Trump complains about ex-allies entering 2024 race: ‘I helped those people’

Several ex-Trump administration officials are considering running against their former boss

Former president Donald Trump on Thursday lashed out at the cast of erstwhile allies and former administration officials who are looking to throw their hats into the ring for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

Mr Trump, who is the only declared GOP candidate for president thus far, called out his former Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, his ex-UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, and Florida governor Ron DeSantis during an interview on radio host Hugh Hewitt’s eponymous programme.

Asked if people who he’d helped to reach their former positions should now run against him, Mr Trump replied: “Yeah, I would say that”.

“You know, I’ve helped all those people,” he said.

Ms Haley is widely expected to announce a 2024 presidential campaign within days, even though the ex-South Carolina governor previously said she would stand aside if Mr Trump were to mount a 2024 bid for a rematch against President Joe Biden.

Mr Trump also noted that his former secretary of state, who also served as his CIA director, appears to be doubling back on a promise not to run against his former boss.

“I believe he always said he'd never run against the president. And, you know, time goes by, and then they want to run because they're ambitious people,” he said.

The twice-impeached ex-president added that his former cabinet officials are currently “polling very poorly” against him.