‘He can do whatever he likes’

The Biden administration isn’t ruffled by a Trump presidential run for 2024, according to US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

“He can do whatever he likes,” Buttigieg told Yahoo Finance Live on Tuesday morning, declining to say Trump’s name. Buttigieg added the Biden administration is “working on getting results for people” by getting inflation under control and jumping starting investment in the country.

On Tuesday night, at his Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump announced another run for president in 2024 despite the surging popularity of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis among Republicans.

“Former President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he would again seek the Republican nomination for president in 2024,” Yahoo Newsreported“despite multiple ongoing investigations into his conduct, stinging midterm election losses for the candidates he endorsed, and mounting criticism from members of his own party.”

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 28: US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg speaks during a press conference to announce the

US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg speaks during a press conference to announce the “Gateway Turnaround” Hudson Tunnel project at Penn Station on June 28, 2021, in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

The economy is slowing and recession calls on Wall Street are now the norm — all of which play into the hands of Trump, who oversaw solid economic growth under his tenure until the coronavirus pandemic hits and sends the US economy into recession. Many in the country are tired of sky-high prices for everything from food to gas.

Furthermore, FiveThirtyEight’s polling data indicates that at this point in his presidency, Biden has the lowest approval rating of any Democratic president in 44 yearsin large part because of the economy.

That said, Trump also suffered from low approval throughout his presidency. Other factors aren’t playing to Trump’s advantage either, including his handling of the insurrection on the Capitol, various lawsuits, and his firebrand style on the world stage.

Former US President Donald Trump speaks at a rally to support Republican candidates ahead of midterm elections, in Dayton, Ohio, US November 7, 2022. REUTERS/Gaelen Morse

Former US President Donald Trump speaks at a rally to support Republican candidates ahead of midterm elections, in Dayton, Ohio, US November 7, 2022. REUTERS/Gaelen Morse

And crucially, the GOP had a lackluster performance in last week’s midterm elections, especially among candidates backed by Trump.

“Prior to the election, it appeared that Mr. Trump was well positioned to win the GOP’s 2024 nomination, but the outcome undermines that thinking,” Brian Gardner, chief Washington policy strategist at Stifel, wrote in a client note. “The results will probably lead some Republican voters to question their future support for Mr. Trump. Gov. DeSantis is, for now, the presumptive frontrunner for the GOP nomination.”

This post has been updated.

Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.

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