Former President Donald Trump is planning to accelerate his 2024 campaign for the White House with an event this month in South Carolina, an early primary state.
The late January event in Columbia will not be a rally but an “intimate” function to debut his leadership operation, Politico reports.
Mr. Trump announced his bid in November, an unusually early launch as he contends with a series of criminal and civil probes. But the campaign had been relatively quiet over the holiday period.
Senior Trump advisers Brian Jack, Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles told Politico the campaign has set up a headquarters in West Palm Beach, Florida, and had been politically active by endorsing candidates in key primary states such as Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.
They also said Mr. Trump is keeping tabs on the leadership race at the Republican National Committee and holding dinners with top donors and party leaders.
Polls show that GOP voters still prize loyalty to Mr. Trump, but his star has dimmed after his hand-picked candidates fared poorly in the midterm elections, particularly in Senate contests.
Pundits say Mr. Trump announced his early bid in part to push back on unflattering narratives about him from state investigators and lawmakers who investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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