Donald Trump has falsely claimed it would be against the law for him to say whether or not he plans to run for president again in 2024.
In a Fox News interview, Mr Trump told host Sean Hannity, that he couldn’t confirm if he was going to seek reelection, because it would be illegal.
“As the campaign finance laws are extremely complicated and unbelievably stupid, I’m actually not allowed to answer that question, can you believe it?” said the former US president.
He continued: “I’d love to answer it. But let me put it this way, I think you’ll be happy and I think a lot of our friends will be very happy. But I’m not actually allowed answer it, it makes things very difficult if I do.”
“I love this country and I hate to see what’s happening to it.” Mr Trump added.
Commentators speculated that Mr Trump’s reluctance to answer whether or not he would run again was likely to be due to fundraising potential, rather than any legal issues.
Mr Trump can currently to raise money into his super PAC, receiving unlimited contributions from individuals, corporations, labor unions and other PACs to fund his independent political activity. As soon as he declares that he’s running for president, his super PAC staff would have to separate from the Trump office, and he would only be permitted to fundraise into his presidential account.
It’s also possible Mr Trump is conscious that support – financial and otherwise – may drop drastically if he declares he’s not in the running for the 2024 election, as donors throw their weight behind other candidates.
