Former President Donald Trump appears to have been only further emboldened by the raid at his Mar-A-Lago retreat. As Fox News reported on Tuesday night, Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), who serves as chairman of the Republican Study Committee (RSC) met with Trump at at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey. He was joined by other RSC members, as well as congressional candidate Erin Houchin.
Not only did Rep. Banks point out "he didn’t seem defeated in the least bit—he was very fired up, very upbeat," about Trump, but he spoke to his aspirations to run again in 2024, which Trump has "made up his mind" about.
Revelations that Trump has indeed "made up his mind" have come for some time now, as Katie and Sarah covered last month. Rep. Banks hinted that it may be coming sooner rather than later, though, perhaps even before the midterms.
"He said we are going to like his decision and it is only a matter of time before he will make that decision known," Rep. Banks said, with Trump having "enjoyed encouragement" from RSC members to "get the decision out sooner rather than later."
When it comes to the upcoming November midterms, now less than three months away, Rep. Banks believes that the former president could be an asset. "He only helps us win back more seats in November," the congressman said. "The Republican Party is bigger and stronger than ever before because of Donald Trump’s leadership."
Republicans are forecast to at least take back control of the U.S. House of Representatives, while the U.S. Senate is considered a toss-up, or to slightly favor Democrats.
Such elections are usually considered a referendum on the party in power, in this case, President Joe Biden and the Democrats, which also control both chambers of Congress.
Some fear, though, that Trump announcing before the November midterms could negatively impact his party, since theses 2022 midterms would thus become about him, rather than Biden and the Democrats.
Such Republican voices include House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who is predicted to be the next Speaker of the House, as well as Kellyanne Conway, who was the campaign manager that propelled Trump to victory in 2016. Mike Huckabee, a former governor and presidential candidate, also thought it wise for Trump to wait, pointing out it would be a "distraction we don't need."
Trump is not the only 2024 presidential candidate whose party members are weighing in on as to if he should run again. While President Joe Biden maintains he is running again, that hasn't stopped typically friendly mainstream media outlets, such as The New York Times and The Washington Post, from forecasting who else the Democrats might nominate. As Guy highlighted, The Washington Post published an op-ed last month from Steven L. Isenberg, encouraging Biden to announce he's not running again, before the midterms.
It's also worth pointing out, though, that these suggestions came before Mar-A-Lago was raided, with McCarthy and Conway saying as much last month, and Huckabee giving his response during Fox News' "Media Buzz" on Sunday morning.
Further, the raid may have backfired not only by further emboldening Trump, as it looks to have done, but by having Americans rally around him and the unjust treatment he has received over such a raid.
The former president also made news earlier on Wednesday for pleading the Fifth Amendment when being questioned by New York Attorney General Letitia James, at which point he also tore into James, as Spencer covered.
If Trump were to run again and win in 2024, he would not be the first president to serve two terms non-consecutively. Grover Cleveland served as president from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893-1897. He lost the 1888 election to Benjamin Harrison, but vowed he would be back four years later, and so he was, winning a greater amount of electoral votes the second time around.