The Nov. 8 midterm elections will affect the political futures of both men
Neither President Joe Biden nor former President Donald Trump are on the ballot this year, but the Nov. 8 midterm elections will affect the political futures of both men, who may run against one another again in two years.
Both Biden and Trump spent the week before Election Day campaigning for candidates in pivotal races. Here’s what we know about their plans for Election Day and election night.
Trump’s Election Day Plans
Trump, whose hold on the Republican Party will be tested through races across the country on Election Day, is expected to spend Tuesday at his home in the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, watching the election night returns with a coterie of advisors and friends.
On Monday, at a rally in Dayton, Ohio, Trump strongly signaled he would announce his candidacy for president in 2024 on Nov. 15.
“Not to detract from tomorrow’s very important, even critical election,” Trump said, speaking at an event to promote Senate candidate J.D. Vance and other Ohio Republicans, “I’m going to be making a very big announcement on Tuesday, November 15 at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.”
The rally was the last in a blitz of such events attended by Trump that took him to Iowa, Pennsylvania, and Florida leading into the midterm elections.
Biden’s Election Day Plans
Biden, the leader of the Democratic party, is spending election day at the White House with a “full schedule,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Monday, though she declined to give details beyond that. “He’ll have a robust, pretty heavy schedule here at the White House,” Jean-Pierre said. Biden’s schedule for Election Day is “largely private,” said a White House official, adding that Biden would likely watch the election returns on Tuesday evening with senior advisors.
The last several Presidents have given press conferences the day after midterm elections to comment on the results. It’s unclear if Biden will follow suit and answer questions from the White House press corps on Wednesday. Various races are expected to remain unresolved Wednesday morning as states will still be counting ballots. Trump-aligned candidates in some states have also suggested that if they don’t win their race, they might refuse to concede, potentially complicating Biden’s post-election message to the country.
The country can expect to hear from Biden sometime on Wednesday, Jean-Pierre said, but she wouldn’t confirm that he would take questions from reporters. “The President will address the elections the day afterwards,” Jean-Pierre said.