‘Big decision’ is when to launch 2024 presidential bid

By the time the leaves are falling, Trump will be running. Maybe.

Former President Trump suggested in a new interview that he has decided to run for president again in 2024 and is only considering when to launch his campaign.

“My big decision will be whether I go before or after (the midterm elections),” Trump told New York magazine in an interview published Thursday.

Asked flat out if he will run for the White House, Trump teased that he “already made that decision.”

Another new report, in the Washington Post, says Trump will jump into the race in September to rally his supporters before the midterm elections, in which Republicans hope to retake control of Congress.

One adviser put the odds at better than 2-1 that Trump announces his campaign before the midterms.

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Trump may believe that the sooner he starts actively campaigning, the easier it will be to head off potential rivals within the GOP, especially Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is gaining momentum in polls.

“I think a lot of people would not even run if I (do) because, if you look at the polls, they don’t even register,” Trump said in the New York interview.

He may also believe it would be more difficult for prosecutors to criminally charge him for his effort to overturn the 2020 election if he is actively campaigning for office again.

Most Republican leaders have long said they would prefer that Trump waited till after the midterms to make any announcement about a possible White House run.

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The GOP believes it has a big advantage heading into the fall campaign if it runs on what it frames as President Biden’s mishandling of the economy. Trump’s involvement may energize the Democratic base and distract attention from the pain voters are feeling at the gas pump and grocery store.

But as it becomes increasingly obvious that Trump does not intend to wait, some are spinning the supposed benefits of his active involvement in the midterms campaign.

“If Trump is going to run, the sooner he gets in and talks about winning the next election, the better,” Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) told the paper.