Former President Donald Trump may have temporarily gotten his critics’ hopes up after sending out an email that claimed he’d suspended his campaign for the 2024 presidential election.
The email’s subject line used the phrase “I’m suspending my campaign…,” while the email itself wished Trump’s followers a “HAPPY APRIL FOOLS DAY!”
“JUST KIDDING – HAPPY APRIL FOOLS DAY!” the email read. “I will never stop fighting for the American people. I WILL NEVER SURRENDER!“
The email continued by stating that Trump and his supporters “can’t sit back and watch Crooked Joe Biden continue to destroy our GREAT country.”
“That’s why it is more crucial than ever for all Trump supporters to STAND UP to play a leading role in helping us WIN BACK THE WHITE HOUSE,” the email said in closing alongside a pitch for donations.
While it’s unclear how many people sincerely fell for the April Fools’ joke, one Trump supporter, who received the message over text, claimed that he had been duped.
“Wow I just got had by Trumps April fools text hook line and sinker my heart dropped when he said he was going to suspend his campaign,” the user wrote. “the joke is on me.”
Others who received the campaign text also shared it on social media, while suggesting that they too had been tricked by the joke.
“Just got a notification text from 88022 (Trump Campaign) saying he was going to suspend his campaign,” another user said.
At least one apparent opponent of Trump referenced the joke as well and openly noted that they had hoped the campaign suspension had been real.
“Donald Trump has decided to suspend his campaign for President! Yay. April Fools! I can dream, right?” the user asked.
Trump is currently the presumptive Republican Party nominee heading into November’s election. While Trump has been consistently leading the polls against President Joe Biden in recent months, a poll from Bloomberg News has found that Biden has gained ground in six of seven key swing states.
“It’s too soon to know whether the improved showing is a one-time bump or the beginning of a more durable change in the race, and Biden continues to lag the presumptive GOP nominee in four crucial states,” notes Bloomberg News. “But November victories in so-called ‘Blue Wall’ northern battlegrounds would all but vault Biden to a second term.”
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