Donald Trump returned to the political stage Tuesday night and announced he will seek the presidency in 2024. In an unprecedented move, the former president filed campaign paperwork with the Federal Election Commission just minutes before he delivered his speech from Mar-a-Lago.
In his announcement speech, Trump sought to reassert himself as the unchallenged leader of the Republican Party. But he also outlined an unforgiving electoral landscape in which the party is expected to lose many of its governorships and Senate seats.
Background
After four tumultuous years, President Donald Trump is set to run for a second term in 2024. He has spent the last few months preparing for a campaign that could see him win back his party, become president again and take over the White House in a historic political comeback that he claims will “Make America Great Again.”
Trump is seeking to use his popularity, unscripted style and populist rhetoric to bring the Republican Party together. He has railed against illegal immigration and the border wall, demonized foreign leaders and vowed to fight crime in a country where violent gangs are rising.
The 76-year-old businessman and reality television star is expected to focus his campaign on the same themes he made his name on in 2016, with a more conservative approach to domestic policy. He has pledged to reintroduce tax cuts, deregulation and free trade and is also calling for changes to US elections that would allow for one-day voting with paper ballots.
He has already begun building his state leadership team in South Carolina and New Hampshire, two early primary states. He has also filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission announcing his candidacy and setting up a fundraising account.
His decision to announce his candidacy early – just weeks after the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago – was prompted by advisers who hoped it would give him more time to gather support and boost his reputation as a candidate who is not afraid to take on the political establishment. But his announcement has also drawn criticism from within the Republican Party, especially after the party’s midterm debacle last week.
Besides the FBI, Trump is facing multiple investigations into his finances and how he has been running the Trump Organization, including several criminal charges. In addition, he faces a growing number of civil lawsuits from individuals and companies who claim they were harmed by his actions during his presidency.
The former president will continue to rely on a small group of aides, many of whom have worked closely with him since leaving the White House. The team includes longtime Florida GOP strategist Wiles, as well as Taylor Budowich, Chris LaCivita, Steven Cheung and Justin Caporale.
The Campaign
With a new administration in place, the political landscape has changed. Democrats have seized control of Congress in both the House and Senate, leaving Republicans to grapple with their own weakened position and a growing list of scandals.
The Republican Party is also in turmoil, with several candidates who supported Trump’s 2020 bid losing in the midterms. As a result, some GOP lawmakers are beginning to question their loyalty to the president.
Despite all this, the former president is still expected to run for reelection in 2024, and his campaign team is preparing to get it off the ground. The 76-year-old is planning to maintain a lean operation similar to the one he used in his last presidential campaign, with most of his key aides expected to stay on.
On Tuesday, he filed papers with the Federal Election Commission to officially establish his candidacy and set up a campaign committee. He has also started a fundraising drive to support his run.
In his announcement, Trump also laid out an aggressively conservative agenda that includes executing people convicted of selling drugs. He also said he would pursue an initiative to force people to wear body cameras, which could lead to a nationwide crackdown on surveillance and the suppression of dissent.
After a slow start in the campaign, he is now facing serious headwinds that are making his path to the White House increasingly difficult. He faces a host of criminal investigations and is a subject of multiple civil and criminal lawsuits.
But despite the challenges, he hasn’t lost any of his supporters — the former president is still the overwhelming favorite among Republican voters, according to polls. And he has plenty of potential competitors in the race, including former vice president Mike Pence and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
He’s also getting support from some seasoned political players, like former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson and New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu. They’re not yet official challengers, but they’ve endorsed him and have made bold statements that seem to be laying the groundwork for a potential run.
Fundraising
Trump is expected to raise a lot of money for his 2024 campaign. It is unclear how much he will be able to raise, but many of his key supporters are likely to help him.
The fundraising effort of Donald Trump is a critical factor in his prospects for the presidency in 2024, and it will likely play a role in who he endorses and how much support he receives from other candidates. While his campaign will have a substantial war chest, it will also face challenges from other potential candidates, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Amid these obstacles, Trump is working to rebuild his digital-fundraising network. His team is attempting to do so by rebuilding and expanding his campaign’s online presence on social media, particularly Facebook.
This effort has been hampered by Facebook’s decision to suspend Trump and his political operation for two years, though the company said it will reinstate him in the coming weeks. The reinstatement will allow Trump’s team to fundraise and run ads directly to voters on the social media platform, which was a major player in his presidential campaigns in 2016 and 2020.
During his campaigns in both elections, Trump boosted his online fundraising through Facebook ads that appealed to conservative voters and used Facebook’s data to identify potential supporters. The return of Trump’s political operation to Facebook could prove a boon to his fundraising efforts in 2024, as his campaign aims to raise millions of dollars.
But the former president’s campaign has also faced legal hurdles as it seeks to raise and spend more money than its leadership Pac and Super Pacs. On October 3rd, Trump transferred a $20 million contribution from his Save America leadership Pac to his Make America Great Again Super Pac, which allows the group to spend money more freely. This violates federal election law, the Campaign Legal Center wrote in a complaint filed with the FEC.
In Texas, where he is expected to hold a primary, the former president has also struggled to retain a significant number of donors. The former governor, Dan Patrick, has signaled support for his bid but stopped short of a full-throated endorsement.
The Election
Amid the political upheaval of the last two years, the 2024 election is shaping up to be an unpredictable race. Several potential candidates have already launched bids for the presidency, including former ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley and Indiana Governor Mike Pence.
While Trump remains popular with many Republican voters, an underwhelming midterm performance for his endorsed candidates could put him in tough spot when the nominating contests kick off later this year. He faces a slew of legal issues and investigations that he has not faced when he first launched his presidential campaign in 2015.
In addition to his own White House bid, Trump could face an unexpected opponent from within the party. His vice president, Mike Pence, has been a strong contender for the GOP nomination, though he’s also facing challenges from other potential candidates who could seek to capitalize on his name recognition and experience.
As Trump considers his own re-election bid, he is likely to draw on the same conservative themes that have dominated his White House tenure. But he may also face an uphill battle in courting some of his most loyal supporters, who have grown frustrated with the party’s recent electoral defeats.
Another candidate who has a strong chance of securing the GOP nomination is South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, who served under former President Barack Obama and is widely seen as a conservative moderate. While he has faced criticism for his stances on immigration, McMaster is a pro-life ally who was a key figure in the fight to end legalized abortion.
He’s also a former chairman of the National Rifle Association who is viewed as an expert on firearms and the law. He could also draw on his own personal history as a businessman, having founded a real estate firm and serving as CEO of a private-equity company.
Nevertheless, McMaster’s age and his lack of experience in the White House make him an unlikely candidate to win a general election. But his strong name recognition and ability to rally a crowd could help him get past the early stages of the 2024 nomination process.
