Trump hints strongly he'll announce presidential bid Nov. 15, roiling GOP leaders

(Image credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Former President Donald Trump said Monday night at an election eve rally in Ohio that he will make "a very big announcement" on Nov. 15 at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. "We want nothing to detract from the importance of tomorrow," he added. Trump will presumably announce his candidacy for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, after months of thinly veiled hints. The fact that Trump didn't go all the way was due in large part to "a scramble Monday in the Republican Party," The Washington Post reports.

"Trump told people close to him Monday that he might announce his candidacy" at Monday night's Ohio rally, the Post reports, citing three people familiar with the discussions. "The remarks prompted a chain of phone calls from party leaders who have tried for months to keep Trump from announcing until after the midterms." They succeeded in talking him out of making the announcement, the Post adds, "by telling him it would get buried under election news and he'd get more attention later."

Republican leaders were concerned that Trump making his candidacy official before the midterms "would gin up Democratic turnout, particularly in razor-thin Senate races where the control of the chamber is in the balance," the Post reports. "But Trump has been determined in recent weeks to get credit for the midterm results should Republicans do well, and according to advisers, he has grown frustrated watching the large crowds and energy for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis," whom he views as his main rival for the GOP nomination. Trump also reportedly wants to launch his campaign before a Justice Department indictment.

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"It just boggles the mind why [Trump] would hand that to Democrats at this late hour," one Republican strategist told the Post. "Making the conversation about himself and risking losses across the map that otherwise might have been wins would be a bad way to two-step into a presidential race." You can read more about the Trump-GOP tensions at The Washington Post.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.