Former US president Donald Trump kickstarted his 2024 presidential bid with stops at early voting states New Hampshire and South Carolina, which launched his winning 2016 presidential campaign.
At an evening event in South Carolina, Trump reiterated his early political campaign of “making America great again”.
“Together we will complete the unfinished business of making America great again.”
While in New Hampshire, the 76-year-old Republican asserted that “we need a leader who is prepared to take on the forces laying waste to our country.”
“We need a president who’s ready to hit the ground running on Day One,” he told a crowd of several hundred in the commercial hub of Salem.
His events are being seen as a way to rebuild his lacklustre campaign amidst criticism that he failed to make any public appearances since he announced his latest run in November.
Trump once again denied his 2020 defeat and told supporters that he would be the most effective nominee in 2024, unlike the other Republican picks.
“To change the whole system, you need a president who can take on the whole system and a president who can win,” he said.
US: Donald Trump kicks off 2024 Presidential campaign, first candidate to do so
In both states, Trump sought to assert his record of success during his presidency and slammed his successor Joe Biden over issues like the economy, immigration and rising crime.
He vowed to “rebuild” the US military saying that he wants to save the country from “being destroyed by a selfish, radical, corrupt political establishment.”
“I’m more angry now and more committed now than I ever was,” Trump said.
Apart from Trump, Republicans have a long list of presidential nominees, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former vice president Mike Pence and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, who was Trump’s ambassador to the UN. All of them are expected to get their campaigns underway in the coming months.
Speaking to AP news agency after his South Carolina speech, Trump said that it would be “a great act of disloyalty” if DeSantis opposed him in the primary and took credit for the governor’s initial election.
“If he runs, that’s fine. I’m way up in the polls. He’s going to have to do what he wants to do, but he may run. I do think it would be a great act of disloyalty because, you know, I got him in. He had no chance. His political life was over.”
He said he hasn’t spoken to DeSantis in a long time.
(With inputs from agencies)
