He made the announcement from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and said, “America’s comeback begins right now.” Trump said that “everyone was doing great” after his four years in office, “the world was at peace” and that he “kept his promises.” “Two years ago we were a great nation. And soon we will be a great nation again,” added the former US president. “The decline of America is being forced upon us by Biden and the radical left … this is not a decline we should accept.” He gave the speech to an audience of several hundred supporters, club members and assembled press in a ballroom at his Florida club – flanked by dozens of American flags and banners that read: “Make America Great Again!” Before his speech, Trump’s aides filed paperwork for his 2024 presidential bid. His long-awaited nomination announcement comes as Republicans continue to reel from the rejection by voters of several of their nominees in the US midterm elections – many of them handpicked and personally endorsed by Trump. He hoped to use his party’s expected gains as a springboard to support his party’s candidacy. Instead, he now finds himself blamed for backing a series of losing candidates after disappointing results in which Democrats retained control of the Senate. Parliamentary scrutiny remains too early to be called for. Follow US Midterm results – live Aides and allies have urged Trump to wait until the midterms are over — and wait until the Dec. 6 Senate runoff in Georgia — before announcing a presidential bid. But the former president, it seems, was eager to return to the limelight. He also hopes to fend off a long list of potential challengers, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSandis, who won re-election last week and is now being called by many in his party to run for president as well. Trump described him as “Ron DeSantimonius” and dismissed him as “in a desperate situation.” Image: Supporters gathered outside Mar-a-Lago ahead of ‘big announcement’ Read more: Why US midterms are a very unreliable way to predict the next president Last week’s midterms turned out to be a referendum on both the defeated former president and incumbent President Joe Biden, with more than a quarter of citizens (28%) saying their vote was cast “to oppose the Donald Trump.” even though he was no longer in office. He remains a key force in the Republican Party, but is a divisive figure after his controversial four-year term ended in deadly riots on Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021. He has continued to falsely claim the election loss that the riots were protesting was the result of fraud and is facing a series of investigations, including into his tax affairs and whether he took classified documents from the White House after leaving office. However, last month, a poll showed that 41% of Americans viewed him favorably. Image: Mr Trump endorses ex-TV doctor Mehmet Oz – but loses Senate race in Pennsylvania Referred twice Another campaign is a remarkable turnaround for any former president, much less one who made history as the first to be impeached twice. Only one president in US history has been elected to two non-consecutive terms: Grover Cleveland in 1884 and 1892. “Let’s hope tomorrow will be one of the most important days in our country’s history!” Trump had written on his Truth Social Media network on Monday.
