Cool reception for bid to make Trump great again

The former President faced a chorus of rejection from senior Republican figures and his daughter Ivanka, who ­refused to take part in his launch for a third campaign.

Small family affair: Donald Jr’s girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle, Jared Kushner, Eric Trump, and Laura Trump listen as Donald Trump launches his third bid to become president. Picture: Getty Images

Donald Trump launched his third campaign for the US presidency but faced a chorus of rejection from senior Republican figures and his daughter Ivanka, who ­refused to take part and ruled herself out of politics.

Only two of his five children – Eric and 16-year-old Barron – and only one member of congress travelled to Mar-a-Lago in Florida for his announcement, while one of his biggest Wall Street donors, Blackstone Group founder Stephen Schwarzman, said he would not back Mr Trump in 2024.

The energy of the campaign that swept Mr Trump to the White House in 2016 was missing during a lacklustre hour-long speech, following worse results than expected in last week’s midterm elections, when loyalist candidates promoted by him lost key races.

“To make America great and glorious again, I am tonight (Thursday) announcing my candidacy for president of the United States,” Mr Trump said, to cheers from several hundred invited supporters in his club ballroom on Tuesday night.

“America’s comeback starts right now. Two years ago we were a great nation and soon we will be a great nation again. I am running because I believe the world has not yet seen the true glory of what this nation can be.”

Ivanka, 41, who was not at the event, said in a statement: “I love my father very much. This time I am choosing to prioritise my young children and the private life we are creating as a family. I do not plan to be involved in politics.”

“While I will always love and support my father, going forward I will do so outside the political arena.”

Her husband, Jared Kushner, who also held a senior position in Mr Trump’s administration, was present, but Don Jr and Tiffany, recently married, were not. Don Jr was said to have been delayed by bad weather as he tried to fly back from a hunting trip but will apparently continue to campaign for his father.

Mr Schwarzman, who spent $US35.5m to support Republicans in the midterms and gave Mr Trump’s political committee $US3m in 2020, said: “America does better when its leaders are rooted in today and tomorrow, not today and yesterday. It is time for the Republican Party to turn to a new generation of leaders and I ­intend to support one of them.”

Three other big donors, Ken Griffin, Andy Sabin and Stephen Ross, were ready to desert Mr Trump, Fox News said.

Ron DeSantis, 44, the Florida Governor who is widely seen as a potential rival for the ­Republican nomination, passed up an opportunity earlier in the day to confirm or deny whether he would run against Mr Trump. Candidates do not usually launch their presidential campaigns until the year ­before the election.

Asked what he thought about Mr Trump’s “less than flattering comments” about him recently, Mr DeSantis said: “One of the things I’ve learnt in this job is, when you’re leading, when you’re getting things done, you take incoming fire. I would just tell ­people to go check out the scoreboard from last Tuesday night (when he won re-election as Governor by 29 points).”

Another potential rival, Mike Pompeo, who was secretary of state under Mr Trump, said before the announcement that it would not change his own decision on whether or not to run.

“We need leaders that are looking forward, not staring in the rearview mirror claiming victimhood,” he said.

Mr Trump had denounced federal investigations against him, saying: “I am a victim.”

During his speech on Tuesday, Mr Trump set out some eye-catching ideas for a second term, including the death penalty for drug dealers, planting the US flag on Mars and a missile defence shield to protect America from nuclear attack.

He pledged to be a “unifying force” and “heal our divisions” through rebuilding a successful economy. “The corridors of power are not their corridors, they’re our corridors. We’re coming to take them back,” he said.

While he avoided revisiting his false claims of fraud in 2020, perhaps mindful that midterm voters had rejected the high-profile “election deniers” he endorsed, he set out plans to bring in paper ballots to replace the machine voting that many of his supporters ­believe was manipulated to stop him. “We will do whatever it takes to bring back honesty and trust in our elections,” he said.

The Times