Donald Trump made his strongest suggestion yet that he would soon launch a third White House bid in 2024, telling a crowd of supporters in Ohio on Monday night that he would make a “very important announcement” on June 15. november.
Speaking at a rally in Ohio on the eve of midterm elections that will determine control of Congress for the next two years, Trump said: “We don’t want anything to detract from the importance of tomorrow.” But he added that his “announcement” would come a week after midterms, at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
“This incredible journey that we are on together has just begun,” Trump, 76, said.
Trump’s comments fueled speculation about whether he is headed for a rematch against incumbent President Joe Biden in 2024. Biden, who turns 80 this month, has not formally said he will seek re-election in 2024. But Anita Dunn, a His senior adviser, told an event in Washington last week that initial talks about a future campaign were underway.
Trump has flirted for months with another White House bid. But many of his closest advisers and other top GOP figures have urged him to delay any formal announcement until after the midterm elections.
Opinion polls suggest Republicans are on track to regain control of the House on Tuesday, while nonpartisan analysts see the Senate as a “disorder” likely to come down to a handful of races in crucial battleground states. , including Pennsylvania, Georgia and Nevada.
On Monday night, Trump shared a stage in Ohio with JD Vance, the peasant elegy author who became the Republican candidate for Senate in the state with Trump’s endorsement. Trump won Ohio by an eight-point margin over Biden in 2020, but the latest opinion polls show Vance is in a much closer race with his Democratic opponent, Congressman Tim Ryan.
Biden has had for months largely shunned of the election campaign amid persistently low approval ratings. But in the final stretch of the campaign, he has traveled the country in support of a handful of congressional candidates and Democrats running for governor, including a stop in Pennsylvania with former President Barack Obama on Saturday. On Sunday, she went to New York, where she campaigned with Democratic incumbent Governor Kathy Hochul, who faces an unexpectedly difficult challenge in the Republican congresswoman. lee zeldin.
On Monday night, Biden wrapped up his campaign trips in another Democratic stronghold, Maryland, where polls suggest former investment banker Wes Moore is the favorite to be elected governor.
Returning to the White House after the rally, Biden told reporters he was feeling “optimistic,” adding, “But I’m always optimistic.”
Asked if Democrats could hold the reins of the House of Representatives, the president said: “I think it’s going to be difficult, but I think we can. I think we will win the Senate. I think the Chamber is tougher.”