Some Trump allies have privately acknowledged that the House committee’s public hearings have proved more damaging than expected, as congressional investigators continue to release excerpts of sworn testimony from current and former Trump advisers that undermine his false claims about the 2020 elections and raise new questions about his potential. legal risk. The hearings also clearly affected Trump, who spent most of a 90-minute speech last month lambasting evangelical conservatives and who made more than a dozen posts on his Truth Social website this week aimed at undermining the Hutchinson’s credibility. In recent days, some of Trump’s advisers have reached out to his closest allies to let them know the former president is seriously considering an earlier-than-expected announcement. A GOP source familiar with those talks said Trump considered an announcement in the first week of July, while others in his orbit warned he doesn’t currently have the infrastructure in place for a major campaign announcement and “doesn’t want that is dumb.” as one person close to Trump described it. Another source said it was unlikely Trump would make an announcement without notifying the press to ensure maximum coverage. At one point, members of Trump’s staff had discussed a possible early July event in Michigan — a key battleground state in the midterms and beyond — that sparked insider speculation as a possible venue for his campaign announcement, but the event was canceled before any serious planning. Multiple sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to speak candidly about intimate discussions, likened the environment surrounding Trump’s 2024 decision to his first presidential campaign in 2016 — chaotic and disorganized with little understanding of who but himself Trump is responsible. “Every day is different. We’re told he’s going to announce right away, and by afternoon that’s changed,” said a source with knowledge. A person close to Trump who previously said the former president would wait until after Labor Day to throw his hat in the 2024 GOP primary changed his tune earlier this week, saying a September announcement is now ” in the air” and that if Trump does announce early, “it will be July.” “He sounds a lot more engaged lately,” added another person close to Trump. Before landing at Mar-a-Lago earlier this summer for his club in Bedminster, New Jersey, Trump insisted to those around him that he would make the announcement before November’s midterm elections. Then he reversed course just weeks later, telling allies he didn’t want to interfere in the midterms and thought he could build more momentum by waiting to announce after the election — assuming Republicans retook the House majority, as they preferably i do Three sources described Trump as anxious and reactive whenever talk of a future run comes up. He is vacillating between concerns about the investigations he faces and a desire to “fight fire with fire,” as one source said, knowing that once he launches a new White House bid he will likely get the airtime he thinks he needs. his best defender. Although the former President has given dozens of interviews since leaving office, most have been with authors of yet-to-be-published books or far-right media outlets with a limited reach. The absence of any Trump-aligned Republicans on the House panel investigating Jan. 6 has exacerbated his desire to redirect attention to himself — possibly as the presidential campaign begins. Without any representation on the committee, Trump allies were unable to examine witnesses in real time or respond proactively to witness statements. That dilemma was on full display this week as Hutchinson, a 26-year-old former aide to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, delivered blow-by-blow testimony detailing the warnings Trump and his top aides received up to 6 January. and his response — or lack thereof — that day. The hearing was announced with just 24 hours’ notice, and Hutchinson’s identity as a living witness was leaked at the eleventh hour. “He knows if he announces it [a run for president] will be back in the spotlight,” giving him a chance to compete in the auditions, a source told CNN. But others say Trump’s primary motivation for declaring his candidacy so early is because of the other potential Republican presidential candidates vying for the nomination. Top Republicans including Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Rick Scott of Florida, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former Vice President Mike Pence have recently made pit stops in states early voting and lay the groundwork for your own potential campaigns. One source said Trump “wants to clear the field and dare other people to run against him.” There is perhaps no potential opponent for whom the sentiment is more true right now than Gov. Ron DeSandis, whom Trump has latched onto amid the Florida Republican’s emergence as a hero of cultural conservatism and — according to some of the same Trump’s aides — a more palatable version of the former President himself. Through his leadership of the Save America PAC, the former President has laid out recent examples that are supposed to prove his strong position in a potential 2024 GOP field. Trump’s next campaign appearance is scheduled for July 9, when he is scheduled to host a rally for Alaska Republican Senate hopeful Kelly Chibaka. While sources close to the former President do not expect this to be the vehicle to launch the campaign, they did not rule out the possibility of a popular post on his Truth Social website that could set the stage for the 2024 GOP primary.
