Donald Trump announced this week that he has officially established his Office of the Former President in Palm Beach, FL. From there, he and his staffers intend to carry out “official activities to advance the interests of the United States.” According to a press release, these activities will include a mission to “carry on the agenda” of the Trump administration in a fashion of “advocacy, organizing, and public activism.”
Trump, the statement said, “will always and forever be a champion for the American people.”
So far, the former president has not confirmed one way or the other if he intends to run again in 2024. Democrats in the Senate are eager to prevent that possibility through his conviction on impeachment charges, but the bar they have to reach – convincing 17 Republicans to join them in the effort – is one that even President Joe Biden doubts they can clear.
In a statement to the Washington Examiner, Trump was circumspect about his future plans: “We’ll do something, but not just yet.”
From practically the day he left office, Trump has been the subject of intense rumors about what he’ll do upon returning to the private sector. Some reports suggested that he would start up a third party – alternatively called the MAGA Party or the Patriot Party – and put pressure on Republicans who did/do not support him. Those plans, if they ever existed, appear to have fallen by the wayside; Trump adviser Jason Miller said this weekend that the former president “has made clear his goal is to win back the House and Senate for Republicans in 2022.”
Miller continued: “There’s nothing that’s actively being planned regarding an effort outside of that, but it’s completely up to Republican Senators if this is something that becomes more serious.”
We’d say that’s about as clear a warning as Trump can provide to Republicans thinking about convicting him in the Senate. If they don’t heed it…well, the political consequences will almost certainly be dire.
