'Seems as if Trump's lost his mojo': Questions raised about 2024 bid after speech before small group announced

Reacting to a report that Donald Trump will once again forgo one of his massive campaign rallies to give a speech to a considerably smaller group of supporters on President's Day, a Florida Democrat and Republican both suggested the former president's bid for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination has some issues that need to be dealt with.

In December, one close aide to the former president stated back in December that the third presidential run "...couldn't be going any worse," and since then the ex-president has been speaking before small gatherings infrequently and doing little besides that.

As the Palm Beach Post reports, Trump will leave the friendly confines of his Mar-a-Lago resort and head out to the Palm Beach Airport Hilton where he will give a talk before members of Club 45, described as having been founded by "three of the volunteer leaders of the 2016 Trump Campaign in Palm Beach County."

According to the Post report, "Since he launched his campaign, Trump has waded into traditional early-campaign gatherings with state leaders and activists in smaller group formats, as he did in visits to New Hampshire and South Carolina earlier this year. Those limited, indoor gatherings have been a contrast to Trump's signature outdoor rallies that, in the past, attracted thousands of supporters."

That, in turn, led one Democratic strategist to claim that the former president is having trouble gaining traction.

As the report notes, "Trump's choice of smaller group settings, Florida Democratic strategist Steve Vancore said, could be a sign he doesn't have the sway over the public that he enjoyed up until last fall's midterm elections."

"It clearly seems as if Trump's lost his mojo, and he's failing and he's struggling," Vancore claimed before suggesting Trump's problem is that he is "wallowing in the past."

Republican Willy Guardiola, who has helped set up Trump events in the past, told the Post that rallies are designed to “get enthusiasm going," while smaller affairs like the one on Monday are about connecting with conservative donors.

He did concede Trump's speeches "have a 'same old thing' feel," the Post reported, with Guardiola cautioning, "He needs to stay away from the bashing of [Florida Gov. Ron] DeSantis and focus on what his campaign for ‘24 is gonna be."