Donald Trump has launched a fresh White House bid, hoping to box out potential Republican rivals.
Trump's announcement, at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, follows a disappointing showing in last week's midterm congressional elections that many Republicans blame on him.
Supporters of former U.S. President Donald Trump holding up hats with slogans like "MAGA King" and "Trump Forever" cheer as he announces that he will once again run for U.S. president in 2024.
Reuters
The unusually early launch may well be aimed at fending off potential challengers for the party's nomination in 2024, including rising star Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, 44, and Trump's own former vice president, Mike Pence, 63.
While control of the House of Representatives is still undecided, the "red wave" that Republicans expected to carry them to a wide majority did not materialise despite Democratic President Joe Biden's low public-approval ratings.
Voter anger over a Supreme Court decision to end national abortion rights offset concerns over high inflation.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll taken before the election showed that 53% of Americans and almost one in four Republicans view Trump unfavourably.
The poll showed a similar number of Americans viewing Biden unfavourably.
Last week, Republican Ron DeSantis was re-elected governor of Florida on Tuesday, setting him up for a possible presidential run.
Mr DeSantis, who won office by less than half a percentage point four years ago, easily defeated Democratic challenger Charlie Crist, a former Republican governor who switched parties and won a congressional seat as a Democrat.
Mr DeSantis, 44, is widely expected to seek the Republican nomination for the White House in 2024.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump walks onstage before making an announcement of his plans to run for president in 2024
Reuters
Trump sent a warning to Mr DeSantis over running for presidency, saying: "I don't know if he is running. I think if he runs, he could hurt himself very badly.”
“I don't think it would be good for the party."
Mr Trump continued: “If he did run, I will tell you things about him that won’t be very flattering. I know more about him than anybody other than perhaps his wife, who is really running his campaign.
“Any of that stuff is not good – you have other people that possibly will run, I guess. I don’t know if he runs. If he runs, he runs.”
Mr Trump has previously nicknamed the Florida governor Ron De-Sanctimonious.
