The “Who is running in 2024?” tea leaves thread

[Mr. Morden]

Christie last week on 2024:

https://www.rawstory.com/chris-christie-maria-bartiromo/

During an interview on Fox Business, Bartiromo asked Christie if he planned to run for president again in 2024.

"If I do it, it will be because I think I can win and make a contribution to the country," Christie explained.

[Mr. Morden]

Christie now says he’ll run if he thinks he can win:

https://www.pennlive.com/nation-world/2021/11/trump-frenemy-chris-christie-plots-political-comeback-could-run-for-president-in-2024.html

“If I see a pathway to winning, I’ll run,” he said. “And I feel like I have the skills and the talent and the ability to be able to make a difference in our party and in the country. And I’m certainly, at 59 years old, not ready to retire. But I’m not going to do it if I don’t see a pathway to winning. So that’s why I’m not making any decision now.”

Meanwhile, Trump hinted at a possible 2024 run in his Thanksgiving message:

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trumps-thanksgiving-message-teases-2024-presidential-run

"A very interesting time in our Country, but do not worry, we will be great again—and we will all do it together," the former Republican president said in the statement, which was shared on Twitter by his spokeswoman, Liz Harrington.

"America will never fail, and we will never allow it to go in the wrong direction. Too many generations of greatness are counting on us. Enjoy your Thanksgiving knowing that a wonderful future lies ahead!"

[Mr. Morden]

Pence says no 2024 decision from him until 2023, and he won’t say if Trump running would deter him:

https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/11/pence-on-2024-presidential-run-well-go-where-were-called/

When asked on Tuesday if his decision about 2024 would depend on Trump’s decision, Pence told National Review: “We’ll go where we’re called.”

Pence indicated that he will wait until 2023 to make up his mind. “One hundred percent of our focus right now is on the midterm elections,” he says. “We can have a historic election in 2022, and then in 2023 we’ll look around. We’ll go where we’re called.”

[NewYorkExpress]

According Lauren Groh-Wargo, who is managing Stacey Abrams's campaign for Governor of Georgia, Abrams will not run for President in 2024 if she wins in 2022.

[Mr. Morden]

Buttigieg dodges the question on 2024, saying only that he’s “focused on the job at hand”:

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/583999-buttigieg-says-administration-is-focused-on-the-job-at-hand-when-pressed-on?rl=1

“It’s 2021,” Buttigieg said when asked about speculation over a Biden reelection bid. There has also been chatter about Buttigieg and Vice President Harris mounting presidential campaigns of their own in 2024. 

“And the whole point of campaigns and elections is when they go well you get to govern. And we are squarely focused on the job at hand. I am excited to be part of a team led by the president and the vice president and I think the teamwork that got us to this point is really just beginning,” he added.

Meanwhile, Cotton was in NH on Friday, and said he’s not yet ready to make a decision on 2024:

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/senator-cotton-help-republicans-2022-dividends-in-2024

Cotton, as he’s done in the past, demurred on such talk, telling Fox News that "I’m not making any decision right now about the future. The election that’s looking at us right in our windshield is the 2022 election and it’s still almost a year away."

[Mr. Morden]

Trump on 2024:

https://washingtonnewsday.com/news/donald-trump-claims-that-if-he-does-not-run-for-president-in-2024-his-base-will-be-very-angry/

Trump made his remarks on The Hugh Hewitt Show, a conservative political podcast hosted by the conservative political commentator, on Wednesday.

Hewitt inquired about Trump’s support for a candidate if he decides not to run in 2024.

“I think my base is going to be extremely furious if I decide that,” Trump answered.

Following that, Trump stated that he is primarily focused on making endorsements in the run-up to the 2022 midterm elections. When asked who he’d support for president if he didn’t run, he said, “I’ll explore that matter right after the midterms.”

Pence likewise responds to the 2024 question while in NH:

https://news.yahoo.com/pence-says-2024-run-option-234700563.html

Pence acknowledged the presidential speculation that naturally follows a visit to New Hampshire but said he will not make any decisions about his candidacy yet.

"After 2022, we will take a look around and see where we are called," he said during an earlier interview on the New Hampshire Today radio program with Chris Ryan.

"The people who know me well know I am not a long-term planner. It's worked out pretty well right now," said the former Indiana governor and congressman.

[NewYorkExpress]

Trump in Orlando with Bill O'Reilly hints at 2024 run.

At an event in Orlando, Fla., on Sunday, former President Trump hinted that he may run for office again in 2024, an idea he has publicly teased for months now.

"I said loud and clear,” the former president said, according to the Orlando Sentinel. “We won the first time, and the second time we won by even more. And it looks like we might have to think about very strongly a third time.”

