16 Nov, PALM BEACH, Fla- Donald Trump, who has been unrelenting in his assaults on the legitimacy of U.S. voting since his 2020 election setback, started a push to reclaim the president in 2024 on Tuesday, trying to outpace possible Republican competitors.
Trump made his statement at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, a week after midterm elections in which Republicans did not gain as many seats in Congress as they had anticipated.
Trump delivered an hour-long address to hundreds of supporters in a ballroom adorned with chandeliers and lined with American flags.
“Tonight, I am launching my campaign for President of the United States to make America great again,” Trump told the phone-waving throng, which included family members, contributors, and former colleagues.
Trump avoided the name-calling that has characterized previous public appearances, instead focusing on a critique of Biden’s presidency and a review of his policy accomplishments.
“We were a great nation two years ago, and we will be a great nation again shortly,” he declared.
Trump used old dark themes from his repertoire, criticizing immigration and painting American cities as crime-ridden “cesspools of blood.”
He stated that he would advocate for the death sentence for drug dealers and rehire military personnel who had been discharged for refusing to receive the COVID-19 vaccination.
Despite his criticism of the U.S. election process, Trump did not use his address to renew his bogus accusations of significant voter fraud in 2020, nor did he reference his followers’ violent effort on Jan. 6, 2021, to prevent Congress from confirming Biden’s victory.
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When asked if he had a response to Trump’s announcement while on a trip to Indonesia, Biden replied, “not really.” He shared a video on Twitter condemning Trump’s performance as president.
LONG DRIVE Before the Republican nominee is formally picked in the summer of 2024, the first state-level races are more than a year away.
Trump’s announcement comes earlier than usual, even in a country known for long presidential campaigns, and indicates his desire to discourage other potential candidates, such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis or his former vice president, Mike Pence, from running for the Republican Party’s nomination.
DeSantis was re-elected governor last week. While promoting a new book, Pence has attempted to separate himself from Trump. Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are all probable Republican presidential candidates.
Trump was involved in the midterm elections, supporting and backing candidates who repeated his bogus claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him due to rampant voter fraud.
However, several of his candidates in important battleground states were defeated, causing some prominent Republicans to openly accuse him of pushing poor candidates who sabotaged the party’s prospects of regaining control of the Senate.
The House of Representatives is still in play, but Republicans are on course to gain a razor-thin majority.
Trump will seek his party’s nomination despite a criminal investigation into his handling of government materials and a congressional subpoena linked to his participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. Trump has accused the probes of being politically motivated and has denied any misconduct.
Trump, 76, would be only the second president in history to serve non-consecutive terms, following Grover Cleveland, whose second term ended in 1897. Biden, 79, said this week that he plans to run for re-election and will make a definitive decision by early next year.
According to an Edison Research exit survey, seven out of ten midterm voters believe Biden, who remains profoundly unpopular, should not run again. In the same study, six out of ten respondents indicated they disliked Trump.
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