“We will be back in some form.”
It’s the phrase former President Donald Trump uttered before a group of his loyal supporters on Jan. 20 ahead of the inauguration that put Joe Biden into the White House.
And now, there may be some insight into what he meant.
Those close to the former President are teasing his political plans for 2022 and 2024.
Though it was initially reported that Trump would form his own party for loyalists and supporters — called the “Patriot Party” — insiders now say he’s scrapping the plan.
Instead, the former President is shifting his focus toward helping the Republican Party take back the House and Senate in 2022.
Multiple reports between both insiders of the Trump campaign and those close to rank-and-file Republicans suggest that the President was talked out of a 3rd “Patriot Party” because it would essentially split the vote and ensure the Democrats control of Congress, according to The Daily Wire.
“Top pro-Trump Republicans close to the Trump administration told The Daily Wire that they thought it was a ‘bad idea’ and that it would split enough support away from the Republican Party that it would ensure Democrats stay in the majority for quite some time into the future.”
In last 24 hours, after floating through a few folks that he was considering creating a third-party as a way to keep Senate Rs in line ahead of impeachment, Trump has been talked out of that and is making clear to people he isn't pursuing it, per ppl familiar w his thinking.
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) January 24, 2021
And according to longtime New York Times insider Maggie Haberman, Trump also likely eased off the pedal because it appears that very few GOP senators are likely to vote to convict in the impeachment trial.
“Trump has started to believe there are fewer votes to convict than there would have been if the vote had been held almost immediately after Jan. 6,” Haberman wrote on Twitter, “the people familiar with his thinking said.”
One of Trump’s top aides is confirming the plans. Senior Adviser Jason Miller said in a statement:
The President has made clear his goal is to win back the House and Senate for Republicans in 2022. There’s nothing that’s actively being planned regarding an effort outside of that, but it’s completely up to Republican Senators if this is something that becomes more serious.
Yet, something more serious could still be on the horizon for Trump.
According to his former Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell, Trump still wants to run in 2024.
It’s fair to say that regardless of what happens, the multitude of voices all threaten to make for a very intriguing Joe Biden presidency, as the GOP decides how to unify the party in a post-Trump world where Trump remains on the minds of most.
The Horn editorial team