Donald Trump is running again, part 7,282

[ad_1]

(CNN) – This is the absolute worst hidden secret in politics: Donald Trump is fully ahead of a 2024 presidential bid.

The latest evidence came Tuesday when Politico reported on polling held in five swing states – Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – that presented the former President against current President Joe Biden.

The poll was paid for by the Trump super PAC “Make America Great Again, Again!” which is the real name of the organization. CNN does not typically report partisan polls because they are paid by partisan candidates.

The data, according to Politico, showed Trump ahead of Biden in each state by margins ranging from 3 points (Georgia) to 12 points (Michigan).

The numbers, while clearly encouraging for Trump, are less important than the fact that the poll was conducted at all.

What surveys in those five swing states are clearly meant to clarify-to anyone and everyone considering running for the 2024 GOP nomination: Trump is the forbidden favorite in any such race.

“Poll after poll clearly shows that former President Donald Trump is still the 800-pound gorilla in the GOP and will be its nominee in 2024 if he runs,” Tony Fabrizio, who conducted the polls, told Politico. “This new data clearly shows that now voters in these five major states will be happy to bring Trump back to the White House and send Biden to the packing.”

Much of what Trump and his allies are doing right now, in the 2024 election that is nearly three years away, is trying to keep the field clear for the former President.

They know that ambitious politicians – Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Josh Hawley of Missouri to name two – are spinning the contest in 2024. And Trumpists want to send this message to those pols as loud and clear as possible: This is Trump’s career to run, not you.

The Point: Voting done nearly three years before an election – and with a midterm election in between – should be done with great warning. But Trump’s super PAC doing the polls tells you everything you need to know about the former President’s plans and interests.

This story was first published on CNN.com, “Donald Trump is running again, part 7,282.”

[ad_2]