Associated Press
From the moment he left the White House in defeat last year, Donald Trump has teased the prospect of a third presidential campaign. But in the week since he officially declared his candidacy, the former president has been uncharacteristically low key.
There has been no massive stadium kickoff rally, notable for someone who has turned such events into a signature of his public life. His newly reinstated Twitter account, which helped fuel his political rise nearly a decade ago, sits silent with its more than 87 million followers.
He hasn’t announced plans to visit the key early voting states that will shape the contest for the Republican nomination, nor has he sat for a round of high-profile interviews. Indeed, since his announcement speech, Trump hasn’t held a public event.
“His lack of a schedule makes you wonder if he’s really running or if this is just a business development opportunity or a diversion from the DOJ activity,” said veteran GOP strategist Scott Reed, referring to Department of Justice probes into Trump’s handling of classified documents and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, which are expected to intensify in the coming weeks.
Trump, who never held public office before winning the presidency in 2016, has never valued the cadence and organization associated with traditional campaigns. And several aides noted that Trump, who made his announcement unusually early and a week before the Thanksgiving holidays, is wary to draw attention away from the Dec. 6 Senate runoff in Georgia, which will close out this year’s midterm elections. The aides, who insisted on anonymity to discuss campaign strategy, said Trump will ramp up his schedule soon.
But the light-touch start to the campaign reflects the rushed and chaotic nature of his announcement, which came as Midterm Election votes were still being counted and even as some of his closest aides and allies had urged him to postpone until after the Georgia runoff. It also comes at a moment of unique political vulnerability for Trump.
The former president, who has spent his post-White House years positioning himself as the undisputed leader of the GOP, is now facing heated criticism inside the party for contributing to a disappointing showing in this month’s Midterms. And other Republicans are openly teasing presidential runs of their own, making clear they won’t stand aside for Trump’s nomination.
Meanwhile, the legal pressure on Trump is intensifying. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel last week to oversee the Justice Department’s investigation into classified documents recovered from the former president’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, as well as key aspects of a separate probe involving the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and efforts to undo the 2020 election. And on Tuesday, the Supreme Court cleared the way for the imminent handover of Trump’s tax returns to a congressional committee after a three-year legal fight.
Still, Trump begins the race with an obvious head start. The former president had been acting like a de facto candidate for months and had long had a political operation in place. After two presidential campaigns and four years in office, he also has longstanding relationships with state and local party leaders, including many who remain loyal to him.
Trump also appeared by video at a Conservative Political Action Conference in Mexico and answered questions via live video feed at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership meeting in Las Vegas, where a long list of other potential 2020 hopefuls, appearing in person, courted donors. Some made the case it was time to move on from Trump.
“As you know, our country is in grave, grave trouble — it’s in big problemville, I will tell you that,” Trump said.
Trump has also rolled out a slew of endorsements, including from allies in Congress like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Paul Gosar, Ronny Jackson and Elise Stefanik, as well as Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake.
And his campaign team, which has yet to fill a long list of key senior roles, has been working to hire staff and build out the nitty gritty of a modern campaign organization, including integrating databases and donor lists and negotiating with vendors.
The rollout marks a stark contrast from June 2015, when Trump launched his last winning campaign for the White House at Trump Tower with a speech that drew waves of media attention with its shocking statements and tongue-and-cheek proclamations.
“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best,” Trump said then. “They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists, and some, I assume, are good people.”
Trump’s approach also stands in contrast to many of his potential rivals, who have spent the last months frequently visiting early voting states and trying to raise their profiles with media appearances.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, for instance, has given more than 40 interviews while promoting his new book.
Dan Eberhart, a former Trump campaign donor who said he would like to see Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis win the nomination, said the last week has “confirmed some things we suspected all along.”
“We now know a lot of candidates plan to run for the nomination. At this point, no one seems ready to concede the nomination to Trump or DeSantis,” Eberhart said. “We also know that a lot of people in the party are ready to move on from Trump. Right now, DeSantis is the heir apparent. We’ll have to see if he can hold on to that position, but I don’t see a lot of possible candidates who can challenge him — other than Trump himself.”
___
Republished with permission from The Associated Press.
31 comments
Joe Corsin
November 23, 2022 at 3:04 pm
Him running again will just be more chaos for the GOP. It will be an epic pig fight between him and mini Hitler. Garland would be doing the GOP a favor by charging him with something.
Elliott Offen
November 23, 2022 at 9:46 pm
Hey Punk! I saw you talking to marylou the other day. Back off creep!! She’s mine now and she’s loving it. She wants nothing to do with you anymore. Just let it go man, LET IT GO!
