Each day a little more alone in his crusade to contest the victory of Joe Biden, the outgoing president, Donald Trump, is now openly talking about the possibility of being a new presidential candidate in 2024.
“It has been a fantastic four years. We are trying to do four more years. Otherwise, I’ll see you in four years ”, he said, Tuesday 1er December evening, during a Christmas party at the White House. The event, attended by Republican Party officials, was not open to the press but a video of his speech circulated shortly after.
Repeated unfounded accusations of fraud
Almost a month after the November 3 election, Donald Trump still refuses to admit his defeat to Joe Biden. Reclusive in the White House, he limits his public appearances as much as possible, contenting himself, by way of presidential communication, with angry tweets on supposed electoral fraud, which no concrete element accredits.
In a strange video released Wednesday afternoon, the president repeated, without providing new information, his unfounded accusations. In this sometimes confused speech, which he asserts, looking very serious, that he could be ” The most important “ of his political career, he said to himself “Determined to protect the electoral system”. Its long version, posted on Facebook, lasts 46 minutes.
On Tuesday, Justice Minister Bill Barr was extremely clear on this issue. “At this stage, we have not seen fraud on a scale likely to change the outcome of the election”, launched this ultra-conservative, whose words have marked the spirits all the more because he is part of the president’s close guard.
A bet won by Grover Cleveland
According to NBC, Donald Trump has discussed with relatives the possibility of announcing the launch of his campaign for 2024 on January 20, the day of the swearing-in of Joe Biden, which he would therefore not attend. The former businessman says he’s a little superstitious. In 2017, he had the file submitted for a new candidacy in 2020 from January 20, the day he took office.
True to his sense of provocation, he could also take the opportunity to use a recipe that he particularly likes: counter-programming. Several times during his tenure, he boycotted the White House Correspondents Association dinner and organized a campaign rally that same evening.
An announcement of candidacy for 2024 would, of course, allow him to stay at the center of the game in the short term. But the road will be strewn with pitfalls. From January 20, he will become “ex-president” and the equation will change radically. The fear he inspires among elected Republican officials and the media attention he enjoys (and craves) will diminish considerably. However, as he recalls with a tweet, Donald Trump did not suffer the rout in the polls that some predicted him and can claim a solid base of supporters.
In theory, nothing prevents him from trying his luck again in 2024. The US Constitution prohibits taking more than two terms, but making two non-consecutive is a possibility. Only one man succeeded in this bet: Grover Cleveland, at the end of the XIXe century. Elected in 1884, he was defeated in 1888, then elected again in 1892. He is, in the history books, both on the 22e and the 24e President of the United States. Grover Cleveland was 56 at the start of his second term. Donald Trump will have 78 in 2024.
