Trump is officially vying for Republication nod for White House run; poll says only 40% want him on the ticket

By Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

#USA, November 18, 2022 – Donald Trump is easing his foot back into the ring after two years out of office with the announcement that he is making a presidential bid for the White House in 2024.

How likely is it that the US will see Mr. Trump in the White House once more?

The former president first ran for office in 2000 unsuccessfully. He then ran for office in 2016 and won the presidency despite losing the popular vote. Since his loss in 2020 despite falsely claiming that the election had been stolen from him Trump has remained a significant player in Republican politics, choosing and endorsing candidates for the recent midterm elections and making cross country appearances.

Before midterms in October, Pew Research Center surveyed Republican voters and said “six-in-ten Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (60 per cent) say they feel warmly toward Trump, including 41 per cent who feel very warmly.” Back in April 2020 that was 79 percent. While the majority want him to stay in politics only about 40 per cent want to see him run for president.

In order to be elected president he will have to be voted as the Republican candidate in the party’s primaries which for the businessman may be a tougher job than in 2016.  Despite remaining popular with his party and many voters, since his first successful bid where he led them to victory Trump has been impeached twice as president, a first in American history, and is still under investigation for his alleged involvement in the January 6 riots that brought hundreds of protesters to the US Capitol.

He also has a significant competitor in Florida Governor Ron DeSantis who, in a massive turnaround from the 2018 midterms where he barely scraped by, won his governorship back in the biggest victory for republicans in Florida for 20 years. The two men are already at odds not openly supporting each other and while American media houses begin to herald DeSantis as a major player for 2024 Trump has already warned him publicly not to enter the race lest he “hurt himself very badly”.

Both men have significant pockets of support in the Republican Party and will have to wait for republican primaries to see who will emerge victorious. The winner of those primaries will then go on to battle the democratic presidential candidate in 2024.

On Thursday, on the Democrats side, Nancy Pelosi resigned as House Speaker having served historically as the first female Speaker of the US House of Assembly.  She will continue to serve in congress, said media reports.