Haberman: Trump's Age, Finances Keep Him From Holding More Rallies

Trump's Age, Finances Keep Him From Holding More Rallies

NYT's Maggie Haberman says Trump's age and campaign finances are preventing him from holding more rallies and he might 'incorporate an indictment' into his 2024 message

Former President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he departs after speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference on March 4, 2023. Alex Brandon/AP

• Maggie Haberman suggested President Trump may be hosting fewer rallies due to his age and comparatively low campaign cash.
• Trump has gotten less attention in the media and raised less money than in previous campaigns, Haberman noted.
• If he is indicted, Trump may incorporate that into his campaign, The New York Times reporter predicted.

Donald Trump's age and his finances might be keeping him from holding a larger number of campaign rallies compared to his previous presidential campaigns, New York Times correspondent Maggie Haberman suggested. 

Haberman, a senior political correspondent who has covered Trump extensively for the last several years, contrasted the former president's 2024 run with his previous campaigns on Sunday's "This Week" on ABC News when asked whether Trump is running a "real campaign." 

"He has serious people running this campaign. There is a difference in terms of how it is put together from 2016 to now," Haberman replied. "We have seen somebody who got attention in 2015 because he was doing all of these rallies, and he seemed very in-your-face and everywhere." 

Trump was "omnipresent" in the media in the 2016 election, but "he's not now," Haberman said. He launched his 2024 campaign months ago in November, yet his speech on Saturday at the Conservative Political Action Conference was "only his fourth real event," according to Haberman. 

"He's not on Fox very much, although they did carry his speech live yesterday," Haberman said. "And that is a huge contrast. I suspect part of it, why we're not seeing big rallies, is, A, his age. I mean, we talk a lot about Biden's age. Donald Trump is not young."

—This Week (@ThisWeekABC) March 5, 2023

Trump is 76 years old, and President Joe Biden is 80 years old. 

Haberman continued: "Number two, I don't think they have the money that they once had on that campaign. Those rallies are incredibly expensive. And so I think they are trying to chase news cycles. They've done that somewhat effectively."

From his November 15 campaign announcement to December 31, 2022, Trump raised $9.5 million, according to Bloomberg. By comparison, he raised $250 million between his November 2020 presidential loss and January 6, 2021, according to TIME. 

At CPAC, Trump said he wouldn't drop out of the presidential race if he were indicted. The former president faces investigations from Georgia, New York, and two from the federal government.

An indictment is a "very real possibility" in multiple jurisdictions, and people "really need to watch for how he is going to potentially incorporate an indictment" in his bid for reelection, Haberman said.