Former President Donald Trump has seen a boost in support after the FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago home earlier this month, and he’s even used it to say that he “may just have to” run again in 2024. However, experts say that the recent controversy shouldn’t deter other GOP hopefuls from seeking the Republican nomination.
“The only thing predictable about politics is that the unexpected will happen,” Republican strategist Jay Townsend told Newsweek. “While Trump seems to have received a temporary boost and a bump in his daily fundraising haul, the long-term impact on him and the campaigns of other contenders remains to be seen.”
A poll released last week from The Economist/YouGov found that Trump saw a double-digit increase among GOP voters after the search—with 57 percent saying they had a favorable view of the former president, compared to the 45 percent who said the same before the raid. Another survey conducted just two days after the search showed Trump with his highest level of Republican support since the 2020 election.
The FBI raid has been widely criticized by Republicans, even among those in the party who have begun to move away from Trump. A day after the raid, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who Trump has dubbed an “old broken down crow,” called for a “thorough and immediate explanation” from the Justice Department (DOJ).
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But while Trump has been able to draw wide support across the Republican Party, and although the raid increases the likelihood that he’ll run in 2024, Republican strategist Alex Patton said to Newsweek that neither factor will “change the trajectory of any other person interested in running.”
The public sentiment around the FBI search could also face a sudden reversal. Depending on what comes out of the investigation, the raid could ultimately end up hurting Trump while boosting his GOP opponents, Gregory Koger, a political science professor at the University of Miami, said to Newsweek.
“Republican voters espouse loyalty to Donald Trump, but at the same time, there’s a growing uneasiness about the various controversies, legal problems that he is tied up in,” Koger said. “Before the raid on Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump was already…
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