Former President Donald Trump has announced his bid for the White House, stating that he will seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.
"In order to make America great and glorious again, I am tonight announcing my candidacy for president of the United States," Trump said. "Two years ago we were a great nation and soon we will be a great nation again," he added from Mar-a-Lago, his Florida waterfront estate. The speech was broadcast live on U.S. television.
Earlier in the day, Trump's aides had filed paperwork with the U.S. Federal Election Commission setting up a committee called "Donald J. Trump for President 2024."
Trump's announcement comes amid GOP's underwhelming performance in the midterms. Despite all predictions of a "red wave", the party could not win the Senate and is struggling to reclaim House with a razor-thin majority. As of Wednesday morning, the party has won only 215 seats out of the 218 needed.
Trump also received flak for GOP's performance after many of his candidates, election deniers like him, failed to win.
However, on Tuesday night, Trump said he is running "because I believe the world has not yet seen the true glory of what this nation can be."
"We have not reached that pinnacle, believe it or not. This campaign will be about issues, vision and success and we will not stop, we will not quit until we've achieved the highest goals and made our country greater than it has ever been before. We can do this. We can do this," he added.
He gloated about his stint as the President claiming, "Two years ago we were a great nation and soon we will be a great nation again."
Trump also used the opportunity to criticise Biden's presidency and added that voters had "not yet realized the full extent and gravity of the pain our nation is going through." He added that voting will be much different in 2024.
"The United States is going through tough times," he said, acknowledging that this is not going to be an easy task.
"Together we will be taking on the most corrupt forces and entrenched interests. Our country is being destroyed before your very eyes," he said.
Trump also vowed to fight the "radical left Democrats." "So from now until election day in 2024... I will fight like no one has ever fought before. We will defeat the radical left Democrats who are trying to destroy our country from within," he said.
Fending off potential rivals
Though Trump made his bid on Tuesday, the first state-level contests for the Republican party to formally select its candidate is another year away.
But, many believe through his early move, Trump aims to discourage other possible contenders such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former vice-president, Mike Pence from making a bid for the Republican Party's 2024 presidential nomination.
Though DeSantis, who enjoys considerable support from minority and independent voters, is a strong contender, poll figures show that Trump still holds huge influence among Republican core voters. In an Edison Research exit poll, six of 10 respondents said they had an unfavourable opinion of Trump.
