Former US President Donald Trump has apparently signalled about running a third-party campaign if more and more Republican leaders do not side with him for the 2024 presidential elections.
Trump hinted at the possibility with a cryptic post on his social media platform Truth Social, sharing an article – ‘The Coming Split’ – in a right-wing journal called American Greatness where the author Dan Gelernter was promoting the idea.
“Do I think Trump can win as a third-party candidate? No. Would I vote for him as a third-party candidate? Yes,” Gelernter wrote in the article. He said that the “Republican machine” does not intend to let the voters choose Trump as the president again. “He is not a uniparty team player.”
“They’d rather lose an election to the Democrats, their brothers in crime, than win with Trump,” he wrote.
According to a report in the Newsweek, Republicans were more interested in rallying behind Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is yet to announce his intentions, even as Trump continues to enjoy large support among conservatives.
An article by the HuffPost, meanwhile, reported that this is not the first time Trump floated the idea of running a third-party campaign. ABC White House correspondent Jonathan Karl wrote in his book titled ‘Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show’ that the former president once told Republican national committee chair Ronna McDaniel that he was “done” with the GOP and was starting his own party.
“This is what Republicans deserve for not sticking up for me,” Trump was quoted as saying to McDaniel, in the book.
In November, Trump declared his widely anticipated White House bid, hoping to discourage rivals from challenging him in 2024. However, other aspirants have stepped up public events following the midterm election cycle, while Trump fights to keep his supporters.
Justin