First Thing: Rift in Trump’s inner circle over 2024 campaign announcement

With the ex-president facing heat for the GOP's midterm washout, there is conflict over whether he should delay next week's event. Plus, the latest on Cop27

Good morning.

Donald Trump's top political staffers at Mar-a-Lago are pressing him to move forward with his planned 2024 presidential campaign announcement next week, but a chorus of allies are suggesting he delay until after the Senate runoff in Georgia in December, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Is there an upside to waiting until next month? His handpicked Republican candidate, Herschel Walker, trails Democratic incumbent, Raphael Warnock. His staffers are said to have told him: if Walker wins, you can take credit, and if Walker loses, your position will be no different to now.

Why is the midterm vote count taking so long in some US states? Because elections are devolved to each of the 50 states, the method and speed of the count varies slightly between each state. The big picture here is that counts are taking extra time in races that are very close.