A third Trump run — local political leaders weigh in

With the November midterm elections now over, the eyes of the political world are turning to Donald Trump and rumors of a third presidential campaign in 2024.

The leaders of the two major political parties in Cape Girardeau County are weighing in on the possibility of the nation's 45th president making another run for the White House.

Matt Henson

"If (Trump) runs, he'll have an excited core ready for the run," said Matt Henson, chairman of the Cape County Republican Central Committee.

"I typically don't engage in speculative hyperbole [but] often in politics, statements are floated to gauge the market for the purpose of decision-making or posturing. Even if true, many variables and much time exists between [now] and November 2024," he added.

Trump is expected to announce a bid from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Tuesday evening, Nov. 15.

Trump himself has hinted his intentions for months and said at a Nov. 5 Pennsylvania rally, "In a very, very, very short period of time, you're going to be very happy."

Andy Leighton

Andy Leighton, who is Henson's counterpart in the county's Democratic Party, said he is ready for a new Trump candidacy.

"I think (a Trump run) would probably be the best thing to happen to the Democratic Party. I think Donald Trump is the biggest fraud who ever walked the face of the earth. Democrats and Republicans alike are tired and fear what an actual Trump presidency would bring to the United States and I suspect people will flock to the Democratic candidate, even Joe Biden [in 2024]," he said.

Biden, the oldest U.S. president in history when elected in 2020, will turn 80 on Nov. 20.

Trump, elected in 2016, turned 76 on June 14. He took office in 2017 and was defeated by Biden in the November 2020 election.