Former President Donald Trump said in a new interview that he likely will not run for president again if he loses the 2024 election against Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee.
Trump, 78, made the comments during an interview with former CBS News journalist Sharyl Attkisson published on Sept. 22.
“If you’re not successful this time, do you see yourself running again in four years?” she asked the Republican nominee.
“No, I don’t. I think that that will be—that will be it. I don’t see that at all,” Trump said.
“I think that, hopefully, we’re going to be successful [in the 2024 General Election].”
In the wide-ranging interview with Attkisson, Trump was also asked about a number of issues, including the economy, inflation, illegal immigration, and the two recent assassination attempts against him.
When asked about his plan to deal with inflation, the former president said: “They come down with energy, and they come down with interest rates. We’re going to get ... energy down by 50 percent in 12 months.”
“I’m not just talking about cars. I’m talking about air conditioning, heating, your basic energy, operating a bakery, operating any kind of a business—it’s all having to do with energy.”
Trump also spoke separately to Fox News’s Brian Kilmeade on Sept. 21 about whether he’s concerned about his family’s security in light of the two assassination attempts.
“I do. I do. I don’t talk about it, but I do. I have to worry about family. I have to worry about everybody. I worry about you,” he responded.
Trump then pivoted to illegal immigration, suggesting that millions of people, including convicted criminals, who have come into the United States in recent years have made the country a more dangerous place to live. He made similar, immigration-related comments in his interview with Attkisson.
In the two interviews, Trump provided few details about the two assassination attempts, the most recent of which occurred on Sept. 15 while he was golfing at his Florida golf course. In July, Trump was shot in the ear and narrowly escaped death when a 20-year-old shooter fired at a rally while the former president was speaking in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The FBI is investigating both incidents as assassination attempts against the former president. There have not been any reports indicating that members of Trump’s family have been targeted in similar incidents.
Ryan Routh, the suspect who allegedly tried to assassinate Trump in Florida, is scheduled to make his second court appearance at a federal court on Sept. 23. Prosecutors charged him with firearms-related charges, but he’s likely to face more charges in connection with the apparent assassination attempt.
While Trump was golfing at his West Palm Beach course on Sept. 15, a Secret Service agent spotted a gun barrel sticking through a perimeter fence before shots were fired at Routh, who allegedly fled the scene and was captured on Interstate 95 one county away. The FBI and prosecutors say an SKS-style rifle with a scope, backpacks, food, and a camera were recovered at the site.
Routh, 58, is believed to have been camped at the golf course perimeter for 12 hours, according to prosecutors, citing his cellphone data. Authorities have not publicly commented on a motive.
Numerous social media posts indicate that Routh was an ardent backer of Ukraine in the Russia–Ukraine conflict and had made critical comments about Trump.
In the Pennsylvania shooting, Thomas Matthew Crooks was identified as the shooter. He was shot and killed soon after opening fire at the former president.
