Trump allies are pushing him away from running again in 2024 to avoid a disastrous defeat, report says
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- Trump aides are pushing him not to run again in 2024, The Atlantic reported.
- He has repeatedly indicated that he is considering another run for office, spooking some allies.
- They are focusing on the risk of his legacy being defined by defeat to dissuade him, per the report.
President Trump's allies are pushing to dissuade him from running for president again in 2024 and being handed a second defeat, The Atlantic reported.
Trump has repeatedly indicated that he could seek the Republican candidacy in the next presidential election and has raised tens of millions of dollars from supporters to fund his political future.
The Atlantic reported that one of Trump's former campaign advisers, who spoke anonymously, said they planned to warn Trump that he could be known as a serial political loser if he fails again.
The person is planning to use the example of Adlai Stevenson — who lost two straight presidential elections in the 1950s — to dissuade him.
Newt Gingrich, the former House Speaker and a Trump ally, told The Atlantic: "I don't think he wants to risk losing twice. Once, you can argue about the outcome. Twice, it becomes a repudiation."
Trump's hatred of losing is well-documented across his career, and others who know Trump well have echoed Gingrich's prediction.
Trump has refused to accept that he lost last year's election and instead has continued to push baseless claims of widespread election fraud.
John Bolton, his former national security adviser, said of his former boss earlier this month: "I think he knows deep inside, although he will never admit it, he did lose in 2020 and very much fears losing in 2024 because if he hates anything in the world, he hates being called a loser."
Mary Trump, the former president's estranged niece, told Insider earlier this year that she believed her uncle's political activity was a ruse to keep raising money from his supporters.
"It's important to remember that Donald couldn't care less about politics, he couldn't care less about this country, he couldn't care less about the Republicans," she told Insider in March.
"It's all about maintaining the grip on power. He thinks on some level it's going to allow him to continue to operate with impunity as he has done his whole life, and also it's going to allow him to keep grifting money off of people."
"I've said all along he has no intention to run for the presidency in 2024. He's going to pretend to," she said.