[Mr. Morden]

The NYT reports that some donors are encouraging Roy Cooper to consider a presidential bid, and this is the response to that from Cooper’s office:

https://www.cbs17.com/news/north-carolina-news/gov-roy-cooper-as-a-presidential-candidate-donors-encouraging-possible-2024-run-reports-say/

The report gained momentum on social media on Monday to the extent that Cooper’s office issued this statement:

“The Governor supports President Biden and is focused on ensuring North Carolina emerges from the pandemic even stronger than before and implementing the President’s plans to create better jobs and support families here in our state.”

Ummm…that’s not exactly a denial of interest in the scenario where Biden doesn’t run.

[MarkD]

Trump in Orlando with Bill O'Reilly hints at 2024 run.

At an event in Orlando, Fla., on Sunday, former President Trump hinted that he may run for office again in 2024, an idea he has publicly teased for months now.

"I said loud and clear,” the former president said, according to the Orlando Sentinel. “We won the first time, and the second time we won by even more. And it looks like we might have to think about very strongly a third time.”

"and the second time we won by even more." Boy, what an understatement. On January 2 of this year, when he called GA SOS Brad Raffensperger and tried to pressure him into changing the GA election result, Trump said, four times, that he won EVERY state. I've listened to a CNN.com recording over and over again, and it is unmistakably clear: Trump's ego is so huge that he convinced himself that he actually won a 50-state sweep, and a 535 to 3 Electoral College victory. While he was talking (and talking, and talking) to Raffensperger, he interrupted himself in the middle of a sentence ...

A lot of the political people said that there's no way they beat me, and they beat me. They, uh, beat me, in the poll -- As you know, every single state. We won every state, we won every statehouse in the country ... [about 8 seconds later] ... But we won every single statehouse, ....

Two days later, he appeared at a campaign rally in Dalton, Georgia, showing his support for Republican Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler. The rally lasted an hour and a half. Near the end, he said again, twice this time, that he won every state. "Every single state."

BTW, Bill O'Reilly was the first person I ever saw on TV who made me so mad that I cursed at him. For many years I kept thinking that I would never in my whole life ever turn into the kind of person who would yell at his own TV screen, but O'Reilly did it to me.

[Roll Roons]

It may be for the best if Trump and MTG were locked in a loony bin together.

Both seem to have deep-seated mental issues and are profoundly toxic influences on our society.

[Mr. Morden]

Buttigieg was in NH yesterday to promote the White House's infrastructure agenda:

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/buttigieg-new-hampshire-biden-build-back-better-water

That story also notes that Booker was in NH on Friday, and made this announcement:

During an appearance at a New Hampshire Democrats event on Friday, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker made brewing speculation over a future Democratic Party ticket the center of a joke.

“I am running for president ... of the Maggie Hassan fan club,” Booker quipped at a New Hampshire Democrats event on Friday, according to a tweet shared by WBUR’s John DiStasa.

[Mr. Morden]

The NYT reports that some donors are encouraging Roy Cooper to consider a presidential bid, and this is the response to that from Cooper’s office:

https://www.cbs17.com/news/north-carolina-news/gov-roy-cooper-as-a-presidential-candidate-donors-encouraging-possible-2024-run-reports-say/

The report gained momentum on social media on Monday to the extent that Cooper’s office issued this statement:

“The Governor supports President Biden and is focused on ensuring North Carolina emerges from the pandemic even stronger than before and implementing the President’s plans to create better jobs and support families here in our state.”

Ummm…that’s not exactly a denial of interest in the scenario where Biden doesn’t run.

There’s a lot more on other potential candidates from that NYT story that I mentioned (reposted in Yahoo News, so that there’s no paywall):

https://news.yahoo.com/democrats-solidly-behind-biden-theres-165120806.html

Two Democrats who ran for president in the last election said they fully anticipated Biden would run again, but they notably did not rule out running themselves if he declined to do so.

“He’s running, I expect to support him and help him get reelected,” Warren said. “I’m sticking with that story.”

Klobuchar, who told influential Democrats last year that she’d be interested in running again, said of Biden: “He has said he’s going to run again, and I take him at his word, and that’s all I’m going to say.”
.
.
.
Biden’s commerce secretary, Gina Raimondo, has also expressed interest in the White House in the past.

In the run-up to the 2020 election, Raimondo, then the governor of Rhode Island, told an informal adviser that she believed there was a path to the presidency for someone of her experience and background. But Raimondo, a leader of her party’s moderate wing, recently told an associate she was “out of the politics business.”
.
.
.
While allies say that [IL Gov.] Pritzker has expressed no specific intention to run for president in 2024 if Biden bows out, he has talked privately about his interest in seeking the White House at some point should the opportunity arise.

