WHY ANNOUNCE PRESIDENTIAL RUN NOW?
Ms Mancini believes Mr Trump is trying to fire up his support base and preempt potential Republican rivals with his announcement to run again for the White House.
“I also think he’s looking at his legal cases. I think he is, I would assume, quite disturbed by the press coverage that has been coming out about him following the midterms, including from supporters,” she said. “Indeed, he is seeing that his popularity is sliding.”
Instead of holding off from announcing his third run for presidency, the former US leader, very much wanting to stay relevant, “stepped right back into the limelight, albeit with a bit more lacklustre energy and support from the crowd that we’ve seen in the past”, she added.
However, some GOP megadonors are backing a “more promising” crop of Republican presidential candidates for the White House in 2024. These likely contenders include Florida governor Ron DeSantis and Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin.
In particular, Mr Trump faces a formidable rival in likely candidate Mr DeSantis, said Mr Daly.
There are many senators and governors who might throw their hats in the ring, but most probably do not want to run against Mr Trump, he added.
“So they may see how things go between Trump and DeSantis now, and hold on to see whether Trump is going to be the favourite candidate. If he isn’t, if DeSantis does well, you can expect to see more Republicans also getting into the competition.”
Pointing out that 2024 is “a long ways away”, Mr Daly said: “I think what we’ll see initially is a battle within the Republican Party to decide what direction it wants to take.”
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