Trump announces his intention to run for president again

A relatively calm former president stewed over Joe Biden, called himself a victim, and promised a resurgence of his politics in an hour-long address that meandered at points.

Donald Trump, who lost the 2020 election and left office under the threat of impeachment for his participation in the Capitol Hill riots on January 6, is running for president again.

During a primetime ceremony at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, the 45th President declared his candidacy for a second term. He also submitted a declaration of candidacy.

"Tonight, I am launching my campaign for President of the United States in order to make America great and magnificent again," he proclaimed, to loud cheers from the audience.

It is a remarkable, albeit long-awaited, action by Trump, one that is destined to redefine his party's destiny, raise knotty legal concerns, and affect the presidency of the man who defeated him, Joe Biden. He claimed unequivocally that his campaign was designed to regain his presidency.

"This incredible movement of ours has never been like it... "Perhaps there will never be anything like it again," Trump claimed, adding that "America's recovery begins right now."

Trump and the former first lady entered the ballroom at his private club. Trump depicted his four years in office through rose-colored glasses in front of a crowd full of hundreds of supporters, including Trump world luminaries like Roger Stone, Kash Patel, Sebastian Gorka, My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell, and departing Rep. Madison Cawthorn. Trump breezed through the epidemic that threw the world economy into a spiral, instead arguing that he avoided international conflicts and managed a bright, blooming economy.

"We were a magnificent and wonderful nation under our leadership," Trump added. "However, we are today a declining nation." "We are a failing nation."

He also mentioned persistently high gas prices under Biden, a porous southern border that Trump labelled as a "invasion" of migrants and illicit substances, and blood-soaked streets that recalled his previous remarks about "American carnage."

"Biden and the radical left lunatics who are throwing our country into the dirt are forcing the demise of America onto us," Trump stated.

Aides to Trump told reporters ahead of the event that the idea was to provide a more concentrated version of the former president's words since leaving office. While Trump deviated from script to criticise Biden, referring to the current White House occupant cancelling a planned meal with foreign leaders abroad, he largely concentrated on comparing his tenure with the previous two years.

But Trump couldn't stop himself from attacking the federal government and the "deep state" for their hunt for Mar-a-Lago, repeatedly calling himself a "victim," and then diving into 

Trump and his crew have been planning his announcement and laying out a campaign strategy for months. For the next campaign, there will be no formal campaign manager. Instead, Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles, two long-time Republican strategists, will handle operations. LaCivita will leave his current business, FP1 Strategies, to take on the new position.

Brian Jack, who served as then-President Trump's White House political director and now oversees Kevin McCarthy's national political operation, is likely to play a crucial role in the campaign, focusing on the mechanics and bolts of presidential primary politics for Trump. In addition, Justin Caporale, a former top advisor to first lady Melania Trump who also worked on the Trump 2020 campaign, would be promoted to senior management. Two former Trump White House aides, Clayton Henson and Alex Latchamid, will play key roles in the campaign.

Taylor Budowich, Trump's current spokesman, will not be involved in the campaign but will instead run MAGA Inc., the main pro-Trump super PAC. Trump's veteran pollster, Tony Fabrizio, will conduct polling for the super PAC.

Trump's campaign headquarters in the last two elections were in New York and Virginia, near to where he lived. This time, Trump and his aides will operate from his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida until a decision on the site of an official campaign office is made.

During the midterm elections, Trump's rhetoric has mostly centred on the economy, the border, crime, and the Biden administration. But he remained fixated on his own legal problems and his 2020 election defeat, alleging on massive voter fraud despite the lack of evidence.

According to Republicans, these fixations are a disadvantage with voters. And there are growing concerns about a Trump candidacy given the party's dismal performance in the 2022 midterm elections, when a number of Trump-backed candidates failed to gain crucial state and federal posts.

Aides and advisors sought to persuade Trump not to run for president, hoping he would reconsider after the Georgia Senate runoff elections in December.

But he was unmoved by their pleadings and used his speech on Tuesday to promote his endorsement record, emphasising that Republicans were on pace to retake control of the House and encouraged his fans to vote Republican Herschel Walker in the runoff.

Trump has joined a small handful of presidential contenders in beginning a new campaign. Only one previous president, Democrat Grover Cleveland, left office and sought for re-election four years later.