Will he run again, or won’t he?
It’s the question that has circulated in every political circle since former President Donald Trump left office.
Will the 45th president run in 2024 and attempt to become the 47th? Trump himself has frequently teased a third run at the White House, frequently telling supporters they’ll be “very happy” when they hear about his decision.
But in a recent interview with The Washington Post, Trump revealed for the first time a tiny sliver of doubt.
Just months before the 2024 presidential election begins — which will kick off almost immediately after the 2022 midterms — Trump said he’s listening to his doctor’s advice about his political future.
“You always have to talk about health. You look like you’re in good health, but tomorrow, you get a letter from a doctor saying, ‘Come see me again,’” he told the Post. “That’s not good when they use the word ‘again.’”
It was a passing line, and it wouldn’t be significant for most 75-year-olds to talk about potential health problems. But the frequently boastful Trump is far typical — and in the highly sensitive world of Washington, D.C., critics pounce on any miscue.
And Republican rivals are already lining up to challenge the former president. For example, last month former Vice President Mike Pence called out Trump by name, saying his former boss was “wrong” to insist that he had the power to unilaterally overturn the results of the 2020 election — a power he said vice presidents do not possess. In a separate speech before top Republican donors, Pence urged the GOP to move on from Trump’s 2020 grievances and declared “there is no room in this party for apologists” for Vladimir Putin.
Still, early polls show that Trump remains the decisive favorite among GOP voters if he chooses to mount another run. Without Trump in the race, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis so far appears to be the early favorite.
Other potential candidates are trying to make similar moves. Mike Pompeo, who served as Trump’s CIA director and secretary of state, for instance, recently traveled to Taiwan and met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, while Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, in a high-profile speech at the Reagan Library, praised Trump’s record while also criticizing him for signing bipartisan criminal justice reform legislation.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, speaking Monday at Saint Anselm College’s New Hampshire Institute of Politics, a frequent stop for presidential candidates, continued to offer his own criticism of Trump, slamming those who have spoken admiringly of Russian President Vladimir Putin and calling Trump “dead wrong about the election.”
“It’s over, everybody. You know the reason I know? Joe Biden is sleeping in Donald Trump’s bed,” Christie said. “And we need as a party to move forward. We can’t look backwards. We can’t be a party of vindictiveness and vendettas. We cannot be a party of settling scores ‘for me.’ We have to be a party of creating opportunity and inspiration ’for us.’″
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The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article