“I’m going to make a very big announcement on Tuesday, November 15 at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida,” Trump said at a Save America rally in Vandalia, Ohio on the eve of the midterm elections. “We don’t want anything to detract from the importance of tomorrow,” he added, seemingly in an attempt to explain why he wasn’t announcing his run the same night. Trump was reportedly considering whether to announce the launch of his third presidential campaign on the eve of the election, but Republicans feared his announcement would energize Democrats and alienate independent voters. The remarks came near the end of a more than 90-minute speech during which Trump lashed out at Democrats, judges who have ruled against his family, US airports and, most notably, President Joe Biden. A spokesman for Trump did not respond to CNBC’s request to confirm that his Nov. 15 event will be a campaign launch. But Trump is eager to launch his third campaign for the presidency, and preparations for campaign infrastructure and staffing have ramped up significantly in recent weeks, with an early list of top aides already assembled. Trump’s speech in Ohio included relatively few references to the Republican candidates he was in the state to promote, though they were invited on stage for brief remarks with Trump. Instead, his remarks sounded much more like a tailored rallying speech for his own upcoming presidential campaign, with strong echoes of his 2016 campaign speeches. This is a developing story, check back for updates.
