The delicate balance as to how much coverage to give to the man who clearly craves and needs coverage has swung wildly toward needing to cover him now that we’re somehow talking again about whether he will run, but more importantly, the impact his talk will have on the people interested in a possible run from the right, DeSantis, Christie, and the like. Moreover, it certainly impacts his importance in 2022 and the degree to which his endorsement is necessary going into the election.

The problem is that while his talk about “I think you’ll be very happy” surely means he believes he needs to keep it open, we at this site suspect that it really has no bearing on whether he actually runs. He is the most mercurial man on earth and has no problem at all leaving his party hanging should he decide to pull out or is unable to run.

Rawstory has some quotes, the first from Roger Stone, and others from aides, all positive he’d made a decision to run. We believe he’d convey that belief no matter his true intentions, but even assuming he’s made a decision, it’s not set in stone. Speaking of Stone:

Until recently, I was not sure the president was going to run,” Stone said. “I have now not only come to the view he must run, I think it’s essential for the country. Based on my communications with him, I now believe that he will be a candidate.”

Most people who fear a cold Civil War, or a hot one, believe it is necessary for the country that he not run again. But in terms of running again. Watch the operative word here, “In his mind.”

“I believe that he has crossed that Rubicon in his mind,” Stone added. “I think that’s proved that he’s headed to Iowa and Georgia — two of the earliest contests — and I’m on board.”

Jason Miller has said: “He has not said the magical words to me, but if you talk to him for a few minutes, it’s pretty clear that he’s running.”

But there are some more clear headed assessments, too, people who understand that Trump has to act this way regardless. From an anonymous source: “Knowing Trump, he’ll dangle it right up to the New Hampshire primary filing deadline.”

Meanwhile, Trump assumes that everyone on the right wants him to run. Recent polling shows this to be far from definitive. But Trump doesn’t care: “I think you’ll be very happy. I would say two, three years ago you might not have been that happy, but now I think you’d be happy,” Trump said. “I’ll make a decision in the not-so-distant future.

It is frustrating that so much of the analysis misses the mark on the importance of his words right now. The talk about Trump having made his decision and that it is to run again makes him that much more the party leader going into 2022 and whether candidates believe his endorsement is 100% necessary or not.

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