PoliticoFour more years: Donald Trump freezes 2024 presidential field
- US president’s flirtation with another run creates problems for Republicans preparing for 2024
- Trump has an iron grip on his party, with legions of loyalists who aren’t ready to move on to someone else
This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Alex Isenstadt on politico.com on November 16, 2020.
Kevin Cramer called Donald Trump last week to convey his support for the president’s efforts to contest the election results when Trump dropped a casual aside that snapped the North Dakota senator to attention.
“If this doesn’t work out, I’ll just run again in four years,” Trump said.
Cramer could only chuckle at the president musing about the next presidential race while he’s still in office. But to the line-up of Republican hopefuls with their eyes on becoming the party’s post-Trump standard bearer, the president’s remark was no laughing matter.
While Trump’s loss was supposed to trigger a Republican Party reset, his flirtation with a 2024 bid ensures he’ll remain the dominant force in the party and cast a shadow over anyone looking to succeed him. Even the possibility of Trump running again will impede other Republicans from laying groundwork for their own bids - lest they upset Trump and his tens of millions of supporters, many of whom are convinced the election was stolen.
“Of course it makes it more difficult for people who might want to run,” Cramer said, before adding: “It’s not up to him to make it easy for other people to run.”
Those who’ve worked for Trump - Vice-President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley - are in perhaps the toughest spot of all. Each would have to manoeuvre around the soon-to-be-former president after spending the last four years aligning themselves with him.