"Make America Great Again" Trump Announces 2024 Presidential Run (Update)

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] "To make America great and glorious again, tonight I declare my candidacy for the presidential election."

Former U.S. President Donald Trump officially announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election as scheduled on the night of the 15th (local time), despite ongoing election accountability controversies. This marks his third attempt following his 2016 election victory and 2020 re-election defeat.

At 9 p.m. Eastern Time, Trump invited the media to his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida to deliver the long-anticipated "major announcement." He emphasized, "We will make America great and glorious again," adding, "Two years ago, we were a great nation, and soon we will be a great nation again." Prior to the announcement, Trump also submitted campaign committee documents to the Federal Election Commission listing himself as a presidential candidate.

Beginning with "America's comeback starts now," Trump devoted much of his speech to criticizing the current Biden administration by comparing it to his own tenure. He stated, "We built the greatest economy in world history and saved lives and the economy with decisive action when the virus struck," while criticizing the Biden administration's responses to inflation, the economy, North Korea, China, Islamic terrorism, and border issues.

Furthermore, he stressed that "When I left office two years ago, America was ready for a golden era," citing this as his reason for running in the 2024 election. He claimed, "Under our leadership (the Trump administration), we were a great and glorious nation, something you haven't heard in a long time," and added, "We were a strong nation. The important thing is that we were a free nation."

Trump said, "Joe Biden cannot be allowed to continue as the face of leftist failure and Washington corruption," and declared, "In 2020, I received the most votes ever for an incumbent president. We will do it again." He also expressed confidence, saying, "The Biden administration has destroyed the U.S. economy in two years," and "With victory, we will once again rapidly build the greatest economy in history."

On policy, Trump emphasized "Making America first again," stating, "In every policy, America will come first." He mentioned low taxes, low regulation, and fair trade, saying, "All policies must support American workers, households, and businesses and enable America to compete with other countries."

He also evaluated the midterm election results, saying, "There has been much criticism that the Republican Party should have done better, and frankly most of it is correct," adding, "The people do not realize the extent and severity of the pain America is experiencing. The effects of the pain have begun to appear. Soon, they will feel it." This essentially argues that Americans who did not vote Republican were mistaken.

He reiterated his confidence in winning the 2024 election, saying, "The situation will be much worse by 2024," and "You will see much more clearly what has happened and what has happened to our country. There is no doubt that voting will change."

Local media, including CNN, showed high interest by pointing out in real-time many inaccuracies in Trump’s speech. CNN noted that claims such as filling the strategic petroleum reserve during his term but it being virtually depleted by the Biden administration, and leaving $85 billion worth of military equipment in Afghanistan, were incorrect. The New York Times (NYT) also pointed out that Trump’s claim that the border wall stopped illegal immigration and drugs was false.

The speech was originally scheduled to last about 35 minutes. Trump’s aides expected it to be around 35 minutes and hoped it would end within 45 minutes. However, as his speech approached an hour, even the conservative-leaning Fox News cut the live broadcast. Local media noted that, as usual, Trump’s speech jumped across various topics without logical coherence.

Meanwhile, President Biden, as initially announced, responded to Trump’s official 2024 presidential candidacy declaration on Twitter, stating, "Trump made America fail." The White House Twitter account posted messages promoting the Biden administration’s legislative achievements, including the bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure bill.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.