Rand Paul teases 2024 election announcement

Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul teased an election announcement ahead of the Iowa caucuses, as he’s set to possibly share his endorsement of one of the presidential candidates.

“I’ve stayed out of the Republican Presidential Primary so far – but I’ve seen enough. That’s why tomorrow morning I will have something important to say. Don’t miss it!” Mr Paul wrote on X on Thursday afternoon, sharing a video of himself urging his followers to “tune in tomorrow morning”.

Many Senate Republicans have been struggling with the issue of when and if to officially endorse former President Donald Trump as he looks certain to be the party’s presidential nominee again.

House Republican leaders have backed Mr Trump while their counterparts in the upper chamber have been more reluctant to do so. But if senators delay their endorsements for too long, they may encounter the fury of the former president, who’s famously obsessed with loyalty.

Allies of Mr Trump have said that the holdouts are taking massive risks.

“The biggest risk is that voters see them as disloyal to the party’s core message going in 2024,” Ohio Sen JD Vance told Politico. “That is a real risk. And that’s why I’ve encouraged a lot of folks to endorse the former president.”

The account Republicans Against Trump responded to Mr Paul on X, writing, “Let me guess: you will endorse the president who added $8 trillion to the national debt, more than any president in 4 years in history”.

Republican Conference Chair Sen John Barrasso of Wyoming endorsed Mr Trump during a Fox News appearance on Tuesday, prompting praise from the ex-president.

Mr Paul’s fellow Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, the GOP leader in the chamber, has so far avoided Mr Trump and is likely to continue doing so. Following the insurrection on January 6, 2021, the two men doesn’t interact and Mr Trump often takes shots at Mr McConnell.