His advisers tried to tamp down the prospect, at least for now. “Governor Pritzker is focused on addressing the challenges facing the people of Illinois and is not spending any time on D.C.’s favorite parlor game: Who will run for President next,” said Emily Bittner, his spokeswoman. She said the governor “wholeheartedly supports” Biden and Harris and expected them to be reelected.

[Barack Oganja]

https://www.cbs17.com/news/north-carolina-news/gov-roy-cooper-as-a-presidential-candidate-donors-encouraging-possible-2024-run-reports-say/[/url]

The report gained momentum on social media on Monday to the extent that Cooper’s office issued this statement:.msg8386786#msg8386786 date=1639431012 uid=1206]
The NYT reports that some donors are encouraging Ro

“The Governor supports President Biden and is focused on ensuring North Carolina emerges from the pandemic even stronger than before and implementing the President’s plans to create better jobs and support families here in our state.”

Ummm…that’s not exactly a denial of interest in the scenario where Biden doesn’t run.

There’s a lot more on other potential candidates from that NYT story that I mentioned (reposted in Yahoo News, so that there’s no paywall):

https://news.yahoo.com/democrats-solidly-behind-biden-theres-165120806.html

Two Democrats who ran for president in the last election said they fully anticipated Biden would run again, but they notably did not rule out running themselves if he declined to do so.

“He’s running, I expect to support him and help him get reelected,” Warren said. “I’m sticking with that story.”

Klobuchar, who told influential Democrats last year that she’d be interested in running again, said of Biden: “He has said he’s going to run again, and I take him at his word, and that’s all I’m going to say.”
.
.
.
Biden’s commerce secretary, Gina Raimondo, has also expressed interest in the White House in the past.

In the run-up to the 2020 election, Raimondo, then the governor of Rhode Island, told an informal adviser that she believed there was a path to the presidency for someone of her experience and background. But Raimondo, a leader of her party’s moderate wing, recently told an associate she was “out of the politics business.”
.
.
.
While allies say that [IL Gov.] Pritzker has expressed no specific intention to run for president in 2024 if Biden bows out, he has talked privately about his interest in seeking the White House at some point should the opportunity arise.

His advisers tried to tamp down the prospect, at least for now. “Governor Pritzker is focused on addressing the challenges facing the people of Illinois and is not spending any time on D.C.’s favorite parlor game: Who will run for President next,” said Emily Bittner, his spokeswoman. She said the governor “wholeheartedly supports” Biden and Harris and expected them to be reelected.

May we all be blessed with the level of confidence of a mediocre politician

[NewYorkExpress]

Kamala Harris says that she and Biden have not discussed reelection yet.

Vice President Kamala Harris said that she and President Joe Biden have not discussed running for re-election, according to an interview with The Wall Street Journal published on Thursday.

"I'm not going to talk about our conversations, but I will tell you this without any ambiguity: We do not talk about nor have we talked about re-election, because we haven't completed our first year and we're in the middle of a pandemic," Harris told the Journal.

Harris echoed those remarks when asked if she assumed that Biden, who would be 82 years old on Inauguration Day in 2025, would run for president again.

"I'll be very honest: I don't think about it, nor have we talked about it," she said.

[Mr. Morden]

Pritzker was asked about whether he’s spoken to people privately about a 2024 presidential run, as the aforementioned NYT story seemed to indicate.  Video of his response here:

https://herald-review.com/news/state-and-regional/watch-now-gov-j-b-pritzker-shoots-down-rumors-of-interest-in-2024-presidential-campaign/video_1317244f-167d-5ba0-98ef-45795a93d0aa.html

Here’s the relevant piece of his response:

“I have never spoken privately with anybody, or publicly, first of all.  And second, I love my job as governor of Illinois, and I intend to keep doing it on behalf of the working families of Illinois…I want to be governor of Illinois.  I want to continue to be governor of Illinois. I'm doing the job that I love…I have no intention of running for anything except reelection as governor.”

[Mr. Morden]

Nina Turner gives a no comment on whether she'll run against Biden for the Dem. nomination:

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/west-wing-playbook/2021/12/20/rage-of-the-left-wing-machine-495528

Now, with the sting of this latest BBB setback still fresh, progressive lawmakers and activists are openly venting about the White House — and some are even entertaining the idea of a primary challenge to Biden in 2024, if he stands by his plans to run for re-election.

Asked if she thought there’d be such a challenge, former state senator NINA TURNER, a close ally of Sen. BERNIE SANDERS (I-Vt.), told West Wing Playbook: “Without a doubt.”

“I think the movement is going to cry out for that,” she said. “We played nice in 2020, we played nice in 2021, and what did we get for it?” Asked if she would consider challenging Biden, Turner declined to comment.

