Former president Donald Trump announced his long-rumored third presidential run on Tuesday from Mar-a-Lago, ensuring a tumultuous road for the Republican party leading up to the 2024 nomination.
“Ladies and gentleman, distinguished guests and my fellow citizens, America’s comeback starts right now,” Trump told the hundreds of supporters gathered in the Mar-a-Lago ballroom for the announcement.
The moment Trump officially announced he was running. pic.twitter.com/qzCwm7HGKn
— National Review (@NRO) November 16, 2022
Trump began his remarks by touting his first-term successes, focusing in particular on economic growth and foreign policy, and drawing a contrast between America’s standing on the world stage when he left office and the debased position he argued the Biden administration has put the country in since.
“The world was at peace, the country was prospering and we were on track for an amazing future,” Trump said. “Under our leadership we were a great and glorious nation. We were a strong nation and a free nation. But now we are a nation in decline. We are a failing nation.”
He claimed that he built the wall at the southern border, even though it remains unfinished, after which he clarified that he wants to continue to add onto it. Trump suggested the U.S. should model its drug crime enforcement on China’s authoritarian system and hand out the death sentence for dealers. In the same breath, however, Trump slammed President Xi Jinping, who he called the “king” of China.
“I call him king. He said, ‘no, no, I’m not king.’ I said yes, you are the king–you’re president for life. It’s the same thing,” Trump said.
Trump’s campaign filed the requisite paperwork with the Federal Elections Committee minutes before he was scheduled to take the stage at Mar-a-Lago to make the announcement. Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee was listed as an affiliated organization with the campaign.
The widely expected announcement comes after a poor showing for Trump-endorsed candidates in the midterms, which weakened the former president’s status as a kingmaker in the party and the presumptive 2024 nominee. Numerous polls of likely 2024 primary voters taken in the wake of the midterms have shown Florida governor Ron DeSantis making gains on Trump, and in some cases overtaking him.
Trump told a story similar to his 2016 and 2020 platforms of America’s descent under progressivism.
“Two years ago, we were a great nation. And soon we’ll be a great nation again. The decline of America is being forced upon us by Biden and the radical left lunatics running our government right into the ground,” he said.
Some Trump loyalists were surprisingly not in the audience. For instance, Florida Republican Matt Gaetz, after urging Trump to announce his run a day before the midterms, told reporters Tuesday that he could not attend the launch due to inclement weather. Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr. were also absent from the speech.
Ivanka released a statement saying she would not play an active role in Trump’s third campaign.
“I love my father very much. This time around, I am choosing to prioritize and the private life we are creating as a family. I do not plan to be involved in politics,” she said. “While I will always love and support my father, going forward I will do so outside the political arena. I am grateful to have had the honor of serving the American people and I will always be proud of our Administration’s accomplishments.”
Trump bragged about his endorsement success rate in the midterms, which he claimed were “232 wins and 22 losses.” However, the candidates he picked in swing states, crucial to capture in order to secure a GOP-controlled Congress, failed to deliver. The most significant losses were Pennsylvania senate and governor, Arizona senate and governor, Nevada senate, Michigan governor, and New Hampshire senate.
At an Ohio rally for Republicans J.D. Vance and Mike DeWine on the eve of Election Day, Trump hinted that he would make a “very big announcement” the following week, so as not to “detract from the importance of tomorrow.” Trump reportedly faced pressure from some associates to postpone his presidential run until after the Georgia senate runoff race.
Jason Miller, a close Trump ally, said on Newsmax recently: “Everything comes down to Herschel Walker and Georgia. And if we can pull that off, we might get … Chuck Schumer packing from the [Senate] majority leader’s office.”
“I’m advising the president to hold off until after the Georgia race, after Herschel Walker … This is bigger than anything else in the country.”
For months, Trump has alluded to his intention to run in 2024 while doubling down on the unsubstantiated claim that he won the 2020 election, which he alleges was “stolen” by President Biden. He nodded toward the wide-reaching conspiracy during his remarks on Tuesday night, implying that China intervened to swing the election to President Biden.
Since last Tuesday, Trump has taken repeated shots at DeSantis, who recently won reelection in a landslide. At a rally on behalf of Republican senate candidate Dr. Oz, a MAGA favorite, Trump boasted that he was polling way above “Ron DeSanctimonious” in a hypothetical 2024 matchup. After DeSantis’ slam dunk win in the Sunshine state, Trump threatened to disclose unflattering information about his potential rival if he dared to challenge him.
Trump also targeted Republican Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin recently, claiming credit for his 2021 election, despite the fact that Youngkin kept Trump at arms length during his campaign, opting instead to focus on parental-rights in education and opposition to overly strident Covid lockdown policies.
“Young Kin (now that’s an interesting take. Sounds Chinese, doesn’t it?) in Virginia couldn’t have won without me. I Endorsed him, did a very big Trump rally telephonically, got MAGA to Vote for him- or he couldn’t have come close to winning. But he knows that, and admits it,” Trump wrote of the governor on Truth Social.