At a pre-election day rally, Trump told supporters there was a “huge announcement” coming in days and it appears that day is today. The announcement is set for late tonight from his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida.
“Hopefully,” Trump posted today on his Truth Social website, “TODAY will turn out to be one of the most important days in the history of our country.”
Tea party leader Tom Zawistowski, who leads the Ohio-based We the People Convention, mirrors the opinion of many: He expects Trump, who has teased a White House run, will make it official today.
“Part of that has to do with the DOJ wanting to indict [Trump],” Zawistowki tells AFN, referring to the Trump-obsessed Biden administration, “and them having a bigger problem if he is actually a candidate for 2024. So that’s part of the mix.”
As to whether Trump should run or not, Zawistowski says not only should the former president seek another term, Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis should step aside, too, he says.
“We all like DeSantis,” the tea party political veteran says, “but if you put up any poll, DeSantis is behind Trump by 40 points.”
DeSantis should join Trump as a “unified ticket,” Zawistowski says, which is a common view among many Trump supporters who view that as an olive branch to the popular Florida governor.
Trump, however, has shown his darker side by mocking DeSantis as “Ron DeSanctimonious” at that pre-election rally. The former president told Fox News he has dirt on DeSantis that he would reveal if the Florida governor runs for the White House.
Trump is now piling on anyone he views as a Republican threat, such as Virginia’s governor Glenn Youngkin, who might run in 2024.
Trump is also vilifying Virginia’s lieutenant governor, Winsome Sears, though that pushback was not unexpected after she publicly said she will support another GOP candidate over Trump in 2024. Responding to that snub, Trump called her a “phony.”
Mark Krikorian, who leads the Center for Immigration Studies, tells AFN it is time for Trump to pass the political baton to someone else, including DeSantis, instead of running for another term.
“I think,” he says, “it would be better for the country.”
In light of Trump’s pending announcement, The New York Post and The Wall Street Journal are urging the former president to step aside instead of seeking another term. Those pleas got noticed by columnist Cal Thomas, a frequent critic of the former president. This week, Thomas accused Trump of being a narcissist because he is demeaning others in an attempt to elevate himself in the coming GOP primary fight.
“Living in the past is for losers,” Thomas wrote, “and Trump is the greatest loser.”
To understand the political fight that is coming, compare that stinging accusation with Zawistowki's condemnation of Trump's critics within the Republican Party. Those powerful GOP leaders, he ways, will "blow up the Republican Party if they have to because they just want to keep their power, not because they want to defend America."
