Should Donald Trump run for president again in 2024, at least one Congressional Republican
has toyed with the idea of challenging the 45th president.
Curious to know who it is?
Keep watching.
Before looking to the future and the possibility of Donald Trump hitting the 2024 campaign
trail, we need to travel back in time a bit and answer a vital question: Did Trump ever
concede the 2020 election to Joe Biden?
Historically, presidents and their successors — even if from different parties — have
made a point to meet at the White House and appear together on Inauguration Day.
These public displays of harmony often result in public support, which is vital to a new
administration.
But after Trump lost the 2020 election to President Joe Biden, the 45th president did
not take kindly to defeat.
"Frankly, we did win this election."
Trump waited until January 7, 2021 to finally admit that he would not be serving a second
term, a whole two months after Biden clinched the Oval.
In a pre-recorded video, Trump did not wish his successor a note of congratulations, as
is traditional, but rather stuck to talking points.
So why did Trump finally admit that he would not be serving a second term?
A then-White House adviser told CNN:
"I think that video was done only because almost all his senior staff was about to resign,
and impeachment is imminent."
While Donald Trump did reluctantly admit that he wouldn't be serving a second term, it didn't
take him long to jump back into political action.
By October 2021, former advisors were making the rounds on cable news, alluding to another
Trump presidency in the future and noting that the former Oval Office occupant was most
likely gunning for another term.
David Gergen, a former White House communications director who contributed to a variety of administrations,
told CNN:
"He's increasingly interested.
Strikingly, Anderson, his interest intensifies when he sees Biden in trouble."
Gergen continued, divulging that with Biden's approval ratings in the low 40th percentile
at the time and the United States' economy dragging as a result of the ongoing pandemic,
Trump was watching closely.
A dip in support for Biden would present an opportunity to galvanize support, and the
chaos of his former administration would not be enough to stop Trump from rallying voters.
Gergen added:
"I think it's going to take something hugely unexpected or a dramatic change in his health
or a prison sentence to stop him."
To win over the voters is one thing, but does Donald Trump still have support from members
of his own party?
It's difficult to say, as many of them have remained silent on the subject, and those
who have publicly turned their backs on him are largely former officeholders who are not
trying to run and win their own campaigns.
Still, some Congressional Republicans have made their disdain for Trump known, notably
Representative Liz Cheney.
"Former President Trump continues to make the same claims that he knows caused violence
on January 6th."
The daughter of former vice president Dick Cheney and the lone representative from Wyoming,
the Republican lawmaker has taken a prominent role on the January 6 investigatory committee,
and she certainly has not held back her criticism of the former president.
In reference to January 6, 2021, Representative Cheney told CNN's Jake Tapper,
"It's absolutely clear that what President Trump was doing, what a number of people around
him were doing, that they knew it was unlawful.
They did it anyway."
But Representative Cheney is a bit of an island — 147 of her Congressional colleagues voted
to overturn the 2020 election results, desperately trying to keep Trump in office.
While Joe Biden voters, largely, are here to say that they voted for the candidate who
they could get behind most things on, Trump has bona fide fans who will stop at nothing
to see him in office.
But aside from his dedicated MAGA base, where does Trump fall in public popularity?
Let's turn to the polls.
As per one poll conducted by the PEW Research Center, about two-thirds of Republican voters
indicated that they'd support Trump and about 44% of that group asserted that they'd like
to see Trump on the 2024 campaign trail.
Additionally, the poll found that about one in every five Republican-leaning voters would
not mind seeing Trump remain on the political scene, but they'd like him to throw his support
behind a different Republican candidate.
Now let's get a perspective outside of Republican-leaning voters.
A poll shared by Newsweek, conducted by the law school at Marquette University, surveyed
1,000 adults across the country and concluded that over 70% would not want to see another
Trump campaign or administration.
Donald Trump has made a promise to his supporters if he takes back the White House — and it
has nothing to do with the ongoing pandemic or inflation or even the war in Ukraine.
Rather, Trump made it clear that he'd focus on his base, utilizing the pardon power granted
to presidents to legally help those who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
During a campaign-style rally in Conroe, Texas, Trump told the enthusiastic crowd that rioters
facing charges have been treated poorly by the justice system, and that if he were voted
back into office he would intervene.
"If I run and if I win, we will treat those people from Jan. 6 fairly.
We will treat them fairly.
And if it requires pardons we will give them pardons.
Because they are being treated so unfairly."
While Donald Trump has given veiled hints at his intentions for 2024, he made a very
clear indication as to where he stood on the decision during the Conservative Political
Action Conference in Orlando, Florida.
In February 2022, Trump told the crowd of supporters at the conference:
"We did it twice, and we'll do it again.
We're going to be doing it again a third time."
The former president's words appear to allude to his belief that he won the 2020 election.
However, as noted by Vox, the 2020 election was the most secure election in the United
States' history, and officials from Trump's own White House confirmed its legitimacy.
