Donald Trump wants to be President of the United States again. The 76-year-old is running for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election, as he announced on Tuesday evening (local time). He made it clear to supporters that he wanted to continue his previous policy if re-elected.
Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden two years ago and left the White House after one term. He tried to overturn the result afterwards and has not admitted his election defeat to this day. Trump is at the center of various inquiries and investigations, including because of his supporters' storming of the US Capitol in January 2021 - and because he took government documents from the White House.
In making his announcement, Trump appealed to the voters who elected him president in 2016. "To make America great and glorious again, tonight I announce my candidacy for President of the United States," he told invited supporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Two years ago, with him in the White House, America was still big.
Trump: 'America's comeback is starting right now'
Trump described Biden's America as a "failing nation". He himself, on the other hand, had built “the biggest economy of all time” twice – before and after the corona pandemic. "America's comeback is starting right now," he proclaimed.
Biden and the "crazy radical left" are bankrupting America -- and he believes American voters would reject "the platform of the left," Trump said. In the most recent general election, several candidates he supported lost to Democrats, and the expected big wins for the Republicans did not materialize. The Democrats retained control of the Senate.
Trump's hour-long speech was largely a kaleidoscope of claims and stories he'd repeated dozens of times during campaign appearances. Among other things, he praised the way drug traffickers are treated in China, where they are executed within a day after quick procedures. He promised to expand the wall on the border with Mexico.
Biden: "Trump failed America"
A new theme was the announcement that the amendment would impose a limit on the number of terms in Congress when entering the White House. Trump also wants elections to be possible only with paper ballots instead of with voting computers, as is the case today. In addition, the results should be available on the same day. Trump continues to claim his victory over Biden was stolen through fraud. This has always been refuted in court.
Meanwhile, Biden's Twitter profile said during the announcement: "Trump has failed America."
During Trump's speech, US President Biden was on the international stage and was the focus of attention after the fatal rocket hit in eastern Poland. The 79-year-old met with G7 and NATO partners on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia - around the same time as Trump's appearance.
He then visited a mangrove forest with the heads of state and government of the major economic powers. There he was approached by a journalist about Trump's candidacy. "Not really," Biden replied when asked if he wanted to respond to the announcement. Biden was standing with French President Emmanuel Macron when asked about Trump's candidacy. Both grinned at each other, according to the US press. Macron said nothing.
Trump, the governor of Florida, could become dangerous
In order to run as his party's candidate in the 2024 presidential election, Trump must assert himself in internal party primaries. Most recently, after the Democrats' unexpectedly good performance in the general election, calls from Republicans to leave Trump behind became louder. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, for example, could become a threat to Trump. The 44-year-old was confirmed in office with a strong result in the midterm elections. Although DeSantis represents similar hard-line positions, it appears less shrill in its public image.
Other Republicans should now also feel encouraged to step out of cover. Trump's Vice President Mike Pence distanced himself from him and said that he was considering running for office and would then be prepared to run against his former boss. From the more moderate corner of the party, the governor of Virginia, Glenn Youngkin, could bring himself into play as a candidate.
Trump was President of the United States from 2017 to 2021. In the United States, a person can serve two terms of office, whether consecutive or not.
Shortly before the end of his term in office, angry Trump supporters violently stormed the Capitol in Washington after a presidential rally on January 6, where Congress was about to officially seal Biden's victory at the time. Trump then faced a second impeachment trial in Congress, where he was charged with "inciting sedition" for publicly goading his supporters in the speech before the attack. However, the two-thirds majority required for a conviction in the Senate was missed in the process and Trump was ultimately acquitted.
Committee of Inquiry in the US House of Representatives
A committee of inquiry in the US House of Representatives is investigating the attack on the Capitol. Several witnesses heavily burdened Trump with their statements. This also raised the question of possible legal consequences for the ex-president. He refused to comply with a subpoena from the committee for questioning.
Trump is also involved in other legal battles that could endanger him. Adversity threatened him in one place in particular: the FBI federal police searched Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate on August 8 and confiscated, among other things, confidential and sometimes top-secret documents. Since Trump kept government papers, some of which are subject to strict protections because of their sensitive content, in his private estate, he may have broken the law.
