In the latest of a string of onetime allies of former President Donald Trump to float their own challenges to his bid for the 2024 Republican nomination, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has just teased the possibility of his own run for the White House during a weekend interview with Fox News's Brian Kilmeade.
The news came during Saturday's installment of One Nation with Brian Kilmeade, and during his chat with the aforementioned host, Pompeo revealed that he will make a final determination about his status for the next election cycle within the “next few months.”
Kilmeade was clearly interested in steering his conversation with Pompeo to the future, first referencing the likelihood that Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, would join Trump among the ranks of declared candidates very soon.
Referencing reports that the latter is poised to announce her candidacy next week, Kilmeade asked, “So, Mr. Secretary, on the 15th, Nikki Haley will be officially in. Tim Scott is on a listening tour, that will result in a bid. What about you? Would you go against your former teammates and your former president?”
In an apparent wish to avoid specific discussion of individual candidates throwing their hats into the ring, Pompeo said simply, “I think the American people will get treated to a big group of conservative believers who are out there making their case for why they ought to be the next president of the United States.”
“I hope everyone who thinks they're that person goes after it and chases that, and that we have a solid, reasoned, logical, serious debate about the direction of our country,” Pompeo added.
Pressed by the host to give a time frame for his own deliberations, Pompeo indicated that the next few months would be critical to his decision-making process, and that he and his wife “will think our way through this, keep praying and figure it out.”
As Kilmeade referenced, it is widely believed that Haley is poised to formally announce her candidacy for the 2024 nomination at an event to be held next week in Charleston, South Carolina, as the Associated Press reports, despite previously stating that she would not run for president if Trump were to seek another term.
Another Trump administration veteran who may launch a campaign to seize the nomination next year is former Vice President Mike Pence, who recently told ABC's David Muir that he believes the American electorate will have “better choices” than Trump next time around, adding, “[a]nd for me and my family, we will be reflecting what our roles will be in that,” adding that with regard to a 2024 run, “[w]e're giving it consideration in our house. Prayerful consideration.
Pence's wife, Karen, indicated that the family would likely engage in discussions with their three adult children as to whether they all “feel called” to undertake the challenges of a presidential campaign, but no indications of any imminent announcement have been forthcoming.
The historical Trump ally who has perhaps made the most headlines as a potential challenger for the Republican nod in 2024 is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who, despite recently winning re-election in his state, continues to be the subject of intense speculation ahead of the primary season.
Though DeSantis has shown promising poll results in a number of hypothetical 2024 matchups, and he has reportedly met with high-dollar donors looking ahead to what's next, the governor has remained tight-lipped about whether he intends to run for the White House at the next available opportunity.
Trump, for his part, has been none too pleased about the idea of his onetime ally mounting a challenge to his presidential ambitions, calling DeSantis “disloyal” for even considering it.
“I got him elected, pure and simple,” Trump said, referencing DeSantis' initial gubernatorial campaign. “So now I hear he might want to run against me, so we'll handle that the way I handle things,” Trump added in what some might interpret as a broader warning to other former friends who might also pursue the office he so fervently hopes to reclaim.
