Former President Donald Trump toyed with the idea of running for mayor of New York on Saturday if he were to decide against another presidential bid.
Trump, who visited the city to mark the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, met with a group of officers with the New York Police Department and answered questions, including one about the prospect of a mayoral run.
“Well, that’s an interesting question,” Trump responded to laughs, leaning into his tough-on-crime message. “I would love that. We could straighten it out. I’d say, ‘Fellas, good luck, go to town.’ They’d be announcing in one week, ‘There’s no crime in this city.'”
TRUMP HITS BIDEN, VOWS ‘AMERICA WILL BE MADE GREAT AGAIN’ IN 9/11 REMEMBRANCE
Trump, who is now a resident of Florida, has yet to announce a 2024 run for the presidency, blaming campaign finance laws for keeping him mum. But he has responded to multiple inquiries about his plans by telling questioners that they will be “happy” with his decision.
“I think you’re going to be very happy,” Trump told an officer who asked about his intentions Saturday, saying he has made up his mind.
The former president was warmly received by the friendly crowd. As he exited the New York Fire Department building Saturday afternoon, Trump was met with applause from firefighters, many of whom shook the former president’s hand and posed for pictures with him.
SCOOP: NY firefighters break out in applause as President Trump makes surprise visit today pic.twitter.com/FBEhLxBbnf
— Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) September 11, 2021
Later Saturday night, Trump referenced his status as a New York native when praising the city’s response to the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
“As a lifelong New Yorker, it was extraordinary to witness the strength and resiliene of people of that incredible city — and it is indeed an incredible city,” he said in prerecorded marks screened on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., as part of a Let Us Worship service.
Trump, who enjoys enduring popularity within the GOP, has declined to write off suggestions that he should run for an office other than the presidency, calling conservative commentator Wayne Allyn Root’s June recommendation that he run for Congress and pursue the speakership “very interesting.” However, a former spokesperson for Trump clarified days later that he “has zero desire to be speaker.”
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Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, Trump has increased his criticism of President Joe Biden. In a message released Saturday honoring those killed in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, Trump said the withdrawal made Biden look like a “fool” and exhorted people not to fear.
“America will be made great again,” he said, an apparent reference to his 2016 campaign slogan, “Make America great again.”
