Donald Trump Has ‘Two or Three’ People in Mind to Lead GOP in 2024 if He Doesn’t Run – Newsweek

Former President Donald Trump appears to be eying a 2024 presidential run, but he also believes there are some "good people" within the Republican Party who could make a strong candidate if he chooses not to mount another campaign.

Trump's been teasing a return to the campaign trail since he left office and while he hasn't officially announced a campaign, he said his supporters would be "very happy" with his decision. The former president leads polls of hypothetical 2024 GOP nominees and his entering the race could convince other presidential hopefuls not to run. However, with Trump out of the race, it's likely several prominent Republicans would battle for the nomination.

During a Wednesday interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt, Trump said there are a "couple of people" who would be "very good" candidates for the nomination if he doesn't run. He has "two or three" people in mind, but he wouldn't tell Hewitt specifically who he thought would give Republicans their best chance at winning back the presidency in 2024.

Trump's likely going to wait until after the 2022 midterms to officially launch a campaign if he plans to run. At that point, he told Hewitt he would "discuss" the subject of who Republicans should "flock to" if he decides not to vie for the presidency again.

"I'll tell you about that someday soon, okay? I'll tell you about it, but I'm not going to say anything about it now," Trump told Hewitt when asked who Republicans should nominate. "We do have some good people. We really do. We have some very good people."

Throughout the interview, Trump pointed to his strong polling numbers in surveys about potential candidates for the Republican nomination in 2024. Trump also mounts a strong campaign in a hypothetical matchup with President Joe Biden, at times having the advantage and being in a statistical tie with Biden in other polls.

Some potential candidates, including Florida Representative Matt Gaetz and former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, have said that they won't run for president if Trump decides to enter the race. However, Haley may be reconsidering that position.

In October, Haley told the Wall Street Journal that if she decides to runa decision she plans to make at the beginning of 2023she would call Trump and discuss her plans. Then, the two would "work on it together," a shift from April when she said she would only run if Trump did not.

Trump committed to helping Republican candidates win their elections in the midterms and he told Hewitt that he believed the Republican party would have a "great" 2022. He added that he thought the GOP would also have a "really incredible" 2024.

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Donald Trump Has 'Two or Three' People in Mind to Lead GOP in 2024 if He Doesn't Run - Newsweek