, currently worth an estimated $100 million, on Dec. 2, when a super PAC aligned with the former president hosts his largest post-White House fundraiser to date at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s south Florida club. Mar-a-Lago has raked in cash for Trump since he left the White House, and while the exact entry cost of the Dec. 2 event remains unknown, seats at some Mar-a-Lago club fundraisers are going for as much as $50,000.
Former Trump administration and campaign officials have previously told the Washington Examiner that, shortly after leaving the White House, Trump was legitimately split about running again in 2024. However, the Biden administration has spent the past several months dealing with a series of compounding crises, including the botched Afghan troop withdrawal, record-high illegal border crossings, disagreement among Democrats over Biden’s spending agenda, and steadily rising inflation, that have emboldened Trump to challenge Biden again in 2024.
“There’s nothing President Trump loves more than winning, and there’s nothing he hates more than losing,” one of those officials noted in a statement.
“2020 was a major blow to his confidence, but a couple months in South Florida, combined with the absolute disaster that is the Biden presidency, are making it clearer by the day that the ‘Trump 2024′ announcement is more a question of when than if,” the official added.
But what if Biden decides not to run for reelection? Some GOP operatives say that will complicate Trump’s decision.
“It’s obvious that Trump is gearing up for a potential rematch with Biden, but what would he have to gain by facing off against a Pete Buttigieg or a Kamala Harris or even Bernie Sanders?” a GOP campaign veteran asked in an interview with the Washington Examiner.
“Beating Hillary Clinton was the ultimate anti-establishment victory. His life would be much easier and frankly would have more guaranteed political impact, if he dedicated his resources to financing down-ballot candidates if Biden hangs it up ahead of 2024,” the operative stated.
But to that point, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Tuesday that Biden does indeed plan to run again in 2024. And though Biden has yet to officially launch a reelection campaign, some of his most recent trips outside of Washington have been to states also being targeted by Trump.
Democrats are also gearing up to deliver Biden’s message.
“President Obama made a major mistake in 2010 by not vocally taking credit for stopping the Great Recession bailout, and we paid the price in the midterms,” a senior Democratic official previously told the Washington Examiner of Biden’s messaging campaign.
“We can’t afford for that to happen again, especially with important issues like voting rights, police reform, and gun safety still at risk if Republicans retake congressional majorities. We have to make it clear that we’re the party with voters’ best interests in mind, not the interests of corporate donors,” the Democrat said.
