Washington, United States:
Donald Trump — who finds himself extra and extra isolated, with his quixotic quest to overturn Joe Biden’s election victory squashed at just about every turn — is openly musing about a second run at the US presidency in 2024.
“It’s been an amazing four years. We are trying to do another four years. Otherwise, I’ll see you in four years,” he told guests at a White House Christmas celebration on Tuesday.
The occasion, attended by various Republican Party energy brokers, was closed to the media, but a video of the outgoing president’s speech swiftly went public.
Nearly a month right after the November 3 election the 74-year-old Trump nevertheless refuses to acknowledge that he lost and has not conceded to his Democratic rival, who is busy constructing his incoming administration.
Shuttered in the White House, Trump has restricted his public appearances to the bare minimum but has not shied away from spewing furious tweets about alleged election fraud — which his personal lawyer common says is not evident.
“To date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election,” Bill Barr told the Associated Press on Tuesday.
Barr’s statement was all the extra highly effective due to the fact he is a staunch Trump ally.
Given the curious political climate, in which the president-elect is busy introducing his cabinet nominees whilst the present president spreads conspiracy theories, speculation in the nation’s capital is operating wild.
According to NBC News, Trump has discussed the possibility with his close aides of launching his 2024 campaign on January 20 — Inauguration Day for Biden, which clearly the Republican does not strategy to attend.
As he has admitted publicly in the previous, the Manhattan actual estate mogul-turned-president is a bit superstitious. In 2017, he filed the paperwork for his 2020 campaign on January 20, the exact same day he took the oath of workplace.
Trump loves nothing at all superior than becoming a provocateur, and ought to he stage a rally to rival the pomp and circumstance of the inauguration, he would embrace 1 of his favored political maneuvers: counter-programming.
Several instances for the duration of his term, he boycotted the annual dinner hosted by the White House Correspondents Association — only to show up at a campaign rally the exact same evening.
Obstacle course
The formal launch of a Trump 2024 campaign would let him to remain center stage, at least in the brief term. But his path to victory would be strewn with obstacles, to say the least.
From January 20, he will be the former president, and the political calculus will modify substantially.
The sway he holds more than Republican lawmakers and the round-the-clock media interest he commands (and on which he thrives) will each taper off significantly.
All eyes will turn to his successor, but also to many senators and state governors inside his personal celebration who harbor White House ambitions.
As he has repeatedly stated on Twitter, Trump did not endure the collapse at the polls that some predicted, and can surely boast of a important political base.
The recounts roll on, but 1 issue is for certain: the 2020 election saw record turnout. Biden won extra than 81 million votes, but Trump passed the 74 million mark — — the leading two totals ever for presidential candidates.
On a nationwide basis by percentage, Trump — who incessantly mocks “losers” — does not fare as properly. He earned significantly less than 47 % of the ballots cast.
So will he finish up becoming the Republican presidential nominee in 4 years?
That appears rather a extended shot. Trump is hardly a conventional politician — he functions on instinct, in the moment. Long-term strategic organizing is hardly his powerful suit.
In theory, nothing at all is stopping him from attempting once again in 4 years. The US Constitution prevents any one from serving extra than two complete terms in the White House, but non-consecutive terms are doable.
Only 1 president did so: Grover Cleveland, in the late 19th century.
Elected for the initially time in 1884, his reelection bid was a failure in 1888, but 4 years later, he won once again — creating him each the 22nd and the 24th president of the United States.
Cleveland was 56 at the start off of his second term. Trump would be 78 — the exact same age as Biden is now.
()