President Joe Biden appeared to find a CNN reporter’s comment about former President Donald Trump’s “political movement” funny.
CNN White House correspondent Phil Mattingly made the comment during a press conference following the midterm elections.
“So the entire genesis of that G7 conversation was tied to your predecessor, who is about to launch another campaign. So how do you reassure them, if that is the reason for their questioning, that the former president will not return or that his political movement, which is still very strong, will not…” Mattingly began.
Biden replied while laughing, “Oh, yeah?”
Mattingly continued, “…Once again take power in the United States?”
Biden then explained, “Well, we just have to demonstrate that he will not take power by — if we — if he does run. I’m making sure he, under legitimate efforts of our Constitution, does not become the next president again.”
Watch the video below:
WATCH: President Biden laughs off notion that former President Trump's power over GOP is still "strong." https://t.co/nuOb5e3U9O pic.twitter.com/QE6W3URkZC
— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 10, 2022
On Wednesday, The Washington Post reported the former president’s longtime allies are encouraging him to delay an announcement for another presidential run he originally planned to make next week.
The encouragement comes after Republicans placed blame on Trump for disappointing performances by several candidates he supported.
“Republican chairmen across a wide spectrum of states were counting on Donald Trump to deliver victory for them last night and he didn’t, they are let down,” David Urban, a top adviser to Trump’s 2016 Pennsylvania campaign and longtime ally, told the Post.
He added, “It is clear the center of gravity of the Republican Party is in the state of Florida, and I don’t mean Mar-a-Lago.”
It was previously reported that Trump was “‘livid’ and ‘screaming at everyone,’ after last night’s disappointing midterm results for GOP.”
The report claimed a Trump advisor “went on to slam the former president’s handpicked contenders: ‘they were all bad candidates.’ ‘Candidates matter.'”