Mayank Aggarwal
Donald Trump has finally confirmed in public for the first time that he wants to run for the presidency again in 2024, something that he has been discussing for weeks in private, even as he has still not formally conceded the 2020 race.
Videos of a White House Christmas party on Tuesday evening, reported by Politico and other US media, showed Mr Trump addressing a gathering comprised mainly of Republican National Committee members.
“It’s been an amazing four years,” the president told the group. “We are trying to do another four years. Otherwise, I’ll see you in four years.”
The statement was met with cheers for the crowd. Many attendees at the party appeared to be without masks and there was audible coughing in the video.
During the party, the president again made unsubstantiated claims about the election being rigged and spoke about the development of a coronavirus vaccine, calling it a “medical miracle”. Mr Trump has previously said he does not want president-elect Joe Biden claiming credit for breakthroughs with Covid-19 inoculations, saying: “The vaccine was me.”
Mr Biden has been declared as the winner of the election by all major news networks in the US, with 306 electoral college votes compared to Mr Trump’s 232, but he is yet to concede and has indicated he will not accept the result regardless of what happens with his remaining legal challenges.
He has, however, begun the transition process in the US government and told reporters at his first press conference since the election that he would leave the White House peacefully if the electoral college names Mr Biden as president this month.
The incumbent’s remarks about a possible 2024 run come following weeks of speculation and amid many reports that he has privately told supporters and advisers that he is considering trying again for the White House at the next available opportunity.
Some US media reported Mr Trump is considering launching his 2024 election campaign on the day of Joe Biden’s inauguration on 20 January, in order to cause the maximum disruption and steal his successor’s limelight.
In the history of the United States, the only other man who has successfully come back to the White House again after losing an election was Grover Cleveland, who was elected president in 1884 and then in 1892.
Independent
