President Donald Trump trolled political opponents and the media at the beginning of his speech in Georgia on Wednesday by saying that he was there to announce his candidacy.
Trump teased that he would run for the presidency for a fourth time while delivering remarks at Wheeler High School in Marietta.
“Well, thank you very much, everybody. It’s a special place, and I am here to announce my candidacy,” the president said before taking a long pause.
“I’m only kidding,” he clarified after intense cheers from the crowd.
Trump has trolled political opponents about seeking a third term in other ways, including with “Trump 2028” hats that he keeps at the White House.
However, during a cabinet meeting in December, Trump said he would not be the Republican nominee in 2028 and the GOP ticket could be two people sitting at the table with him.
“The problem with [Democrats] is they have really bad policy, and I’m not going to say what it is, because I don’t want them to change it necessarily, because I want to run against… It’s not going to be me, it’s going to be somebody that’s… probably sitting at this table,” he said, while appearing to take a quick look across the table where Vice President JD Vance was seated.
“Could be a couple of people sitting at this table. Could be a couple of people running together, sitting at this table, but I want them to win, because we’ve done a great job for this country, and I want that to be carried forward,” he added.
The comments came weeks after he said aboard Air Force One in late October that a ticket of Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in 2028 would be “unstoppable.”
“We have, JD, obviously, the vice president is great,” he said.
Rubio, standing behind Trump, nodded in agreement.
“Marco is great… I’m not sure if anybody would run against those two. I think if they ever formed a group, it would be unstoppable. I really do, I believe that,” Trump added.
Last month, Trump reiterated his desire for a Vance-Rubio ticket during an appearance on Pod Force One with New York Post’s Miranda Devine.
“Well, I like them both, and I like them together. You know, it would be great. I don’t know how you beat them if they’re together; that would be a great team. JD and Marco would be a great team,” he said.
Read the full article here