Donald Trump has declared his intention to seek the White House again in 2024, vowing to prevent US President Joe Biden from being re-elected.
“I am tonight announcing my candidacy for president of the United States,” the 76-year-old former president said in a speech at his Florida private club on Tuesday night.
“We are a nation in decline. We are a failing nation for millions of Americans,” Trump said, adding, “I will ensure that Joe Biden does not receive four more years.”
He also filed his official 2024 paperwork with the US election authority in which he declared himself a candidate for the presidency.
“This campaign will be about issues, vision and success, and we will not stop, we will not quit, until we’ve achieved the highest goals and made our country greater than it has ever been before,” Trump said.
He made the announcement just a week after Republicans lost key midterm races, rejecting the counsel of current and former advisers who had cautioned him against declaring his candidacy for president so soon after a defeat for his party.
The announcement also comes as a majority of American voters say he should definitely not run for the White House again.
The Politico-Morning Consult poll, released on Tuesday, showed that 53 percent of registered voters believe Trump definitely should not run, while 12 percent said he probably shouldn’t.
However, about 20 percent of respondents said the former president should definitely run, while only 12 percent said he probably should.
Meanwhile, Biden responded Wednesday to Trump’s announcement by saying the Republican “failed” his country while in office.
“Donald Trump failed America,” Biden said in a tweet from Bali, where he was attending the G20 summit.