Donald Trump Officially Announces He Will Run for President in 2024
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Donald Trump says he's officially running for president in 2024.
After nearly two years of teasing that he plans to seek another term in the White House, Trump announced his campaign at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday night.
"America's comeback starts right now," the former president said before explaining his priorities for the nation. "We are here tonight to declare that it does not have to be this way."
Later in his speech, he said, "In order to make America great and glorious again I am tonight announcing my candidacy for president of the United States."
Trump's early announcement comes amid investigations into his conduct on Jan. 6, 2021 — when a mob of rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol on his behalf in an attempt to stop Joe Biden's election victory from being certified — and his handling of classified documents after leaving office.
With numerous criminal and civil investigations in progress, experts and insiders predicted that the twice-impeached public figure would ramp up talks of a third presidential campaign in an attempt to distract Americans. They were torn, though, on whether he'd actually follow through.
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"He fears losing in 2024. He hates being known as a loser," former national security advisor John Bolton previously told CBS News. "He'll talk about it incessantly — he may even announce he's running — but when it comes down to it he won't run."
RELATED: Sources Say Trump Will Launch a 2024 Presidential Campaign After Midterm Elections: Report
Brandon Bell/Getty Donald Trump
Trump left after one term in office in January 2021, becoming the first president in modern history not to personally welcome his successor to the White House by attending the inaugural ceremonies. Instead, he flew to his members-only club in Florida while Biden was sworn in.
The former president has stayed tapped into politics since leaving office, hitting the midterm campaign trail alongside several controversial Republican candidates this year.
Republicans' lackluster performance on Nov. 8 — and voters' clear hesitance to support Trump-backed candidates — led members of his own party to request he sit the 2024 election out, or at least wait to make an announcement until after Georgia's Senate runoff was called.
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"The Republican Party is still Donald Trump's party, and it's too late now for GOP leaders to throw him overboard," Dave Aronberg, state attorney for Palm Beach County, tells PEOPLE. "Most of his supporters are loyal to him, not the Republican Party, so if Trump is not the nominee in 2024, he will direct his base to sit home or go elsewhere. And they will."
