Trump set to make ‘big announcement’ tonight

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - Former President Donald Trump is expected to declare his 2024 presidential candidacy tonight.

Trump advisor, Jason Miller told Steve Bannon on Bannon’s podcast last week that the ‘big announcement’ will be “professional” and “buttoned-up.” However, after the GOP performed worse than expected in the 2022 midterms, some Republicans are less than thrilled about the move.

Republicans fear Trump might first cause more damage in the midterms. Most of the election-denying candidates Trump backed have lost and Georgia senatorial candidate Herschel Walker still has a runoff to compete in next month.

“One possible consequence of Trump announcing his candidacy the same thing happening in Georgia that happened last time in Georgia where the Democratic votes in the runoff benefitted from Trump shooting his mouth off,” said James Grossman, Executive Director of the American Historical Association.

Two years ago, Republicans lost a pair of Senate runoff elections in Georgia while Trump was still in office. The GOP failed again to retake the Senate last week even as a majority of voters disapprove of the job President Joe Biden has done. Several Republicans like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have blamed Trump and the lack of quality candidates he endorsed

In a recent interview, former House Speaker Paul Ryan said, “I think Trump’s kind of a drag on our ticket. I think Donald Trump gives us problems politically. We lost the House. the Senate and the White House in two years when Trump was on the ballot or in office and I think we have we have some Trump hangover.”

However, the Republican National Committee is placing blame elsewhere.

“I don’t buy into the finger pointing. Republicans are united. I believe that pundits and the media set the expectations too high,” said RNC Communications Director Danielle Alvarez.

Meanwhile President Joe Biden, who says he will reveal his own plans early next year, is confident Trump can be stopped again from winning a second term.

“We just have to demonstrate that he will not take power by if we if he does run, making sure he under legitimate efforts of our Constitution, does not become the next president again,” Biden said last Wednesday during a press conference at the White House.

As for Trump, Miller said the former president told him, “I want to make sure that people know that I’m fired up, and we gotta get the country back on track.”