Just a few hours after we send this newsletter, Donald Trump will make a “special announcement” at Mar-a-Lago, his home in Florida. He is expected to announce a 2024 presidential run.
The move comes at a fragile time for the former president as he faces numerous legal challenges and continues to deny his loss in the 2020 election. Republicans are on the cusp of claiming House control, albeit by an unexpectedly narrow margin. They did not retake the Senate, defying historical trends.
Trump, in particular, fared poorly. He endorsed or handpicked roughly 300 candidates, some of whom also denied the 2020 election results. Many lost, including those running in the highest-profile races. Despite his heavy influence and devoted supporters, a growing number of Republicans see him as a liability who hurt the party more than he helped.
One of the main signs that Trump has lost clout is that conservatives, and conservative media, are more willing to criticize him, my colleagues Lisa Lerer and Reid Epstein write: “There are signs of another Republican effort to inch the party away from the former president.”