Donald Trump took a momentary break from a round of golf to claim that he would become the 47th president of the US.
An individual was filming a round of golf at one of Mr Trump's clubs, and pointed the camera at him, saying “now on the tee, the 45th president of the United States”.
Mr Trump, wearing a red MAGA hat, stopped his tee and looked to the camera to confidently state that he would be president again.
“The 45th and 47th,” he said.
The former president's golfing partners cheered at the response, with one saying “yes, I love that”.
Mr Trump still has not formally announced his candidacy for the 2024 election, but has been teasing his return since practically the moment he lost the 2020 election.
He has been holding rallies ahead of the 2022 midterms and slinging much-coveted endorsements to other Republicans running for office around the country.
Mr Trump is still the overwhelmingly preferred candidate for 2024 among Republicans. The next closest candidate is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, though Mr Trump – according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll – is leading him by 43 percentage points.
Though Mr Trump is the overwhelming favorite, he has found himself opposed to his base on one major point; vaccinations.
The former president has publicly stated that he is vaccinated and boosted, and has advised his followers to do so as well. Mr Trump views the speed at which the vaccines were developed as a highlight of his administration. His support of the vaccine has been a sticking point among a large portion of his base, which expresses anti-vaccine sentiments.
During his speaking tour with disgraced former Fox News host Bill O'Reilly earlier this year, Mr Trump told the audience to take and celebrate the vaccine, but he was met with boos.
Mr DeSantis could use that blindspot as a potential point of attack if he were to run against the former president in the Republican primaries ahead of 2024. While Mr DeSantis has also publicly advised Floridians to get vaccinated, he has also been extremely resistant to most coronavirus mitigation efforts in the state, even removing local governments’ abilities to enact their own emergency measures.
However, like Mr Trump, Mr DeSantis has not announced any plan to run for the presidency in 2024. Lara Trump, Mr Trump's daughter-in-law, has pressured Mr DeSantis to endorse Mr Trump.
Because the election is still two years away, it is unclear how much vaccine rhetoric will play into that race.
