Trump pulls trigger on 2024 White House run
Donald Trump announces another presidential bid, but top Republican officials and even family members were no-shows.
Former US president Donald Trump launched into the 2024 White House race on Tuesday, setting the stage for a bruising Republican nomination battle after a poor midterm election showing by his handpicked candidates weakened his grip on the party. “America’s comeback starts right now,” the 76-year-old former president told hundreds of supporters at his Mar-alago residence in Florida. “In order to make America great and glorious again, I am tonight announcing my candidacy for president of the United States,.”
Trump’s unusually early entry into the race is being seen in Washington as an attempt to get the jump on other Republicans seeking to be party flag-bearer – and to stave off potential criminal charges. In a fiery, hour-long speech, the former reality TV star lauded – and at times inflated – his accomplishments as the United States’ 45th president and fired off verbal salvos against Democrat Joe Biden, who defeated him in 2020.
Trump, who was impeached for seeking political dirt on Biden from Ukraine and again after the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol by his supporters, launches his new 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 the attack on the Capitol, his attempt to overturn the 2020 election, and his stashing of classified documents at Mar-a-lago.
Several possible 2024 primary rivals are circling, chief among them the governor of Florida Ron Desantis, who bucked the tide and won a resounding reelection victory on November 8.