Donald Trump speaks at the CPAC in Orlando, Florida, on February 28.
Photographer: Elijah Nouvelage / Bloomberg
Photographer: Elijah Nouvelage / Bloomberg
Donald Trump is telling allies that he is strongly considering a new presidential candidacy in 2024 – and close advisers want him to choose someone other than former vice president Mike Pence for his ticket, according to people familiar with the talks.
Trump publicly teased at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Sunday that he is thinking of another offer for president. In private, he discussed alternatives to Pence as he took stock of who he thought stood by him at the end of his term and who he did not, according to two of the people.
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They requested anonymity because the conversations were private.
Trump’s advisers discussed identifying a black or female running mate for his next race, and three people familiar with the matter said Pence probably won’t be on the ticket.
Two advisers have suggested Trump consider South Daki Governor Kristi Noem, people said. Donald Trump Jr. and his girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, are hosting a fundraiser for Noem on Friday in Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort and home in Palm Beach. The former president intends to make an appearance, said people familiar with the matter.
And on Tuesday, Trump issued a public notice for the re-election of Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina. Scott is the only black Republican in the US Senate.
Pence rejected his boss’s calls to unilaterally overturn Trump’s re-election defeat when he chaired the January 6 Electoral College Congress vote. vice president and members of Congress to flee. Five people died in the body.
Mike Pence and Karen Pence arrive at the inauguration of Joe Biden in Washington, DC, on January 20.
Photographer: Kevin Dietsch / UPI / Bloomberg
The two men did not speak for a few days. Pence did not say if he would be interested in running for Trump again, according to a person familiar with the situation, who believes it is doubtful that Pence would.
Trump’s adviser Jason Miller said “no such talks are going on” about the election of anyone other than Pence if he runs again and that the former president “has not made any decision on a possible candidacy in 2024.” Pence’s comment did not immediately comment.
In Trump’s camp, future vice presidential candidates have not yet been seriously considered, said people familiar with the matter. If he runs, Trump is unlikely to make an official announcement until the summer of 2023, they said.
At a rally in front of the White House ahead of the January 6 deadly uprising, Trump said he would win the 2020 election if Pence did “the right thing,” and rejected the votes of Joe Biden’s Electoral College in several states where the former president had backed. , without proof, that widespread fraud had cost him his victory.
After Pence refused, Trump wrote on Twitter that his vice president “did not have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our country and the Constitution.” At the time, the crowd was swarming the Chapter, with some insurgents chanting “hang Mike Pence,” while the Secret Service backed the vice president safely.
While Trump did not officially announce his candidacy for the CPAC on Sunday, his first public appearance since leaving office on January 20, he hinted at another offer. Trump has shaken up his White House mandate, repeated his false claim that he won the 2020 election, and added, “Who knows? I might even decide to beat them a third time. ”
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The public of the former president is thinking of another candidacy maybe to effectively freeze the Republican presidential field in 2024, as many other prominent GOP candidates will likely wait for the former president’s decision before announcing their own campaigns.
Trump is building a political structure to serve as a foundation for the campaign if he decides to run again, including an existing political action committee, Save America, which accepts donations up to $ 5,000 per person. A new super CAP, which would accept unlimited donations, is also planned.
Pence was invited to speak at CPAC, but informed organizers a few weeks before the event that he and his family had decided to keep a low profile in the first half of the year. He said he is opening a transition office and plans to move to Indiana this summer.
The former vice president is himself considered a potential top candidate in 2024. A Harvard-Harris poll conducted on February 23-25 found that 42% of Republican voters preferred Trump as the nominee in 2024, compared to 18% for Pence, who came in second.
Without Trump, Pence led the way with the support of 36 percent of Republican voters, followed by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz with 13 percent.
(Updates with Councilor Trump’s comment in the ninth paragraph.)