Nevertheless, a poll conducted by Axios-Momentive found that 26% of respondents do not accept
that President Joe Biden has legitimately won the 2020 election.
A couple of things could stop Donald Trump from running in 2024 — most notably, his
age and health.
As of May 2022, Trump is 75 years old.
That makes him younger than Joe Biden; nevertheless, he is still an older candidate when it comes
to presidential politics.
Furthermore, he has alluded that his health could be an issue, with The Hill asserting
that he could pull a "face-saving doctor's order" as an excuse.
In April 2022 interview with The Washington Post, Trump had this to say of his own status:
"You always have to talk about health.
You look like you're in good health, but tomorrow, you get a letter from a doctor saying come
see me again.
That's not good when they use the word again."
However, Trump went on to say that he can't imagine that anyone else would want to run
against him in the first place.
Trump's health often came under scrutiny when he was in office, with many citing his love
of fast food and Diet Coke as troubling.
"We have pizzas, we have 300 hamburgers, many, many french fries."
One way in which Donald Trump completely stands alone from the rest of the presidential crowd
comes in the form of impeachments.
Sure, other presidents have been impeached before — Bill Clinton, for example – but
Trump is the only president in United States history to be impeached twice while in office.
It doesn't come as a total shock, then, to learn that the former president has been the
subject of multiple investigations since leaving office, namely in the states of Georgia and
New York.
"If you are betraying the public trust for personal gain I will prosecute you to the
fullest extent of the law."
So, if found guilty of a crime, can Trump still run in 2024?
The short answer is yes.
Take the Georgia investigation, as an example.
Trump is the subject of a Fulton County probe regarding the 2020 election, as he petitioned
state election officials to, in Trump's words, "find 11,780 votes," in hopes of overturning
election results.
However, even if Trump is found guilty in this investigation, law professor and former
U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade confirmed to Politifact:
"A criminal conviction does not prevent a person from running for president.
The Constitution controls this question [...] States can decide their own rules for who is eligible
to hold office within their own states, but they cannot disqualify someone from running
for president."
It's a constitutional gray area that has yet to be defined.
While Donald Trump might be sitting on a well-funded war chest, a campaign is pretty much nothing
without the big donors.
The former reality host might be known in big-wig circles, but it's not the 45th president
that big GOP donors are looking at in 2024, to the surprise of many.
Instead, they are turning their attention toward West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin,
a name that should sound oh so familiar to those of you paying attention to politics.
Manchin has become known for his stance as a conservative Democrat and has made his thoughts
on the party very clear.
As a result, he's caught the eye of Wall Street high roller Nelson Peltz, who went ahead and
arranged a $5,000-per-person fundraiser in Florida.
CNBC reported that "at least 50 executives" joined the pair for a lunch, which was aimed
at raising funds for Manchin's reelection campaign.
Will we see more 2024 action in Manchin's future?
Quite possibly, much to Trump's chagrin, undoubtedly.
As Senator Joe Manchin is a Democrat, he would not run against Trump in a primary.
So who from his own party could Trump potentially face on the battlefield we call the campaign
trail?
As it turns out, one former White House official doesn't think the pool is very large.
During an interview with Politico, Mick Mulvaney, former chief of staff to Trump, was asked
who he thinks has a real shot at upsetting the 45th president in a primary challenge.
Mulvaney told the outlet:
"[Republican Governor of Florida Ron] DeSantis could give him a run for his money.
[Republican Senator of South Carolina] Tim Scott can give him a run for his money.
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson could give him a run for his money.
It's a short list."
CNN pointed out that Johnson's political affiliation is unknown, but could we see the voice of
Maui on the trail?
Only time will tell.
During a sit down with HuffPost, Congressman Adam Kinzinger [kin-zing-ur], who serves in
the House of Representatives for Illinois-16 as of May 2022, said that he would relish
the chance to go head-to-head with The Celebrity Apprentice host and former president in 2024.
Kinzinger did not vote for Trump in 2016, but, interestingly, did vote for him in 2020
— something he says he now regrets.
Kinzinger told the outlet:
"I would love it.
I really would.
Even if he crushed me, like in a primary, to be able to stand up and call out the garbage
is just a necessary thing, regardless of who it is.
... I think it'd be fun."
The representative later said that he will make a decision "when we get there," and he
certainly won't "rule it out" come campaign season.
While no one can say for sure if Donald Trump will hit the campaign trail in 2024, you can't
help but ponder the possibility of another Trump versus Joe Biden matchup.
And what does the 46th president think about that?
During a news conference at NATO headquarters in Belgium, Biden was questioned about the
possibility, making his thoughts on a rematch with Trump in 2024 very clear.
The president said:
"The next election I'd be very fortunate if I had that same man running against me."
The president made the comment while meeting with world leaders to address the ongoing
crisis in Ukraine.
While it's unusual for a sitting president to talk about domestic issues while abroad,
Biden's comment reveals that he's ready for a fight once again.
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more List videos about your favorite stuff are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.