There was no escalator this time — but former President Donald Trump still announced his candidacy at one of his own properties
There was no escalator this time — but former president Donald Trump still announced his candidacy at one of his own properties. This time, it was at his Palm Beach, Florida, resort in Mar-a-Lago in a swanky ballroom. The room was adorned in gold and Trump had a row of American flags at his back as he said he would run for president for the third time, hoping to win the 2024 presidential nomination.
Trump earned some ire from the GOP base last week when he attacked Florida governor Ron DeSantis and Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin, but this has not released his grip on the Republican Party. He opened his speech by promising, “America’s comeback starts now.” It’s “Make America Great Again,” but…again.
His 2016 announcement focused on the unfettered illegal immigration harming the American worker and the bad trade deals that offshored manufacturing, a message that allowed him to break the so-called “blue wall” in the Midwest. This time, the story was about how far the US has fallen since his presidency ended two years ago. Trump spoke about the economic greatness, energy independence and global power that he brought back to the country. Biden has overseen historic levels of inflation and illegal immigration, as well as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Under our leadership, we were a great and glorious nation,” Trump said. “Most importantly, we were a free nation. But now we are a nation in decline.
