Top Biden pollster tells Trump to 'come on in' and 'jump in the pool' of the 2024 race

Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Road to Majority conference June 17, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File

• Trump should "come on in" and "jump in the pool" of the 2024 race, a top Biden pollster said. 
• Trump is considering launching his 2024 campaign before the midterms election.
• Some Democrats are eager for an early Trump campaign announcement, Politico reported. 

President Joe Biden's pollster John Anzalone says former President Donald Trump should "come in on" and "jump in the pool" by announcing his 2024 campaign before the midterm elections this November. 

"It's bad for them because he takes so much oxygen out of the room," Anzalone told Politico of how Trump's announcement would affect Republicans in the midterms. "More people think he should be charged with a crime. Individual things about his actions and comments have come out. All that stuff has hurt him. In general, he will want to be front and center and that's not good for Republicans because the public is against him."

"So come on in," Anzalone said. "Jump in the pool."

Trump told New York Magazine that in his own mind, "I've already made that decision," about whether to run in 2024, adding, "I would say my big decision will be whether I go before or after" the midterms. 

The Washington Post also reported that Trump is readying his campaign infrastructure for a possible pre-midterms announcement and could launch his 2024 campaign as early as September. 

Some Democrats, Politico reported, are chomping at the bit for a Trump candidacy to rile up their base and distract from some of the factors, including Biden's poor approval ratings, the state of the economy, and persistent inflation, that could hurt downballot candidates.

Trump's unpopularity, and voters' strong disapproval with his actions in office, led to Democrats winning back the House in 2018 — a wave election year; cost Trump the presidency in 2020; and helped Democrats win back control of the Senate with a pair of January 2021 runoff elections in Georgia. 

"It puts in perspective what's at stake, shows that the Republican Party is still extreme and helps set up the contrast," Cedric Richmond, a top Biden surrogate and former White House official who currently serves as senior adviser to the Democratic National Committee, told Politico. 

"Democrats need to home in on what they stand for — from their agenda to their values and contrast it with how extreme the other side is and what they want to do," Richmond added, saying a pre-midterms Trump announcement "will help Democrats." 

"Everyone I talk to is desperately hoping for it — desperately. I don't know anybody who is not hoping for it," another Democratic strategist told Politico. 

Jim Manley, a former longtime aide to former Democratic Sens. Ted Kennedy and Harry Reid, reacted to reports that Trump could announce a campaign early with one word: "sweeet." 

—jim manley (@jamespmanley) July 14, 2022

While Trump may be an unpopular and polarizing figure, an official Trump announcement wouldn't necessarily save Democrats, who are staring down a potentially brutal midterm year.

"We have to hold Republicans accountable for stopping our efforts to help families in an inflationary economy," Democratic Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania told Politico, arguing that Democrats should focus their message on the economy. "Over and over again, they had a chance to do something to help families get through this difficult time with prices and inflation. They've done nothing."