Washington, DC – Former US President Donald Trump is expected to announce another run for the White House as his Republican Party recovers from poor performance in the mid-term elections.
Trump will hold a speech on Tuesday night to confirm who he is in the 2024 presidential race. For the past week, the former president has been feuding with potential Republican contenders, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin.
“We believe TODAY will be one of the most important days in the history of our country!” Trump posted on his Truth Social page earlier Tuesday.
The former president’s term in the White House – between 2017 and 2021 – was one of the most difficult in modern US history. He was impeached twice, and his violent speeches, which critics say were often racist, caused a stir in the country.
But despite his 2020 loss to President Joe Biden and allegations of election fraud that led to an attack on the US Capitol by his supporters, the former president continued to dominate the Republican Party.
Trump’s short tenure in US politics has been defined by his ability to overcome frustrations and obstacles that would have been career-ending in the past. But many observers, including some Republicans, questioned whether the former president could retain the GOP base after the party’s disappointing showing in last week’s midterm polls.
Time for the ‘new players’: Romney
On Tuesday, Senator Mitt Romney – one of Trump’s few Republican opponents – compared the former president to a popular athlete at the end of his career, citing the GOP’s loss in the 2018 midterms, the 2020 presidential vote and last week’s election. former presidential administration.
“I know, there are fans who love him. Like, you know, an old pitcher, there are always fans who want to keep him there forever. But if you keep losing games, try to put new players on the field,” Romney told the Associated Press.
Mr. Trump, a homemaker and former TV personality, had no political experience before becoming president.
He announced his first run in 2015 in a scathing speech in which he called Mexican immigrants “rapists” – a term that fueled the entire campaign, when he later called for a “ban” on Muslims entering the US. .
He used his popularity, unscripted style and public speaking to win over disaffected voters and win the Republican nomination in a landslide. He then defeated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the presidency in one of the biggest electoral upsets in US history.
In the White House, he often makes headlines with his controversial tweets. But he followed a broad Republican line of tax cuts and restrictions at home. In foreign policy, he took a more aggressive approach to China – a position retained by his successor, Biden.
He re-aligned the US with Israel, moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights seized from Syria – which violates international law and was widely rejected by the world.
However, Mr. Trump managed to withdraw the stability agreements between Israel and several Arab countries that found a common enemy in Iran and supported his strategy of “great pressure” on Tehran.
‘Run Trump run’
Despite his chaotic administration and unceremonious exit from the White House, Trump has not left politics. He continued to hold meetings and do great work for the former president of his party. In the Republican primaries before the 2022 midterms, his endorsement was essential to win nominations for positions up and down the ballot.
But Trump’s critics say the country has changed dramatically since he first descended from Trump Tower in New York City to announce his candidacy in 2015.
After years of political instability and the changing lifestyles of the coronavirus pandemic, voters yearn for culture and fear for the future of US democracy as the former president rejects the results of the 2020 election, they argue.
In the middle of the year, voters rejected many of those who rejected the election with the support of Mr. Trump in the military arena.
“Perhaps the biggest thing about the Democrats being on the ballot and not winning all the Republicans is that there is a former Republican president named Donald Trump, who has refused to leave the field,” David Cohen, a politician. a science professor at the University of Akron in Ohio, told Al Jazeera.
After losing in 2020 and returning to Republicans in 2022, some Democrats are excited about the possibility of a Biden-Trump rematch in 2024.
“Run the Trump Run!” Democratic Congressman Steve Cohen tweeted late last week.
But the supporters of the former president argue that he is the right candidate to call the Republicans in the presidential year. He also denies Trump’s role in the results of the midterm elections, saying that the Republicans suffered from low numbers and were disgusted by the Democrats, and that the GOP candidates who were not supported by the former president also fought in the midterms on November 8, 2022.
“Any attempt to blame Trump, not on money and commitment, is wrong. It confuses things that we need to deal with as a party for a long time,” said JD Vance, Trump’s nominee from Ohio, in the American Conservative on Monday.
Trump has already secured endorsements for the 2024 race, including House Republican leader Elise Stefanik.
But as the candidate, Florida’s DeSantis, emerges as Trump’s replacement, many Republican officials and staff are moving away from the former president.
When asked if she would support Trump for president, Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis told reporters this week: “I don’t think that’s the right question. I think the question is who is the current leader of the Republican Party. Oh, I know who it is – Ron DeSantis.”
Trump’s Vice President Mike Pence – who clashed with the former president during the January 6, 2021 riots at the US Capitol – has indicated that he may want to be president again.
Asked in an interview with ABC News whether Trump should run for president again, Pence said the American people want “compassionate and generous” leaders.
“I think it depends on the American people. But I think we will have good elections in the future,” he said.
Don’t go
However, some analysts say Trump’s grip on Republicans is so strong that it will be difficult to dislodge him.
“There’s not a snowball’s chance in hell that the Republicans are going to succeed in leaving Donald Trump unless Donald Trump chooses to isolate himself,” said Cohen, the political science professor.
As he prepares for the presidential election, Trump still has a long list of legislative issues. He is locked in a battle with a congressional committee trying to obtain his tax records.
Separately, the Justice Department is conducting an investigation into the former president’s possible misuse of classified government documents.
The congressional body investigating the killings at the US Capitol and Trump supporters recently issued a subpoena for Trump to testify before the committee. He has defied the document, he did not come to testify on Monday. His lawyers filed a motion Friday to avoid being forced to testify or provide documents to the committee.
Trump has denied wrongdoing in both cases, calling them political stunts led by his Democratic rivals.
The US Constitution prohibits presidents from serving two four-year terms in the White House. Grover Cleveland is the only American president who did not follow consecutive terms, after being re-elected to the White House in 1892.
