- Kurt Bardella, a former House GOP staffer, says Trump is likely to announce his 2024 campaign soon.
- "This guy has the impulse control of a freaking toddler," Bardella told MSNBC.
- Trump has been facing harsh criticism over the revelations that emerged from the January 6 hearings.
A former House GOP aide said former President Donald Trump will likely announce his 2024 presidential run soon, despite the mounting criticism he's been facing over the January 6 hearings.
"Well, we all know from past experience that Donald Trump doesn't care about anybody else but Donald Trump," Kurt Bardella, a former GOP senior adviser for House Oversight and Government Reform Committee turned Trump critic, told MSNBC on Saturday.
"So it doesn't surprise me that when faced with the criticism that's been mounting right now, following the January 6 hearings, he's thinking about pulling the trigger now," he added.
Bardella, who is now a Democrat, said he welcomed the idea of Trump announcing his presidential run, implying that it could "implode the Republican party before November."
Bardella's comments came amid speculation that Trump is looking at declaring his 2024 run early in a bid to stave off the wave of criticism against him in the wake of damning testimonies from witnesses called upon by the January 6 committee investigating the Capitol riot.
Some Republicans, however, are worried that an early announcement from Trump could damage the Republican Party in the upcoming midterm elections. Sources close to Trump told CBS that no final decision has been made on whether he will run or not, or when this will be announced.
There has also been speculation that Trump might face obstruction of justice charges after Rep. Liz Cheney, the GOP vice-chair of the January 6 committee, presented evidence that the Trump camp may have engaged in witness tampering.
Bardella said it would be characteristic of Trump not to consider how his actions might affect his party.
"At the end of the day, he's going to do whatever he wants. He's shown that time and time again, this guy has the impulse control of a freaking toddler," he said, adding that Trump was the "golem" the GOP created.
Bardella added that, behind the scenes, Republicans who want to "dispense with Donald Trump" were likely "rooting for the January 6 committee."
"These guys have wanted to divorce themselves from Donald Trump for the last five years," he said. "They just have lacked the courage, the ability, the guts to actually do it."
Since 2021, Trump has teased a presidential run multiple times. In January, a video emerged that showed Trump calling himself the "45th and 47th President."