Republican officials and some people in Trump’s circle have been urging Former President Donald Trump for months to wait until after the midterms were over to launch, so as to avoid turning the election into a referendum on him and to shield him from potential blame should Republicans not do well as the party expects.

On Monday, November 7, 2022, Former President Donald Trump gave a hint on his intention to run for presidency in the 2024 elections. Trump made this statement before a lively crowd in Vandalia, Ohio, where he was holding his final rally of the midterm season to support Senate candidate, JD Vance.

“I’m going to be making a very big announcement on Tuesday, Nov. 15 at Mar-a-Lago.”
Donald Trump

Trump even predicted “red wave” of Republican victories in the midterm elections, which many observers saw as a test of his control over the party. What was intended to be a “red wave” turned out to be more or less, a trickle due the disappointing results for the Republican candidates.

The outcome of the midterms has raised new queries concerning Trump’s planned announcement, its viability and the future of the party in general. Possibly, what is more distressing for the Former President was the resounding success of Florida governor and potential 2024 rival, Ron DeSantis, who celebrated a “win for the ages” in his re-election bid.

Republican Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, won re-election to a second term on Tuesday, November 8, 2022 in an unrivalled victory over Democrat, Charlie Crist, accelerating his rise as a prominent Republican personality with potential White House ambitions.

Prior to the election, DeSantis harnessed the power of incumbency to assemble media, often on short notice and far outside major markets, for news conferences where he would spend significant time honing critiques of Democratic President Joe Biden, liberal policies and the mainstream media, delivered before cheering crowds. His victory is attributed to this strategy.

While Republican candidates across the country met unexpectedly stiff races, Mr. DeSantis, 44, swept a victory over Democratic challenger, Charlie Crist, including a clear majority among Latino voters.

Among those who now see Mr. DeSantis as a stronger White House competitor than Donald Trump, was Mike Cernovich, a right-wing commentator.

“Trump has zero shot at 2024 in general. After tonight, this isn’t up for debate. DeSantis in 2024 or accept total defeat”, he tweeted.

Stalwarts’ Sentiments

Some associates were calling on Trump to delay his launch next week, with the claim that the party’s full attention and drive needs to be on Georgia, where Herschel Walker’s effort to unseat Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock has advanced into a runoff that could determine control of the Senate once again.

“I’ll be advising him that he moves his announcement until after the Georgia runoff. Georgia needs to be the focus of every Republican in the country right now”. Jason Miller, Former Trump adviser

A number of Trump’s followers worry that if Trump goes forward with his planned announcement next week, he could pave the way for a rerun of Republicans’ 2021 losses in Georgia by dominating the race. Former Trump Press Secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, who currently works for Fox News, suggested on air that Trump should refrain from making an announcement until after the Georgia Senate runoff.

“I think he needs to put it on pause,” Kayleigh McEnany said.

Former President, Donald Trump is very aware of the possibility of facing Ron DeSantis in two years’ time.

On Monday, November 07, Trump informed Fox News that DeSantis could “hurt himself badly” if he runs for President and so, the Governor must stay out of the race.

Trump claimed that DeSantis’ candidature would harm Republicans greatly. He therefore cautioned him to desist from contesting to lead the Republicans into the 2024 elections.