MDonald Trump had warned. His timing for the announcement of his repeated presidential candidacy was unfavorable. After the congressional elections, which were disappointing for Republicans, there is no momentum for him. The current situation was not kind to the former president either.
Immediately before his appearance on Tuesday evening in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, President Joe Biden addressed the public in Bali. He had just informed the NATO and G-7 partners about his talks with Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of the western military alliance, and Polish President Andrzej Duda about the rocket hit in a Polish village. In view of the international crisis, would Trump see reason and overturn his plan? Undeterred, Trump appeared in front of his supporters in Mar-a-Lago. It became a kind of mini-rally.
The former commander-in-chief did not circumvent the escalation in the Ukraine war. He used them for his purposes: A rocket was aimed at Poland – probably from Russia, he suspected. The Ukraine war would never have happened if he were still president. And Biden? He falls asleep at international conferences and leads America to the brink of nuclear war. The country will be humiliated.
Long list of merits
The remainder of the speech was an abridged version of his speeches at the notorious MAGA rallies – except that Trump had been advised not to use overly vulgar slurs or target opposition within the party. That doesn’t seem very presidential, he may have been told. In the speech, which lasted more than an hour, he said that he had led the country to unprecedented size: economically and militarily strong and internationally respected. When he left office, America found itself at the peak of its power, Trump summed up, not forgetting to mention that he had not started a new war. All sections of the population were better off, he noted, pointing to African Americans and Latinos, for example. In general, he brought the people of the country together, he said seriously.
The same was true for the following comment: When the pandemic hit, he guided America through the crisis and saved lives. The well-known list of successes followed: he defeated the terrorist organization IS, North Korea did not detonate any rockets and China paid tariffs. The crowd shouted “Trump, Trump, Trump”. After two years of Biden, however, inflation is at a record high, energy independence is lost and the southern border is open. In short, America is in decline. Then: “America’s comeback begins here and now.” And after cracking a little Biden joke, he added: “Tonight I’m announcing my candidacy for President of the United States.”
Phrases from the well-known construction kit
In addition, many key words came from earlier speeches: that he had created something unique, for example: namely a political movement. He also reiterated that he was the people’s voice against the Washington establishment. And: The “corridors of power” will be recaptured. All of these are well-known Trump phrases that a sensitive speechwriter would certainly have reconsidered after January 6, 2021, i.e. after the Capitol was stormed. But Trump didn’t care. He also announced a series of reforms: He would introduce term limits for members of Congress, dismantle the “deep state”, especially the FBI, and reform the electoral law.
Trump, however, left it at that to badmouth Biden and the radical Democrats. He didn’t call the media “fake news” this time. And he also refrained from insulting rivals within the party, such as Mitch McConnell or Ron DeSantis. Trump addressed the elections: The majority in the House of Representatives had been won back. Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the first chamber, was fired. He himself had never spoken of a red wave. This was followed by a very idiosyncratic justification that it had not been possible to win back the Senate majority as well. The consequences of Biden’s poor government policy have not yet fully reached the population. The suffering will increase over the next two years. Therefore, you will win in 2024.
Biden just grins
Biden was asked in Bali if he wanted to comment on Trump’s announcement: “Not really,” he said, grinning at French President Emmanuel Macron. Meanwhile, Republican Ron DeSantis, the newly triumphantly re-elected governor of Florida who is expected to run against Trump, said in a speech Tuesday, without addressing rival Trump, that “just look at the Election Day numbers.” That should mean he was the winner. And Trump the loser.
Trump certainly wanted to forestall DeSantis with his candidacy with his hasty appearance. In Washington, however, there is also talk of another reason for Trump’s idiosyncratic scheduling. He expects a decision on the various investigations against him at any time. Apparently he thinks Attorney General Merrick Garland will find it harder to indict a current candidate than just a former president.
