Former US president Donald Trump said on Wednesday it was too early to say whether he will make a bid for the 2024 presidential election.
Breaking a month-long silence since leaving office, Mr Trump gave a string of interviews to acknowledge the death of conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh, who Mr Trump awarded the prestigious medal of freedom.
“I really wanted to be somewhat quiet,” Mr Trump said.
While he dodged repeated questions about whether he intends to run for office again, Mr Trump admitted that he missed the presidency.
Mr Trump told Newsmax that his team was still exploring options for returning to social media and “negotiating with a number of people”.
The former president was banned from Facebook and Twitter after the US Capitol attack in January for inciting violence.
He said he is still keeping on the table the option of building his own social platform.
Mr Trump said he has had no problem communicating when he wants to by issuing statements – and made clear this week that he will not retire quietly.
The former president hurled a series of personal insults at Mitch McConnell, the Senate’s top Republican, in a fiery written statement released on Tuesday.
Mainstream Republicans were perhaps most concerned about his threat to support primary challengers against Republican candidates who donot fully embrace his “Make America Great Again” philosophy.
An explosion caused by a police munition is seen while supporters of former president Donald Trump gather in front of the US Capitol Building in Washington, US, January 6, 2021. Reuters
A supporter of US President Donald J. Trump sits on the desk of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, after supporters of US President Donald J. Trump breached the US Capitol security in Washington. EPA
Police detain a person as supporters of US President Donald Trump protest outside the US Capitol. AFP
Protesters enter the US Capitol Building. AFP
A protester holds a Trump flag inside the US Capitol Building near the Senate Chamber. AFP
US Capitol police officers point their guns at a door that was vandalized in the House Chamber during a joint session of Congress. AFP
Members of congress run for cover as protesters try to enter the House Chamber during a joint session of Congress. AFP
Congress staffers barricade themselves after Trump supporters stormed inside the US Capitol. AFP
Congress staffers barricade themselves after Trump supporters stormed inside the US Capitol. AFP
Congress staffers hold up their hands while Capitol Police Swat teams check everyone in the room as they secure the floor of Trump supporters. AFP
US Capitol Police stand detain protesters outside of the House Chamber during a joint session of Congress. AFP
A supporter of US President Donald Trump sits at a desk after invading the Capitol Building. AFP
A protester sits in the Senate Chamber. AFP
Pro-Trump protesters tear down a barricade as they clash with Capitol police during a rally to contest the certification of the 2020 US presidential election results by the US Congress. Reuters
Police hold back supporters of US President Donald Trump as they gather outside the US Capitol's Rotunda. AFP
Supporters of US President Donald Trump enter the US Capitol's Rotunda. AFP
A protester is seen hanging from the balcony in the Senate Chamber. AFP
Riot police prepare to move demonstrators away from the US Capitol. AFP
Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as they storm the US Capitol. AFP
Trump supporters clash with police and security forces, as they storm the US Capitol. AFP
A supporter of US President Donald Trump wears a gas mask as he protests after storming the US Capitol. AFP
Pro-Trump supporters storm the US Capitol following a rally. AFP
Supporters of US President Donald Trump protest inside the US Capitol. AFP
US President Donald Trump is seen on TV from a video message released on Twitter addressing rioters at the US Capitol, in the Brady Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, DC. AFP
Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as they storm the US Capitol in Washington, DC. AFP
Supporters of US President Donald Trump protest in the US Capitol Rotunda. AFP
Paramedics perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on a patient. AFP
A wounded protester is carried on barricade as demonstrators breach the US Capital building grounds. Bloomberg
US Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi preside over a joint session of Congress to certify the 2020 Electoral College results after supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol earlier in the day on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. EPA
Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., cleans up debris and personal belongings strewn across the floor of the Rotunda in the early morning hours of the morning, after protesters stormed the Capitol in Washington. AP
The former president is widening rifts within the Republican party, which could undermine the Republican push to fight President Joe Biden’s agenda and ultimately return to power.
A day after criticising Mr McConnell as a “dour, sullen and unsmiling political hack”, Mr Trump repeated his baseless claim that he was the rightful winner of the November election.
Mr Trump continued his attack on Mr McConnell, accusing the Senate minority leader of failing to stand up for Republicans.
The row between the former allies comes after Mr McConnell broke his longtime allegiance to Mr Trump and blamed him for inciting the January 6 Capitol riot, despite voting to acquit the former president at his second impeachment trial.
“The Republicans are soft. They only hit their own, like Mitch,” Mr Trump said on Newsmax.
“If they spent the same time hitting [Senate Democratic leader Chuck] Schumer and [President Joe] Biden, the Republicans would be much better off, that I can tell you.”
In this photo taken on October 23, 2017 President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell walk to lunch. AFP/Getty Images
Republican officials in several battlegrounds carried by Mr Biden, including Georgia and Arizona, said the vote was fair.
Mr Trump’s legal claims regarding the vote were rejected by judges across the political spectrum, including many appointed by the former president.
Mr McConnell himself described Mr Trump’s contention as an “unhinged falsehood”.
Leading GOP strategists described the feud between the former Republican president and the Senate’s most powerful Republican as, at best, a distraction and, at worst, a direct threat to the party’s path to the House and Senate majorities in next year’s midterms.
“I don’t think he cares about winning,” Steven Law, a McConnell ally who leads the most powerful Republican-aligned super PAC in Washington, said of Mr Trump. “He just wants it to be about himself.”