Former President Trump is expected to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Sunday. Mr Trump’s appearance at the event in Orlando, Florida, will mark his return to the “public arena”. But the ex-president fears he could get “crushed” in the next election if he were to declare his 2024 run now, according to Harry Kazianis, a Senior Director at the Center for the National Interest.

It comes amid a report by Axios that claimed Mr Trump “plans to send the message” on Sunday that he is the presumptive 2024 nominee.

However, in a report for 1945, former White House aides told Mr Kazianis what they expect Mr Trump to say during his speech.

The insiders said Mr Trump will not announce any formal plans to run in the 2024 US presidential election or declare his candidacy on Sunday.

Speaking to Express.co.uk, Mr Kazianis said: “For Trump, according to at least one senior Trump adviser that is quite close to the 45th president, Trump is worried that if he jumps in now and the economy makes a turnaround, thanks to massive stimulus infusions and coronavirus cases dropping dramatically, he could lose to Biden or Kamala Harris if she were to run.

“For Trump, at least according to this one trusted adviser, the economy is the key to any election.

“If Trump declares now, and the economy booms, he is really afraid he could lose—more like get crushed, to be blunt.”

The former White House adviser told Mr Kazianis that Mr Trump wants to get a sense of “where the party is going and especially the trajectory of the economy” before making “a definitive decision either way”.

They explained that Mr Trump is “itching to get out before the public in a big way and refocus the GOP back to issues he cares about”.

The aide added: “[H]e knows the crowd will be chanting ‘2024’ down in Florida and is really going to press him for that commitment to run, but he really wants to take his time and make the right decision for the country and for his family.”