Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash
Well, it’s official. Donald Trump has just announced his candidacy for president in 2024. In a genuinely lackluster performance from his Mar-a-Lago document storage facility, Trump defied leaders of his party in announcing his candidacy in the wake of a weaker-than-expected performance by Republicans in the recent midterms.
While several high-ranking Republicans have concluded that Donald J. Trump wore out his welcome in presidential politics, Trump is not giving up. Which begs the question: How does he expect to win in 2024 when he lacks solid Congressional support and the media have largely abandoned him?
Trump and Twitter
While Twitter continues to struggle after massive layoffs and unexpected outages following the ill-advised Musk takeover, it is unknown whether Trump’s access to the platform will be restored. And even if it is, who will care if Twitter is no longer the platform of choice?
Trump and broadcast news
ABC, NBC, and CBS chose not to air Trump’s poorly-timed announcement. CNN aired the first 25 minutes or so but then moved on to a panel discussion while Trump was still talking. MSNBC didn’t cover it, sticking with the regularly scheduled episode of Alex Wagner Tonight.
Only FOX aired Trump’s speech live, and while it might be tempting to view this as a sign of Murdoch’s approval, today’s New York Post tells a different story.
Trump and Murdoch
Murdoch’s New York Post printed the following at the bottom of the front page the day after Trump’s announcement:
FLORIDA MAN MAKES ANNOUNCEMENT Page 26
I don’t know what’s worse, referring to Trump as “Florida man” or burying the story on page 26.
Trump and the truth
According to CNN, Trump told 20 lies during his speech last night. They ran the gamut from lies about climate change (which Trump seems to think won’t impact us for another three hundred years) to claims that President Obama “took a lot of things with him” when he left the White House.
But here’s my favorite:
“Trump said that his critics claimed during the 2016 presidential campaign that there would be a war within weeks if Trump was elected — ‘and yet I’ve gone decades, decades without a war. The first president to do it for that long a period.’”
I’m just going to let that one sink in.
Trump and the law
Trump may think that announcing his bid for the presidency in 2024 will offer some protection against the numerous legal troubles he finds himself in. However, he is the only one who thinks so.
“Being a candidate gives Trump no legal protection from criminal prosecution for crimes committed during or after his presidency,” said Mark Osler, a University of St. Thomas law professor. “Were he running as an incumbent, that might be different, but right now his status is ‘Florida resident,’ not ‘president.’”
If anything, Trump’s announcement might move the Department of Justice to push forward more rapidly. And despite the pause Fulton County DA Fani Willis imposed on her investigation into Trump while the midterm elections took place, she is now moving forward.
On Tuesday, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp testified before a special grand jury in the case against Trump for meddling in the Georgia election results. And Lindsey Graham is expected to do the same any day now.
The Guardian reports there are over 19 legal actions against Donald Trump, “about half of which allege improper conduct during his presidency.”
Trump and the Republican Party
No one can predict the future. However, Trump’s hold on the party elite seems to be waning. Unfortunately, Trump’s cult following does not appear similarly willing to move on.
Poll results, announced on CNN today, show Trump is still the leading contender for the Republican Party, with 46% supporting him while only 26% support Ron DeSantis. (This is from a New York Times / Siena College poll. However, I’ve been unable to locate the results online.)
The real question is: Can Republican Party leadership convince their constituents that it’s time for Trump to go? Perhaps if Republican members of Congress hadn’t backed Trump’s lies in the first place, they’d have had a chance. But as it stands, it doesn’t seem likely.
The Republican Party is now in turmoil. Their constituents want one thing, while leadership wants something else.
When the midterms are finally over, and all the votes are counted, Republicans may have a slight majority in the House, but it’s doubtful they’ll agree on what to do with it.