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Former US President Donald Trump announces that he will once again run for president in 2024 at an event held at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Photo: Reuters

Donald Trump is running for president again in 2024

  • The former US president had been teasing his entry into the race for months. But it comes at a bad time for Republicans after their midterm drubbing
  • ‘America’s comeback starts right now,’ Trump told a phone-waving crowd of donors and long-time supporters at an event to announce his candidacy
Agencies
Donald Trump has formally entered the 2024 US presidential race, making official what he’s been teasing for months just as many Republicans are preparing to move away from their long-time standard bearer.

Minutes before his appearance at an event announcing his candidacy, Trump’s campaign filed federal paperwork to declare that he’s running again, becoming the first major contender from either party to formally declare.

Trump’s paperwork with the Federal Election Commission was filed 23 minutes before the scheduled start of Trump’s announcement speech, designating his campaign committee for fundraising.

Supporters of former US President Donald Trump stand outside the Mar-a-Lago Club where Trump was to make an announcement on his candidacy for the 2024 election. Photo: EPA-EFE

The former US president greeted supporters at Mar-a-Lago, his gilt-edged Florida resort on Tuesday night local time. “America’s comeback starts right now,” the 76-year-old said to a crowd of phone-waving donors and long-time supporters gathered in an ornate US flag-draped ballroom at the resort.

In a combative speech, Trump attacked Biden over inflation and crime and lauded his own accomplishments as president, including toppling Islamic State and building a border wall with Mexico.

“Under our leadership, we were a great and glorious nation. But now we are a nation in decline,” he said. “In two years the Biden administration has destroyed the US economy. With a victory we will again build the greatest economy ever.”

Trump at war with fellow Republicans as he eyes new White House run

“The blood-soaked streets of our once great cities are cesspools of violent crimes,” Trump said, vowing to “restore and secure America’s borders.”

With his announcement Trump is the first major contender from either party to formally declare. His unusually early entry into the White House race is being seen in Washington as an attempt to get the jump on other Republicans seeking to be the party flag-bearer in 2024 – and to stave off potential criminal charges.

Yet the timing could not be worse for Republicans. Candidates endorsed by Trump floundered in key races in last week’s midterm elections, as voters rejected election-deniers and others with extreme positions on social issues like abortion rights and education.

That cost Republicans their chance to reclaim the US Senate and left them well short of the significant majority they had hoped to win in the House, though they were within one seat of gaining control on Monday night, nearly a week after the close of polls across the country.

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One year after US Capitol attack, Biden addresses the state of American democracy

One year after US Capitol attack, Biden addresses the state of American democracy
Trump, who lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden after being impeached twice by the House of Representatives, launches his latest White House bid with several potential handicaps.

He is the target of multiple investigations into his conduct before, during and after his first term as president – which could ultimately result in his disqualification.

These include allegations of fraud by his family business, his role in last year’s attack on the US Capitol, his attempt to overturn the 2020 election, and his stashing of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.

With Trump now a declared candidate, Biden’s attorney general, Merrick Garland, may be forced to name a special counsel to pursue the various investigations into the former president launched by the Department of Justice.

Powerful Murdoch media dumps on ‘loser’ Trump

In addition, the powerful media empire of Rupert Murdoch has appeared to turn its back on Trump, labelling him after the midterms as a “loser” who shows “increasingly poor judgment”.

Trump also remains banned by Facebook and Twitter, which was instrumental in his stunning political rise.

Despite the dismal election showing by Trump loyalists, the real estate tycoon retains an undeniable popularity with the millions of grassroots supporters who have flocked to his “Make America Great Again” banner.

And despite being abandoned by several top Republican donors, he has amassed a campaign war chest of well over US$100 million.

People arrive before at Mar-a-Lago before Trump was set to make his announcement. Photo: AP

Leading up to the midterms vote, Trump made denial of the 2020 election results a key litmus test for candidates seeking his endorsement.

But a string of defeats by Trump’s most loyal allies sapped his momentum heading into Tuesday’s launch.

“This is certainly not the roll-out I’m sure Donald Trump wanted for his announcement tonight,” said outgoing congresswoman Liz Cheney, a fierce Republican critic of Trump.

Having failed to wrest control of the Senate, Republicans are inching towards a likely takeover of the House, but with a razor-thin majority that will be difficult to keep in line.

Former US Vice-President Mike Pence has said he thinks there will be ‘better choices’ than Trump in future. Photo: AP

The 79-year-old Biden, whose victory Trump still refuses to acknowledge, has said his intention is to seek a second term – but he will make a final decision early next year.

Biden responded on Wednesday to Trump’s announcement of another run for the White House by saying the Republican “failed” his country while in office.

“Donald Trump failed America,” Biden said in a tweet from Bali, where he was attending the last day of the G20 summit.

This accompanied a video compilation saying Trump presided over “rigging economy for rich”, “attacking health care”, “coddling extremists”, “attacking women’s rights”, and “inciting a violent mob” to try to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden.

Later, while participating in a ceremonial mangrove planting with other G20 leaders, reporters asked Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron if they had reactions to the Trump announcement.

The two looked at each other briefly before Biden said “not really”, while Macron remained silent.

Trump’s once-loyal vice-president, Mike Pence, who released a new book, So Help Me God, on Tuesday and is seen as a potential 2024 challenger – told ABC News this week that Trump’s behaviour on January 6, 2021 had been “reckless”.

But Pence declined to say directly whether Trump should be president again. “That’s up to the American people, but I think we’ll have better choices in the future,” he said.

For the moment, the hard-right DeSantis looks like the leading challenger to Trump in a Republican field that may include Pence, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, former secretary of state Mike Pompeo and ex-South Carolina governor Nikki Haley.

‘Disappointing’ US midterms show how Trump could hurt Republicans for years

The 44-year-old DeSantis, dubbed “Ron DeSanctimonious” by Trump, had a ready reply on Tuesday when asked about the former president’s attacks on him, urging “people to go check out the scoreboard from last Tuesday night”.

Without naming Trump, he also suggested a Republican ticket headed by the former president would have trouble attracting independent voters “even with Biden in the White House and the failures that we’re seeing”.

By throwing his hat in the ring, Trump is seeking to become just the second American president to serve non-consecutive terms – Grover Cleveland was elected in 1884, lost in 1888, and won again in 1892.

Reporting by Bloomberg, Reuters, Agence France-Presse

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