Joe Corsin
November 23, 2022 at 10:03 pm
F*ck you Elliott, you sub-human ape. I know marylou loves me more than you, she just hasn’t realized it yet! Once she does, she’ll come crawling back and you’ll be all alone and then I won’t have to eat a whole Thanksgiving turkey by myself! I might even get enough motivation to take a shower again or not be disgusted when I look at myself in the mirror. …… DARN YOU ELLIOTT OFFEN! CAN’T YOU SEE WHAT YOU’VE DONE TO ME! PLEASE GIVE HER BACK, I’LL DO ANYTHING!
Elliott Offen
November 23, 2022 at 10:14 pm
Hahaha get dunked on loser! That sweet marylou p*ssy is mine. AWOOGA!!!
Joe Corsin
November 24, 2022 at 8:17 am
👆 It’s fake Elliott
Joe Corsin
November 24, 2022 at 2:40 pm
Stop copying my alt-account Elliott Offen. You far-right azzhole ape. I’ll show you what for👹
Joe Corsin
November 24, 2022 at 2:47 pm
☝️This is fake Joe Corsin
Joe Corsin
November 24, 2022 at 2:53 pm
Listen here buddy, this is the real Joe Corsin. You need to stop doing this before I smash your ugly face in ape 👹👹👹
Joe Corsin
November 24, 2022 at 2:57 pm
No, I’m Joe Corsin. You need to stop doing this right now before I smash YOUR ugly face in, you far-right nutjob! Also me and Elliott Offen are totally two different people. Forget about how both our names come from the Howard Stern show and we both talk exactly alike.
Joe Corsin
November 24, 2022 at 3:00 pm
NO I’M JOE CORSIN. NOW I’M UPSET! YOU NEED TO STOP DOING THIS BEFORE SOMEONE WHO GIVES YOU A KICK TO THE FACE BUDDY!
Joe Corsin
November 24, 2022 at 3:02 pm
I’m Joe Corsin, you sub-human ape! Who do you think you are doing this? Identify theft is a serious crime.
Elliott Offen
November 24, 2022 at 3:04 pm
No, I’m Joe Corsin. Forget the username. Leave me alone and stop harassing me! I’m seriously considering pressing charges.
Joe Corsin
November 24, 2022 at 3:07 pm
Haha you wrote the wrong username by mistake! I knew the fake Joe Corsin was also the fake Elliott Offen. I, the real Joe Corsin, am completely vindicated.
Joe Corsin
November 24, 2022 at 3:08 pm
NO I’M THE REAL JOE CORSIN. STOP IT YOU FAR-RIGHT POSER!
marylou
November 24, 2022 at 3:10 pm
Will the real Joe Corsin please stand up?
Joe Corsin
November 24, 2022 at 3:12 pm
No I’m Joe Corsin. Both of you need to stop right now. It’s not funny anymore.
Joe Corsin
November 24, 2022 at 3:14 pm
☝️It’s fake Joe Corsin
Just another far-right trumplican sub-ape loser.
Charlie Crist
November 24, 2022 at 3:15 pm
No, I’M Joe Corsin.
marylou
November 24, 2022 at 3:16 pm
I repeat, will the real Joe Corsin please stand up?
Yrral
November 24, 2022 at 3:18 pm
NO, I am the real Joe Corsin.
Tom
November 24, 2022 at 3:21 pm
I am Joe Corsin! Stop this right now😡😡😡😡
PeterH
November 24, 2022 at 3:19 pm
I am Joe Corsin, the one and only
Space baby
November 24, 2022 at 3:23 pm
It is me, Joe Corsin. Coming to you from beyond the stars 🌟 🌟
Joe Corsin
November 24, 2022 at 3:25 pm
You need to stop you far-right ape! YOU’RE P* SSING ME OFF!!!
Joe Corsin
November 24, 2022 at 3:29 pm
I kind of have a thing for apes, not gonna lie. They’re so big and strong, I wish they would hold me in their arms and lull me to sleep. Whenever I see one, I get all hot and bothered, I can’t help it😫😫
Joe Corsin
November 24, 2022 at 3:32 pm
☝️Stop it right now.
YOU’RE SPREADING MISINFORMATION! I am Joe Corsin. Please believe me. DON’T BELIEVE THE LIES!!
marylou
November 24, 2022 at 3:34 pm
We’re gonna have a problem here
Joe Corsin
November 24, 2022 at 3:35 pm
Y’all act like you never seen a white person before
Jaws all on the floor like Pam like Tommy just burst in the door
Joe Corsin
November 24, 2022 at 3:38 pm
STOP IT!!!!!🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺
Mora Preston
November 23, 2022 at 6:52 pm
It’s sufficient to serenely supplant my 0ld empl0yments pay, particularly c0nsidering I just w0rk ar0und 10-13 h0urs every week fr0m h0me. I was stunned how simple it was after I attempted it
duplicate underneath web…_______ payoptions1.cf
Ocean Joe
November 25, 2022 at 2:57 pm
Mora, sweetheart. Return my calls please, I’m so lonely 😭 I’m sorry for what I said, I didn’t meant it! Please take me back!😭😭😭😭😭😭
Comments are closed.