https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/why-donald-trump-can-say-he-ll-be-the-47th-president-of-the-united-states-without-having-to-declare-himself-an-official-candidate/ar-AATg590
Why Donald Trump can say he’ll be the 47th president of the United States — without having to declare himself an official candidate
cdechalus@businessinsider.com (Camila DeChalus,Nicole Gaudiano) - 2h ago
Former President Donald Trump this week all but declared he'll run for president in 2024.
But experts say it takes more than hints for him to be legally required to register with election regulators.
Trump gains advantages by delaying a formal announcement that he's running for office, some experts say.
Clad in a white polo shirt and red "Make America Great Again" hat, Donald Trump lined up to hit a golf ball.
"First on tee — 45th president of the United States," a man off-camera declares in a now-viral video.
Trump then interjects: "The 45th and the 47th."
It's the latest in a litany of hints, suggestions, and near-declarations that Trump's offered about whether he'll run for president in 2024.
But Trump must make more than a few indicative remarks for the federal government to require him to officially register as a presidential candidate and begin adhering to financial disclosure and fundraising limit requirements, election experts say.
"There's no law against joking, bloviating, speculating, or predicting, said Brad Smith, chairman and founder of the Institute for Free Speech and a former Federal Election Commission chairman.
To become an official candidate, Trump needs to put money where his mouth is.
He would have to raise or spend more than $5,000 specifically in support of a presidential campaign effort to officially register as a presidential candidate, according to Federal Election Commission guidelines.
Even though Trump has conducted campaign-style political rallies and raised tens of millions of dollars for his collection of post-presidential political committees — most notably, Save America PAC — he hasn't expressly declared that these committees exist in service to his presidential ambitions.
"If he starts to spend money pursuing a run for office, that could trigger candidacy," Ken Gross, former associate general counsel of the FEC, wrote in an email to Insider. "Making such a statement on a golf course, possibly in jest, about becoming the 47th president doesn't quite get you there."