Trump finally let the world know last night that he’s running for president in 2024. It was not exactly a well kept secret. It was an ostentatious event, as you would expect, like the first one at Trump Tower on June 16, 2015 although this announcement had many more flags in the background at his Mar-a- Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. Another difference is that he didn’t kick off the speech talking about the size of the crowd like he did in 2015. He was also on time for the speech which was nice.
With 721 days to go until the 2024 presidential election, Trump made it known to the country, and the world, what he thinks about Biden and the “radical left lunatics” and why Orange Man Bad is the best man for the job of being the next president.
After chants of “USA! USA!” Trump gave a laundry list of his accomplishments and Biden’s failures and then almost 25 minutes into his speech, Trump finally uttered the words many have giddily waited for when he said, “In order to make America great and glorious again, I am tonight announcing my candidacy for president of the United States.”
His announcement was not much of surprise though after being announced as the “next president” of the United States when he walked in.
There were no fireworks – or streamers or balloons falling from the sky like on the finale of the TV singing competition series “American Idol” but Trump was still surrounded by the applause of his adoring fans and supporters. Personally, I would have had streamers and balloons so it looked like I was already the winner.
Looking at the event, it didn’t appear that he has a new campaign slogan but I think he sees his job the same as it was last time – to “Make America Great Again” from a “nation in decline” with Biden and the Democrats running the government into the ground.
But Trump said, “This decline is not a fate we must accept.”
Some other memorable statements of the night from his hour-long speech included…
“This is not just a campaign. This is a quest to save our country.”
“Two years ago, we were a great nation, and soon, we will be a great nation again.”
“America’s comeback starts right now.”
“I am your voice.”
“Together, we will be taking on the most corrupt forces and entrenched interests imaginable. Our country is in a horrible state. We’re in grave trouble. This is not a task for a politician or a conventional candidate this is a task for a great movement that embodies the courage, confidence and spirit of the American people.”
Trump, who will be 78-years-old if he’s elected to be president in 2024, is a bit younger than Biden who would be 81-years-old in 2024, although it’s questionable if the powers-that-be would allow him to run again.
A few hours before Trump’s presidential announcement, his former VP Mike Pence was on Fox News promoting his new book, “So Help Me God.”
He basically said that people want the Trump-Pence administration policies but without Trump. Asked if he would vote for Trump, Pence said, “I honestly believe that we’re going to have better choices.”
Pence said he thinks that Trump was the ONLY candidate in 2016 who could have beat Hillary but different times call for different leadership.
It remains to be seen how many other Republican candidates Trump will have to spar against. Last time, there were 17. In case you don’t remember all of the exciting presidential applicants, they were: Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, John Kasich, Ben Carson, Jeb Bush, Rand Paul, Mike Huckabee, Carly Fiorina, Chris Christie, Jim Gilmore, and Rick Santorum – with George Pataki, Lindsey Graham, Bobby Jindal, Mark Everson, Scott Walker, and Rick Perry withdrawing before the primary.
Coming up in 2024, we don’t know who exactly is running but I’m sure that Trump’s announcement is going to get the other candidates to announce a little earlier than they had planned.
Possible 2024 Republican presidential candidates that have been mentioned include: Ron DeSantis, Kristi Noem, Mike Pence, Greg Abbott, Liz Cheney, Ted Cruz, Nikki Haley, Rick Scott, Glenn Youngkin, and Mike Pompeo.
If Trump is able to stay focused on the future and bring an optimistic message, he could easily get the Republican nomination. If he starts calling people names and being “Trump,” I don’t think that the odds are in his favor.