Former US President Donald Trump said on Monday he will make a “big announcement” next week as he teases a third presidential campaign on the eve of the final day of voting in this year’s midterm elections. “I’m going to make a very big announcement on Tuesday, Nov. 15 at Mar-a-Lago,” Trump told a cheering crowd in Vandalia, Ohio, on Monday night, where he held his final rally of the midterms. season to boost Senate candidate JD Vance. Trump explained that he didn’t want “anything to detract from the importance of tomorrow,” even after sparking a frantic effort to keep him out after telling people he considered officially launching his next campaign Monday night at the rally. Trump has been increasingly clear about his plans to seek another term, saying in recent days that he will “very, very, very likely” run again and making his intentions official “very, very soon.” “I’ll probably have to do it again, but stay tuned,” he said Sunday night in Miami. “Stay tuned for tomorrow night in the great state of Ohio.” Republican officials and some in Trump’s orbit have for months urged him to wait until the midterms are over, in part to avoid turning the election into a referendum on him and to protect him from potential liability if Republicans don’t the same. as the party hopes on Tuesday. But Trump was eager to push ahead, hoping to stave off expected Republican victories after endorsing nearly 300 candidates, as well as fend off potential challengers like Florida Gov. Ron DeSandis and others who have said they will run. Indeed, the date of Trump’s announcement – November 15 – is the same day that former Vice President Mike Pence will release a book that is seen as part of his own potential campaign. Trump’s announcement comes as he faces a series of escalating legal challenges, including several investigations that could lead to charges. They include the investigation into hundreds of classified documents seized by the FBI from his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, as well as ongoing state and federal investigations into his efforts to sway the results of the 2020 presidential election. The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol has also subpoenaed Trump and last month issued a letter to his lawyers saying he must testify, either on Capitol Hill or via video conference, “beginning in or about” November. 14 and continues for several days if necessary. Trump won Ohio, once considered a bellwether, by 8 points in both 2016 and 2020. The state also proved an early test of his support strength when his decision to endorse Vance in the hyper-competitive Senate primary of the state led to the political newcomer’s victory over a heavily Republican field. Vance, an author, businessman and one-time critic of Trump, is part of a new generation of Republican leaders who have embraced Trump’s “American First” positions, including his isolationist foreign policy and focus on immigration.
