By: Sarjo Brito, Foreign Press Centers U.S Midterm Elections 2022 Reporting Participant
Former United States President, Donald J. Trump continues to tease his comeback into the political arena as he set sights on the 2024 Presidential run for the Oval Office. The former President put an end to speculations surrounding his return in an interview with New York Magazine, disclosing that the decision to run was already made and the focus is now on when to announce his bid to seek office again.
While there are reports that GOP leaders won’t get in the way of his 2024 Presidential bid, political analysts say a premature announcement of his candidacy could work against the party, especially in the performances of other Republican Candidates in the forthcoming midterm elections, slated for 8th November 2022.
As Trump rushes to beat everyone to the punch so that no one else announces, published author and distinguished professor of political science at Rutgers University Dr Ross Baker said there has been a lot of anxiety among Republican voters that President Trump is going to run again.
“In fact, there has been talking recently, especially within the last couple of days about the possibility of President Trump announcing his candidacy for the presidency in 2024 before the midterm elections, and a lot of Republicans are very much concerned about what effect that will have on the Republican candidates for the House and Senate,’’ Ross revealed.
The Political Science Professor also opined that the extent to which Trump is visible to voters in the 2022 midterm elections will be very important, adding that a premature announcement before November 8th will be a factor in the elections.
“After all, he has been defeated. He was defeated in 2020. He and his party were defeated in the midterm elections in 2018. He’s not a good advertisement for Republican candidates running in the 2022 elections.’’
An opportunity for Democrats
President Biden’s approval ratings continue to decline among Republicans and even within the Democratic Party, but according to Dr Ross, former President Trump may be doing President Biden a favour by becoming involved somewhat prematurely in the 2024 presidential election.
“Sometimes very unusual heroes ride to your defense, and I think that President Biden is helped by the January 6th committee’s investigations of the events of the attacks on the Capitol and so on, which all reflect and have reflected very badly on President Trump,’’ Dr Ross Baker added.
According to reports, Democrats are already on standby, ready to capitalize on a Trump pre-November announcement, with some political analysts believing that the GOP having Trump as frontrunner could upend the midterms, thereby tipping the scales in favour of Democrats.
