Trump on next week’s announcement: ‘Why would anything change?’
Correction: Trump ally Jason Miller called for the former president to hold off on his announcement until after the Georgia runoff. The information was incorrect in an earlier version of this story.
Former President Trump appeared undeterred by the GOP’s lackluster results in Tuesday’s midterm elections, indicating Wednesday that he does not plan to move his “big announcement” scheduled for next week.
“We had tremendous success,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “Why would anything change?”
The former president frequently hinted in the final weeks of the midterms that he imminently plans to announce a 2024 bid to return to the White House. On Monday, he said he has a “big announcement” planned for Nov. 15 at Mar-a-Lago, which many suspect will be the launch of his campaign.
While Trump touted his endorsed candidates’ Tuesday success to Fox News Digital, the general consensus has been that the GOP underperformed, failing to produce the anticipated “red wave.”
Republicans are still expected to take control of the House. The Senate, however, hangs in the balance, with many suggesting that the battle for control may come down to the December runoff race in Georgia.
The Associated Press projected that the Georgia race between Sen. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D) and Republican challenger Herschel Walker would head to a runoff on Wednesday, after neither breached the required 50 percent of the vote to win the election outright.
Trump adviser Jason Miller told Newsmax on Wednesday that he is advising the former president to hold off on his announcement until after the runoff race.
“Everything over this next month is about Herschel Walker and making sure we get the win there,” Miller said, adding, “I’m advising the president to hold off until after the Georgia race, after Herschel Walker. Priorities A, B and C need to be about Herschel right now. This is bigger than anything else in the country. We gotta show the focus is on Georgia.”
Fox News contributor and former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany also suggested on Wednesday that Trump should wait to announce a bid until after the runoff.
“I know there’s a temptation to starting talking about 2024,” McEnany said. However, she added, “2022 is not over. Every Republican energy needs to go to grinding the Biden agenda to a halt, and that could go straight through the state of Georgia.”
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) has also brushed off Trump’s potential announcement in recent days, calling it a “terrible idea” to announce before Christmas.
“My sense is the former president needs better advisers if that’s really what his strategy’s going to be,” Sununu said.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who easily won reelection on Tuesday, is also said to be eyeing a 2024 launch soon.
—Updated Thursday at 9:58 a.m.
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