TRUMP's 2024 re-election bid.
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An estimated crowd of 20,000 Iowans showed up to hear the former president speak. (Reuters: Rachel Mummey)
You're all extremely familiar with the wink-wink-nudge-nudge game Trump has played in announcing his 2024 intentions so far, but on the scale of subtlety, this rally was on the Flaming Hot Cheeto Funnel Cake end of the spectrum.
In fact, the Washington Post has reported the former president was ready to announce his candidacy for 2024, only to be talked out of it because of the limits he'd suddenly find himself under when it comes to fundraising, campaign finance and equal time rules on television appearances.
America's non-partisan Capitol Hill broadcaster CSPAN copped blowback when it said the quiet part out loud and badged its coverage of the event as "Campaign 2024".
The rally itself was full of the usual false claims about the 2020 election he's trotted out at previous events … except this time he was flanked by scores of elected Republicans from the state.
That includes Senator Chuck Grassley, who grinned as he accepted the former president's endorsement to run for reelection in 2022 at the rally.
If you want a reminder of how long nine months is in politics, after the January 6 riots, Grassley said this in a statement:
"He [Trump] belittled and harassed elected officials across the country to get his way. He encouraged his own, loyal vice-president, Mike Pence, to take extraordinary and unconstitutional actions during the Electoral College count."There's no doubt in my mind that President Trump's language was extreme, aggressive, and irresponsible."
Aside from that, the former president revealed that if he did run (wink-wink-nudge-nudge), he'd already have a slogan ready.
Trump's current "I'm running but I'm not telling you officially" stance is making life … awkward at best … for the slate of other Republicans who thought they'd be making a tilt at the White House when their first-term president was convincingly turfed out by American voters at the last election.
One of them is Pence, who will make his own visit to Iowa in a few weeks.
Another is Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis, who led a recent poll of potential 2024 Republican contenders without Trump in it.
Republican Senator from South Carolina Tim Scott — who you might remember from his speech at the 2020 Republican convention — has quietly raised $US8.3 million ($11.2 million) for a possible bid.
But nearly all of these otherwise strong contenders are expected to keep their powder dry if Trump does indeed decide to run.
Which leaves us political watchers in this weird limbo where candidates are getting ready to run because Trump hasn't said anything yet, but at the same time refusing to say anything that could give the impression that they're running so as not to upset Trump's legion of followers … who they'll need to win.
HERE