Trump shares article suggesting he run as third-party candidate in 2024, sparks rumors

Former president Donald Trump shared an article this week on his Truth Social platform that suggested he should abandon the GOP and run as a third-party candidate in 2024, sparking rumors he may do so.

Trump shared the article, an opinion piece by Dan Gelernter for the pro-Trump website American Greatness, last Thursday. By the weekend, the move had already stirred rumblings in DC that Trump may leave the Republican party and run against a GOP nominee in the 2024 presidential election.

Trump announced his candidacy as a Republican on November 16, making him the only president in US history to seek a non-consecutive second term.

Gelernter speculated in his article that Trump would likely not win the presidential election as a third-party candidate, but that many would still vote for him on principle, and to send a message to the Republican party. 

“Do I think Trump can win as a third-party candidate? No. Would I vote for him as a third-party candidate? Yes. Because I’m not interested in propping up this corrupt gravy-train any longer,” wrote Gelernter. 

Trump’s favorability has been waning recently, with national polling showing Republican voters leaning more toward Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as their top choice for the 2024 GOP presidential nominee.

A CNN poll showed one in six Republican voters wanted someone other than Trump as the 2024 GOP nominee, and other polls from the same time period showed DeSantis gaining popularity while Trump’s appeared to wane slightly.

FiveThirtyEight predicted after the midterm elections that Trump had only a 35 percent chance of winning the GOP nomination for 2024.