Trump Appears To Indicate 2024 Run In Speech To Tightly Packed White House Crowd

Topline

President Donald Trump on Tuesday gave the clearest signal yet that he’ll vie for the presidency once again in 2024, telling attendees at the White House Christmas party that if his efforts to overturn the result of the 2020 election fail, he’ll be back in four years.

Key Facts

Big Number

53%. That’s the share of Republican voters who said in a Morning Consult poll released last Wednesday that they would vote for Trump in the 2024 GOP primary if he ran. 12% said they would vote for Trump’s Vice President Mike Pence, while Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley each garnered 4%.

Tangent

Trump’s bid may scuttle the hopes of some of his key allies, such as Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, among numerous others. Trump’s sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, have both hinted at presidential bids as well.

Crucial Quote

“I just keep thinking of the Rs who planned to run in 2024. they made deference to Trump a party requirement and now it might crowd out their own ambition… what is the lane to run against him after you’ve spent 4+ years telling the base that even mild criticism was traitorous,” tweeted New York Times political reporter Astead Herndon.

What To Watch For

Trump may even announce his bid as soon as Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20, which he has no plans to attend, according to anonymously-sourced reports from the Daily Beast and NBC News.