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Donald Trump is expected to announce his intention to run for president again, while also fighting off a major revolt within his own party.
Following the Republican Party's poor midterms performance, which saw the GOP still not manage to gain a majority in the House and fail to take control of the Senate from the Democrats, a number of conservative figures have started to point the blame at the former president.
Trump had endorsed hundreds of MAGA and election-denying candidates across all forms of government on November 8, many of whom went on to lose their respective elections.
In the days since the disastrous results, high-profile GOP figures such as Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and outgoing Pennsylvania senator Pat Toomey, whose soon-to-be-vacant seat was won by Democrat John Fetterman in the fiercely contested race with Trump-endorsed Mehmet Oz, have suggested the party moves on from the former president heading into 2024.
Undeterred, Trump is widely expected to confirm his third run for the White House, something he has been hinting at since he left office in January 2021, at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Tuesday night.
Joshua Scacco, associate professor and associate chair of the Department of Communication at the University of South Florida, told Newsweek how Trump finds himself in a "difficult position" heading into a possible announcement of a presidential campaign.
"Trump needs to find a way to change the narrative following a midterm election where many of his endorsed candidates in battleground states lost," Scacco said.
"By shifting public attention to a presidential run, he also is attempting to shift the narrative. His influence in the Republican party, at present, is being questioned."
Scacco added that by announcing his 2024 run before any other potential candidate, including President Joe Biden, Trump is attempting to "re-establish his influence and potentially clear the field" of competitors.
"However, we do not know whether and how a potential announcement could quell Republican elites—including donors and elected officials—from questioning whether a third Trump term is beneficial for the Republican Party," Scacco said.
One name widely believed to be a ready-made replacement for Trump in 2024 is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who managed to achieve a mini "red wave" in the Sunshine State. The GOP crushed the Democrats in a number of midterm races, including DeSantis' own gubernatorial re-election against Charlie Crist.
Julie Norman, associate professor in politics and international relations at the University College London (UCL), told Newsweek that, while DeSantis is seen as the ideal replacement for Trump in the GOP, it is still too early to dismiss the former president's chances of clinching the party's presidential nomination in 2024.
"Even while donors, party elites, and indeed, many voters favor DeSantis in the post-midterm mourning period, Trump still holds a solid sway over most of his base that will likely amplify when he announces his candidacy," Norman said.
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, and Florida ... Read more