Former US President Donald Trump has announced his intention to seek the White House again in 2024. Trump launched his bid – his third for the presidency – on Tuesday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, a week after midterm elections in which Republicans failed to win as many congressional seats as they had hoped. In a speech broadcast live on US television, Trump addressed hundreds of supporters in a ballroom decorated with many chandeliers and lined with dozens of American flags. “To make America great again, tonight I am announcing my candidacy for president of the United States,” Trump told the crowd of donors and longtime supporters. “I’m running because I believe the world has yet to see the true glory of what this nation can be,” he said. “We’re going to put America first again,” he added. Earlier in the day, aides filed paperwork with the US Federal Election Commission to form a committee called “Donald J. Trump for President 2024.” There is a long way to go before the Republican presidential nominee is officially chosen in the summer of 2024, with the first statewide contests more than a year away. Analysts believe Trump’s unusually early launch may well be aimed at fending off potential challengers for the party’s 2024 nomination, including rising star Florida Gov. Ron DeSandis, 44, and Trump’s own former vice president, Mike Pence, 63 years old. But Trump enters the race at a moment of political vulnerability. He had hoped to launch his campaign in the wake of resounding Republican midterm victories, fueled by candidates he promoted during this year’s primaries. Instead, many of those candidates lost, allowing Democrats to retain the Senate and leaving Republicans on the path to a simple majority in the House of Representatives. The losses have prompted some prominent Republicans to openly accuse Trump of promoting weak candidates who they say are derailing the party’s hopes of taking control of Congress. Trump’s bid to claim his party’s nomination comes amid a series of escalating criminal investigations, including several that could lead to indictments. They include the investigation into dozens of classified documents seized by the FBI from Mar-a-Lago and ongoing state and federal investigations into his efforts to sway the results of the 2020 presidential election. He also faces a congressional subpoena related to his role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by supporters. Trump has characterized the various investigations he faces as politically motivated and has denied wrongdoing. The former president’s term in the White House – between 2017 and 2021 – was one of the most tumultuous in modern US history. He was impeached twice, and his harsh rhetoric, which critics say often veered into outright bigotry, deeply polarized the country. But despite his 2020 loss to President Joe Biden and the Republicans’ poor showing in the midterm elections, he remains the most powerful force in his party. For years Trump has consistently outperformed his fellow Republican contenders by wide margins in hypothetical matchups. And even out of office, he consistently draws thousands to his rallies and remains his party’s most prolific fundraiser, raising hundreds of millions of dollars. But Trump is also a deeply polarizing figure. Fifty-four percent of voters in last week’s midterm elections viewed him very or somewhat unfavorably, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 94,000 voters nationwide. And an AP-NORC poll in October showed that even Republicans have their reservations about him remaining the party’s standard-bearer, with 43 percent saying they don’t want to see him run for president in 2024.

title: “Donald Trump Launches 2024 Presidential Bid Donald Trump News " ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-07” author: “Jerry Brown”

Trump launched his bid – his third for the presidency – on Tuesday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, a week after midterm elections in which Republicans failed to win as many congressional seats as they had hoped. In a speech broadcast live on US television, Trump addressed hundreds of supporters in a ballroom decorated with many chandeliers and lined with dozens of American flags. “To make America great again, tonight I am announcing my candidacy for president of the United States,” Trump told the crowd of donors and longtime supporters. “I’m running because I believe the world has yet to see the true glory of what this nation can be,” he said. “We’re going to put America first again,” he added. Earlier in the day, aides filed paperwork with the US Federal Election Commission to form a committee called “Donald J. Trump for President 2024.” There is a long way to go before the Republican presidential nominee is officially chosen in the summer of 2024, with the first statewide contests more than a year away. Analysts believe Trump’s unusually early launch may well be aimed at fending off potential challengers for the party’s 2024 nomination, including rising star Florida Gov. Ron DeSandis, 44, and Trump’s own former vice president, Mike Pence, 63 years old. But Trump enters the race at a moment of political vulnerability. He had hoped to launch his campaign in the wake of resounding Republican midterm victories, fueled by candidates he promoted during this year’s primaries. Instead, many of those candidates lost, allowing Democrats to retain the Senate and leaving Republicans on the path to a simple majority in the House of Representatives. The losses have prompted some prominent Republicans to openly accuse Trump of promoting weak candidates who they say are derailing the party’s hopes of taking control of Congress.

Trump’s bid to claim his party’s nomination comes amid a series of escalating criminal investigations, including several that could lead to indictments. They include the investigation into dozens of classified documents seized by the FBI from Mar-a-Lago and ongoing state and federal investigations into his efforts to sway the results of the 2020 presidential election. He also faces a congressional subpoena related to his role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by supporters. Trump has characterized the various investigations he faces as politically motivated and has denied wrongdoing. The former president’s term in the White House – between 2017 and 2021 – was one of the most tumultuous in modern US history. He was impeached twice, and his harsh rhetoric, which critics say often veered into outright bigotry, deeply polarized the country. But despite his 2020 loss to President Joe Biden and the Republicans’ poor showing in the midterm elections, he remains the most powerful force in his party. For years Trump has consistently outperformed his fellow Republican contenders by wide margins in hypothetical matchups. And even out of office, he consistently draws thousands to his rallies and remains his party’s most prolific fundraiser, raising hundreds of millions of dollars. But Trump is also a deeply polarizing figure. Fifty-four percent of voters in last week’s midterm elections viewed him very or somewhat unfavorably, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 94,000 voters nationwide. And an AP-NORC poll in October showed that even Republicans have their reservations about him remaining the party’s standard-bearer, with 43 percent saying they don’t want to see him run for president in 2024. Trump’s candidacy also raises profound questions about America’s democratic future. The final days of his presidency were consumed by a desperate bid to hang on to power, undermining the centuries-old tradition of a peaceful transition. In the two years since he lost, Trump’s persistent — and baseless — lies about widespread voter fraud have eroded trust in the nation’s political process. By late January 2021, about two-thirds of Republicans said they did not believe Biden was legitimately elected in 2020, according to an AP-NORC poll. VoteCast showed roughly how many Republican voters in the midterm elections continued to hold that belief. Federal and state election officials and Trump’s own attorney general have said there is no credible evidence that the 2020 election was tainted. The former president’s claims of fraud have also been flatly rejected by multiple courts, including Trump-appointed judges. Trump’s presidential bid paves the way for a potential rematch with Biden, who has said he plans to run for re-election despite concerns from some in his party about his age and low approval ratings. The two men were already the oldest presidential candidates when they ran in 2020. Trump, who is 76, would be 82 at the end of a second term in 2029. Biden, who is about to turn 80, would he was 86 years old. If ultimately successful, Trump would become just the second US president in history to serve two non-consecutive terms, following Grover Cleveland’s victories in 1884 and 1892.