Former President Donald Trump said Wednesday that if he runs in 2024, an official announcement will likely not happen until after the 2022 federal elections.
“If you do it, I think probably the most appropriate time would be right after the ‘22 election. That’s my opinion. I could do it sooner, but I think right after the election would be good, especially if you have a good election,” Trump said during an interview on “The Dan Bongino Show.”
“Now, I’m not sure if you didn’t have a good election, I’m not sure that that wouldn’t be good also, if you want to know the truth,” he added.
Trump said that that he’s giving another bid “the most serious consideration,” noting that polls and other information point to him doing well in the GOP field if he does launch another bid.
“I think we can have a great ‘22 and most likely right after that,” he said.
Republicans are hoping to flip both the House of Representatives and the Senate in 2022.
The GOP flipped 15 seats in the lower chamber, including one held by a Libertarian, narrowing the Democrats’ majority from 35 to 6.
However, Republicans lost three seats in the Senate, ceding the upper hand. The divided 50-50 upper chamber is controlled by Democrats by virtue of the tiebreaking votes Vice President Kamala Harris can cast in her role as president of the Senate.
Trump has often spoken of a possible third run after leaving office.
“From a legal standpoint, I don’t want to really talk about it yet. It’s a little too soon,“ he added during an interview that aired on Fox News’s ”Hannity.”
Other potential candidates on the Republican side include South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Trump, who won the 2016 election over Democrat Hillary Clinton, lost four years later to President Joe Biden.
The Republican has maintained that he won the election and told listeners to keep an eye on the audit going on in Arizona’s Maricopa County. “We'll see what happens” there, “but I have a feeling I know what’s going to happen because I think it was a totally crooked election,” he said.
