According to the New York Times, former President Donald Trump just indicated that he "absolutely" will continue his 2024 campaign for the U.S. presidency, even if federal investigators do indict him.
Trump indicated as much on Saturday just before he gave his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) that was held in Washington D.C.
"I won't even think about leaving."
Trump, before his speech, was asked by reporters whether he will continue running for the presidency if the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) were to indict him.
"Oh, absolutely, I won’t even think about leaving," Trump said.
Trump indicated that he doesn't think such an indictment would hurt him in any way. In fact, he even suggested that it would help him.
Trump said, "probably it’ll enhance my numbers, but it’s a very bad thing for America. It’s very bad for the country."
Trump, here, is likely referring to the fact that, every time the political left has launched an attack on him - from the now-debunked Trump-Russia collusion narrative to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol "insurrection" narrative - Trump's support, seemingly, has only been strengthened. Trump clearly believes that the same would happen following any DOJ indictment.
"This animal prosecutor . . ."
Trump is facing what appears to be a rather open-ended investigation that is being led by the DOJ.
At the very least, federal investigators are looking at two things. First, is Trump's alleged role in the Capitol protest of Jan. 6, 2021. Second, is Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents.
Attorney Merrick Garland has appointed Jack Smith - a special counsel - to oversee these investigations. And, some believe that Smith's recent moves - including asking individuals close to Trump to speak before a federal grand jury - suggest that he is moving toward indicting Trump.
Trump, on Sunday, once again, made his view of Smith and Smith's investigation very clear. On his social media site, Truth Social, Trump wrote:
This Animal Prosecutor that they stuck on me over the Boxes Hoax is trying to TORTURE my people into telling lies. It’s all for political reasons, and the fact that I’m leading, big, in all of the polls. He’s flying people from all over and throwing them in front of a D.C. Grand Jury. They are confused and scared - they’ve never done this before. These Democrat Marxist pigs should be the ones that are investigated. The nice guy prosecutor in the Biden documents case hasn’t even started yet!
Victory at CPAC
CPAC's straw poll, over the weekend, indicated that Trump is as popular as ever among Republicans.
Trump won the hypothetical 2024 Republican presidential primary vote by a whopping 42 percentage points over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R): 62% to 20%.
Clearly, the federal investigation doesn't appear to be hurting Trump's 2024 chances - at least not with regard to Trump's Republican support.
