Trump Eyes Early 2024 Announcement as Jan. 6 Scrutiny Intensifies

[RandySF]

Republicans are bracing for Donald J. Trump to announce an unusually early bid for the White House, a move designed in part to shield the former president from a stream of damaging revelations emerging from investigations into his attempts to cling to power after losing the 2020 election.

While many Republicans would welcome Mr. Trump’s entry into the race, his move would also exacerbate persistent divisions over whether the former president is the party’s best hope to win back the White House. The party is also divided over whether his candidacy would be an unnecessary distraction from midterm elections or even a direct threat to democracy.

Mr. Trump has long hinted at a third consecutive White House bid and has campaigned for much of the past year. He has accelerated his planning in recent weeks just as a pair of investigations have intensified and congressional testimony has revealed new details about Mr. Trump’s indifference to the threat of violence on Jan. 6 and his refusal to act to stop an insurrection.

Mr. Trump has also watched as some of his preferred candidates have lost recent primary elections, raising hopes among his potential Republican competitors that voters may be drifting from a politician long thought to have an iron grip on the party.

Rather than humble Mr. Trump, the developments have emboldened him to try to reassert himself as the head of the party, eclipse damaging headlines and steal attention from potential rivals, including Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, a rising favorite of donors and voters. Republicans close to Mr. Trump have said he believes a formal announcement would bolster his claims that the investigations are politically motivated.



https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/01/us/politics/trump-republicans-campaign-2024.html

[mopinko]

1. cuz the grift is drying up.

[Totally Tunsie]

2. Can they have him go up in a hot air balloon to make the announcement?

I understand the first step down is a DUzy!

[GoodRaisin]

14. And he could fill it up with his own hot air.

[Auggie]

3. Fine. Put his slurring speech and incoherent sentences on full display ASAP.

[Baked Potato]

4. He may as well do a super duper fuck up before the final curtain. Nt

[Stargleamer]

5. I predict he'll announce this on July 4th n/t

[Stargleamer]

16. Well i was wrong

but i do think he'll consider when to announce based on how different investigations are going

[ultralite001]

6. The RTumpster's own words...

will secure his downfall...

That is all...

[Joinfortmill]

7. He's gonna be up to his ears in indictments

[Baitball Blogger]

8. Merrit Garland needs to beat him to the punch.

Otherwise, time will be wasted as Trump will get a chance to call it a partisan witchhunt.

[speak easy]

9. We'll know for sure when TFG starts talking about 'RINO Ron'.

[bdamomma]

10. .................

A twice impeached CRIMINAL thug.

[Eyeball_Kid]

11. Sheer desperation. And the DOJ knows it. n/t

[Laura PourMeADrink]

12. Very interesting . But as an aside, this sentence

stuck out.

Rather than humble Mr. Trump, the developments have emboldened him to try to reassert himself as the head of the party

Seems like it should be "Rather than humbling..."

I'm probably wrong

[LetMyPeopleVote]

13. Both Alex Jones and Roger Stone are predicting this announcement

Link to tweet

[GoodRaisin]

15. I don't know how a formal announcement

would bolster Trump’s claims that investigations are politically motivated. What does one have to do with the other?

Perhaps he’s just getting nervous that he’s losing grip and losing ground; also, perhaps losing a considerable amount of grift. The hearings are hurting him, DeSantis is catching him, and he knows it.

If he keeps losing ground it would not surprise me if he tries to blackmail the party, if he thinks he might not get the nomination, by threatening to run as a third party candidate.