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Donald Trump's declaration seems an attempt to pre-empt potential Republican rivals in their bids for US Presidency.
Ex-President Donald Trump declared Tuesday night that he will run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, with the desire to forestall possible GOP rivals.
Trump told the crowd at his Mar-a-Lago resort, where his campaign would be based, that he is running for president "to make America great and beautiful again." as per a CNN report.
The former US head of state gave a speech that was mostly calm and full of false and exaggerated claims about his four years in office. He was surrounded by friends, advisers, and influential conservatives.
Donald Trump used cynical themes from his repertoire. He said, "We're being poisoned" about migrants and called American cities "cesspools of blood" packed with violence.
The billionaire Republican leader attempted to arouse nostalgia for his time in office despite a historically polarizing presidency and his part in encouraging an attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Donald Trump did this by constantly drawing comparisons between his first-term successes and the Biden administration's policies and the present economic situation. Tighter immigration measures, business tax cuts, and religious freedom efforts are only a few examples of these so-called achievements that continue to provoke strong opinions on both sides.
Trump told the assembled Republicans that the GOP could not afford to pick "a politician or conventional candidate" if it wanted to regain the White House, although many of them believe he would face primary opponents in the coming months.
Why the Early Declaration?
With his declaration, Trump is likely trying to discourage other potential candidates like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis or his former vice president, Mike Pence, from making a run for the Republican Party's nomination, although his declaration is earlier than expected even in a country notorious for prolonged presidential elections, as per Reuters.
DeSantis easily secured re-election as governor last week. While promoting his new book, Pence has tried to set himself apart from Trump. Other probable GOP presidential candidates include Glenn Youngkin, Greg Abbott, Nikki Haley, and Mike Pompeo.
Former President Trump was very involved in the midterm elections, actively recruiting and endorsing candidates who repeated his baseless claims that rampant voting fraud cost him the 2020 election.
However, several of his candidates in crucial battleground states failed, leading some notable Republicans to openly accuse him of pushing poor candidates who wrecked the party's prospects of capturing control of the Senate. The outcome of the House of Representatives election is still in doubt, but the GOP is poised to gain a narrow majority.
Donald Trump will seek his party's nomination despite a criminal investigation into his handling of federal records and a congressional subpoena linked to the January 6 assault. Trump has denied any misconduct and said the probes are politically motivated.
'Trump Fatigue' Poses Could Be a Crucial Factor
The New York Times reported that in private conversations, several advisors expressed concern about making an announcement, citing "Trump fatigue" as a factor in the 2020 loss and the need for a respite from politics following the heated 2022 campaign. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina reportedly tried to convince the ex-chief executive to put off the Trump Presidential Bid.
The insistence on another Trump presidential bid has sparked a discussion among Republicans over whether the party can succeed with him as its leader and, if not, how to detach him. Many party officials say last week's events highlight Trump's absurdity in claiming he won in 2020.
His selected candidates lost close contests around the country, notably in Pennsylvania, where Democrats captured a Senate seat and helped keep Republicans in the minority for two years.
According to evaluations by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, Mr. Trump backed five candidates in the most heated House elections in the country. They all lost.
Despite many continuing criminal investigations and his dual impeachments, the former president still maintains considerable influence over substantial segments of the Republican Party, according to the Huff Post.
Nonetheless, Trump promoted his brand on Tuesday, boasting about the hundreds of candidates who carried his support and won their campaigns in the midterm elections.
At the rally on Tuesday, Trump reaffirmed his support for Herschel Walker, a Republican competing for the US Senate seat in Georgia and facing a runoff against Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock on December 6.
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