Donald Trump set for third tilt at US presidency

Donald Trump has declared his ­intention to run for president in 2024 a little over a week since US elections in which many of his candidates performed far worse than expected.

Donald and Melania Trump acknowledge supporters at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on Wednesday. Picture: AFP

Donald Trump has declared his ­intention to run for president in 2024 – his third tilt for the White House – a little over a week since US elections in which Republicans and Mr Trump’s candidates performed far worse than expected.

Declaring “America’s comeback starts right now” and himself a “victim”, Mr Trump, said he would “fight like no one had ever fought before” to win the Republican nomination for president.

“This will not be my campaign, this will be our campaign …. I am running because I believe the world has not yet seen the true glory of what this nation can be … I didn’t need this, I had a very nice life,” Mr Trump said from the gilt reception hall of his private Florida ­resort at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday night (Wednesday AEDT).

The announcement, while widely telegraphed for months, will put renewed focus on the growing field of Republican candidates, including potentially Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, to make their own intentions known in coming weeks.

“Now we are a nation in ­decline, a failing nation; for millions of Americans the past two years under Joe Biden have been a time of pain, hardship anxiety and despair,” Mr Trump said, to ­periodic cheers from the packed audience of supporters.

“The American people will overwhelmingly reject national ruin and embrace our platform of national glory.”

Kimberly Guilfoyle, Jared Kushner, Eric Trump, and Laura Trump listen as former president Donald Trump speaks at his Mar-a-Lago home on Wednesday. Picture: Getty Images

Not long after news broke that the former president had filed the necessary paperwork, Mr Trump, in his trademark red tie, strode up to the lectern in the Louis XIV-style Hall of Mirrors at Mar-a-Lago, defying a welter of counsel that he should postpone or cancel his anticipated announcement owing to the Republican Party’s poor performance in last week’s midterm elections.

Republicans were on the brink of claiming 218 seats in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, the bare minimum required to have a majority in the 435-seat lower house of the US congress, and falling far short of the “red wave” pollsters and pundits had expected.

“Much criticism is being placed on the fact Republicans should have done better and much of this blame is correct,” Mr Trump said, addressing indirectly widespread criticism of his role and influence in the campaign.

Mike Huckabee, a former ­Republican Arkansas governor and past Republican presidential nominee, said Mr Trump’s speech was “unbeatable”.

“No one will be able to touch him, Democrat or Republicans … this was as brilliant speech, the best I’ve heard him give in a long time,” he told Fox News.

Mick Mulvaney, former acting chief of staff for Mr Trump in the final year of his presidency, ridiculed the former president’s claim that 232 of his chosen midterm candidates had won and only 22 had lost.

“The losses included Senate races in Pennsylvania, Arizona and Nevada, and New Hampshire. And governors in Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. Wins included dog catcher in Pahrump, Arizona,” he tweeted.

Mr Trump’s speech was also a strident defence of his presidency, dwelling on efforts to pursue ­energy independence and “drain the swamp” of Washington, to fruitful meetings with world leaders and avoidance of nuclear war.

“Suffering is starting to take hold, they [voters] don’t feel it yet but they will very soon … I have no doubt that by 2024 it will sadly be much worse, and they will see much more clearly what is happening and the voting will be much different,” he predicted.

Mr Trump also revealed some of this previous discussions with leaders, including China’s Xi Jinping, who was in Bali for the G20 leaders summit at the time with President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Anthony ­Albanese.

“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.”

Toward the end of his speech Mr Trump said he would support a term limit on members of congress, and push for same-day voting and only paper ballots in US elections.