On Tuesday, at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, former United States (US) President Donald Trump launched his presidential campaign for the 2024 elections “in order to make America great and glorious again.”
With his family, aides, and former staff members by his side, Trump declared, “America’s comeback starts right now,” as he sets up a potential rematch with President Joe Biden, who is yet to formally declare his intentions. During his hour-long speech on Tuesday, Trump listed his administration’s achievements, specifically the country’s economy, new immigration policies to safeguard borders, and holding China “in check.”
President Trump: "In order to make America great and glorious again, I am tonight announcing my candidacy for president of the United States." pic.twitter.com/z95oHYjWwF
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) November 16, 2022
In a rare instance, he also acknowledged the mental toll his presidency had taken on him and his family, saying, “Anyone who truly seeks to take on this rigged and corrupt system will be faced with a storm of fire that only a few could understand.” However, he targeted the Biden administration by saying, “Now we are a nation in decline. We are a failing nation,” referring to rising inflation and gas prices, and record-high migrants at the southern border.
“I will ensure that Joe Biden does not receive four more years.…Our country could not take that,” Trump stated as he filed the paperwork titled “Donald J Trump For President 2024” with the Federal Election Commission on the same day. “I have no doubt that by 2024, it will sadly be much worse and they will see clearly what has happened and is happening to our country – and the voting will be much different,” he said about his winning chances against Biden.
After two years of Joe Biden, America is suffering from an invasion of crime and fentanyl across our open southern border, while energy and groceries have become unaffordable because of record inflation and the communist "Green Bad Deal."
— Mary Miller (@Miller_Congress) November 16, 2022
Trump’s main political action committee has already raised nearly $70 million, and the declaration will help him secure more campaign money.
Trump is the first impeached president to launch a presidential campaign. In fact, he was impeached twice by the House with bipartisan support for the first time and acquitted by the Senate both times. The first time was for abuse of power and obstructing justice in 2019 while the second time was for inciting an insurrection at Capitol Hill in 2021 following his election loss.
Donald Trump failed America. pic.twitter.com/fylyocYcse
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) November 16, 2022
If he manages to win in 2024, he would be the second president to win a second term after failing in his first re-election bid. Grover Cleveland lost in 1888 after his first term but was re-elected in 1892.
Trump’s reason to launch such an early presidential campaign is to deter his fellow potential Republican presidential nominees like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former Vice President Mike Pence, and former United Nations (UN) Ambassador Nikki Haley. Trump has begun attacking his rivals by calling DeSantis an “average Republican governor with great public relations,” and has firmly declared that Pence would not be his running mate in 2024.
For anyone who needs to hear this — trump announcing he is running for President does not have a legal impact on investigations. No one at DOJ watched that speech and ripped up all of the work they have been pursuing
— Jen Psaki (@jrpsaki) November 16, 2022
Pence, meanwhile, emphasised that “I think we’ll have better choices” than Trump in the next presidential elections. When asked about his own candidature, Pence stressed, “The only decision Karen (his wife) and I have made with regard to our future is that we’re not going to let anyone else make that decision for us.”
Similarly, Pompeo claimed on Tuesday, “What happens today or tomorrow, what some other person decides won’t have any impact on that,” adding that he would make a decision by spring next year.
Donald Trump running for President again? I was the one walking over broken glass at 4 a.m. after the Jan. 6th insurrection with pages carrying the mahogany boxes of electoral ballots. Democracy prevailed that day.
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) November 16, 2022
We will not go backwards and descend into his chaos again.
Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump, too, has distanced herself from the presidential campaign, stating, “While I will always love and support my father, going forward I will do so outside the political arena.”
Trump’s announcement bid comes against the backdrop of a disappointing mid-term election, during which a sweeping “red wave” was expected but several of the candidates he endorsed lost. He was advised to postpone his announcement until after the Georgia run-off on 6 December but he decided to go ahead and also blamed Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell for the disastrous election results.
As a Black American, it’s really hard for me to shake what I just saw on TV.
— Mondaire Jones (@MondaireJones) November 16, 2022
It is an epic failure of our criminal legal system that Trump, having committed so many crimes in plain sight for years, was able to freely stand on that stage and announce his third run for President.
The former president has also been mired in legal troubles, with the Department of Justice investigating the classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago home during a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raid in August. Furthermore, he has sued the January 6 Special House Committee for subpoenaing him to give testimony and supporting documentation for his role in the Capitol Hill riots.
Nevertheless, Trump enjoys strong popularity among the Republican voter base at the grassroots level, which other potential candidates will have a hard time competing with.