(FreedomBeacon.com)- Former President Donald Trump is the only person to have officially announced his candidacy for president in 2024.
And while he’s the only one who can start an official campaign and marketing efforts around that, many people believe his campaign has gotten off to a lackluster start. It all began with a candidacy announcement that most political pundits felt fell way short of what Trump had come to establish as the norm for him.
This week, though, Trump attacked the mainstream media for pushing this narrative. He contradicted what’s been published about his campaign, saying that’s he working hard. The only reason why he hasn’t started many of his famous rallies, he said, is that the presidential election is still nearly two years away.
In fact, he foreshadowed that those major rallies and events would soon be on the horizon.
Trump addressed this topic on his social media platform, Truth Social, this week when he posted:
“Making a big political speech today at TRUMP DORAL, in Miami. The Fake News says I am not campaigning very hard. I say they are stupid and corrupt, with the Election still a long time away. But do not fear, MANY GIANT RALLIES and other events coming up soon. It will all be wild and exciting. We will save our Country from DOOM and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
There’s been a lot of talk about whether Trump has a chance to defeat President Joe Biden in a hypothetical rematch in 2024. Some have even suggested that Trump is no longer the unquestioned leader of the Republican Party, pointing to other potential candidates such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as the better choice for the GOP nomination.
Yet, despite all of this — and despite the fact that he doesn’t even hold a political position right now — Trump still remains the frontrunner for the GOP nomination in 2024.
Ford O’Connell, a strategist for the Republican Party, agrees with that sentiment. He said recently that he believes “that a lot of people have been too quick to write off Donald Trump, from the media to donors to commentators.”
O’Connell also said that Trump remains very popular with a majority of the base of Republican voters throughout the country. He spoke with media outlet The Hill recently, saying:
“When you’re in Florida at these grassroots meetings, yeah, you hear ‘Ron DeSantis, Ron DeSantis, Ron DeSantis.’ But outside of Florida, it’s still Donald Trump.
I think a lot of people have been too quick to write off Donald Trump, from the media to donors to commentators. You have to remember, this is a former U.S. president who has a good handle on what needs to be done in Washington, and he’s extremely popular with the base.
Recent polls have shown that DeSantis is closing the gap on Trump in a hypothetical GOP primary and some polls even show DeSantis as in the lead. But he, like any other potential GOP challenger, would still have to make their way through Trump to gain the nomination.