[Shaula🏳️‍⚧️]

Nina Turner gives a no comment on whether she'll run against Biden for the Dem. nomination:

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/west-wing-playbook/2021/12/20/rage-of-the-left-wing-machine-495528

Now, with the sting of this latest BBB setback still fresh, progressive lawmakers and activists are openly venting about the White House — and some are even entertaining the idea of a primary challenge to Biden in 2024, if he stands by his plans to run for re-election.

Asked if she thought there’d be such a challenge, former state senator NINA TURNER, a close ally of Sen. BERNIE SANDERS (I-Vt.), told West Wing Playbook: “Without a doubt.”

“I think the movement is going to cry out for that,” she said. “We played nice in 2020, we played nice in 2021, and what did we get for it?” Asked if she would consider challenging Biden, Turner declined to comment.

Given that she didn't flat out deny it, she's considering it

[Roll Roons]

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/12/22/cruz-2024-republican-presidential-nomination-525973

Cruz: "The runner up is almost always the next nominee". Explicitly says that he's considering.

[Mr. Morden]

Biden says he plans to run again "if I'm in the health I'm in now":

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/587040-biden-says-he-plans-to-run-for-reelection-in-2024-if-im-in-good

“Yes,” he said when asked if he plans to run for reelection during an interview ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir that aired on Wednesday.

“But look, I’m a great respecter of fate. Fate has intervened in my life many, many times. If I’m in the health I’m in now, if I’m in good health, then in fact, I would run again,” he added.

Muir asked Biden if he would run even if it meant a rematch against former President Trump. The president smirked before responding, “You’re trying to tempt me now."

“Sure, why would I not run against Donald Trump if he were the nominee? That’d increase the prospect of running,” he added.

[Klobmentum Mutilated Herself]

Nina Turner gives a no comment on whether she'll run against Biden for the Dem. nomination:

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/west-wing-playbook/2021/12/20/rage-of-the-left-wing-machine-495528

Now, with the sting of this latest BBB setback still fresh, progressive lawmakers and activists are openly venting about the White House — and some are even entertaining the idea of a primary challenge to Biden in 2024, if he stands by his plans to run for re-election.

Asked if she thought there’d be such a challenge, former state senator NINA TURNER, a close ally of Sen. BERNIE SANDERS (I-Vt.), told West Wing Playbook: “Without a doubt.”

“I think the movement is going to cry out for that,” she said. “We played nice in 2020, we played nice in 2021, and what did we get for it?” Asked if she would consider challenging Biden, Turner declined to comment.

Without a seat in the House, Turner 2024 would be a repeat of Bill Weld primarying Trump in 2020.

[NewYorkExpress]

The Hill's got a list of ten people who could run if Biden doesn't.

In addition to the usual suspects like Harris, Buttigeig, AOC, Booker, Abrams and Klobuchar, The Hill also name drops Gavin Newsom, Roy Cooper and Mitch Landrieu.

[NYSforKennedy2024]

The Hill's got a list of ten people who could run if Biden doesn't.

In addition to the usual suspects like Harris, Buttigeig, AOC, Booker, Abrams and Klobuchar, The Hill also name drops Gavin Newsom, Roy Cooper and Mitch Landrieu.

Got a feeling Landrieu will be Atlas' next Neil Abercrombie.

[Roll Roons]

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-s-2020-fixation-putting-him-odds-some-his-biggest-n1286602?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma

A lot of local GOP activists in swing states are tired of rehashing 2020 and want to move on. Honestly, if Trump runs again and his whole platform is how Democrats and RINOs stole the election, I think he really could be surprisingly vulnerable to someone like DeSantis who's in the "move on" camp.

[Shaula🏳️‍⚧️]

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-s-2020-fixation-putting-him-odds-some-his-biggest-n1286602?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma

A lot of local GOP activists in swing states are tired of rehashing 2020 and want to move on. Honestly, if Trump runs again and his whole platform is how Democrats and RINOs stole the election, I think he really could be surprisingly vulnerable to someone like DeSantis who's in the "move on" camp.

Members of local GOPs (who probably were cherrypicked to make the article more interesting) aren't the base. A majority of Republicans which is actually growing, believe the election was stolen.

[Mr. Morden]

Just like Nina Turner did two weeks ago, Marianne Williamson gives a no comment on whether she’d challenge Biden for the Dem. nomination:

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/01/01/progressives-2024-primary-challenge-526299

Williamson, a self-help author who dropped out of the 2020 presidential campaign before the first caucuses, said “I think the president will definitely face a challenger in 2024 ... The yearning to make government actually work for the people again is so intense now, and yes, absolutely, someone will emerge to make a stand for it.”

She did not respond to a question about whether she would consider running against Biden.