Trump hints he'll run again even though he still won't admit he lost

Donald Trump told revelers at an indoor Christmas party at the White House on Tuesday that he will wage a 2024 comeback bid, Politico reported.

“It’s been an amazing four years. We are trying to do another four years. Otherwise, I’ll see you in four years,” Trump said at the gathering, which flouted public health guidelines by crowding maskless guests indoors as cases of the coronavirus skyrocket and hospitals fear becoming overwhelmed.

Trump’s comments came even as his efforts to overturn his landslide loss to President-elect Joe Biden have failed.

Critical battleground states have now certified their results deeming Biden the winner, courts have thrown out Trump and his allies’ legal challenges, and even the Trump administration’s attorney general, William Barr, said Tuesday that there is no evidence of fraud to overturn the results.

In the face of certain failure, Trump is now signaling to his supporters that he will run again in 2024, something he’s been telling his aides in private for weeks, according to Politico.

It’s unclear whether Trump will actually run. But his public assertions that he’s considering a bid may prevent other Republicans planning 2024 bids from making moves to run themselves.

Trump has already raised more than $170 million since Election Day by asking his supporters to help pay for recounts and legal efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, the Washington Post reported. Trump has sent hundreds of lie-filled fundraising appeals asking for monetary help for his coup attempt, which helped him amass the large haul.

The Washington Post reported that only a small portion of what he raised actually went toward recounts and legal efforts — all of which have failed. (A recount he paid $3 million for in Wisconsin actually found Biden won by more votes than previously thought.)

Instead, a large chunk of that money “is likely to go into an account for the president to use on political activities after he leaves office,” according to the Post’s report.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.