KEY POINTS
- Former United States president Donald Trump has announced he will be run again in 2024.
- He previously served as president from January 20, 2017 to January 20, 2021, when he lost the election to Joe Biden.
- It comes after several candidates endorsed by the former president were defeated in the midterm elections.
Donald Trump has announced he will again in 2024, after months of speculation.
The former president announced his candidacy in a speech at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida on Tuesday night local time (Wednesday afternoon AEDT).
“We have always known this was not the end, it was only the beginning of our fight to begin to rescue the American dream,” he said.
“In order to make America great and glorious again, I am tonight announcing my candidacy for President of the United States.”
It comes after several Republican candidates who were endorsed by the former president were
Mr Trump previously served as president from 20 January 2017 to 20 January 2021, after losing the election to current President Joe Biden. He refused to concede, spreading claims of electoral fraud and initiating a campaign to overturn the result.
Mr Trump was the first president – once for alleged abuse of power and once for inciting insurrection – and acquitted.
So what do we know about his next presidential run, will it be impacted by his legal issues, and what are his chances?
What has Donald Trump said?
In his address, Mr Trump reflected on his time as president, saying the United States had been ready for a "golden age".
“America’s comeback starts right now,” he said.
“When I left office, the United States stood ready for its golden age, our country was at the pinnacle of power, prosperity and prestige.”
He criticised the Biden administration on economic performance, crime rates and the war in Ukraine.
“We are here tonight to declare that it does not have to be this way,” he said.
“Two years ago, we were a great nation and soon we will be a great nation again.”
He also implied China had been involved in the 2020 election result.
"For the first time in memory, China was reeling back on its heels because the United States was outdoing them on every single front and China was paying millions and millions of dollars in taxes and tariffs
"We were getting hundreds of millions of dollars ... many people think that because of this, China played a very active result in the 2020 election."
Is he allowed to run despite being impeached?
The former president has been impeached twice - he was accused of abuse of power, and the second for - but this does not limit him from running for president.
Jared Mondschein, director of research at United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, told SBS News the impeachments would only have impacted a future presidential run if Mr Trump had been convicted.
"He was impeached twice but he was never convicted; if you're convicted that would change things," he said.
"So that does not prevent him whatsoever."
Will a bid for the presidency impact his legal issues?
As well as his previous impeachments, Mr Trump is also currently being investigated for possible violations of the Espionage Act after a search of his Mar-a-Lago home turned up classified documents taken to his estate when he left office in January 2021.
He is also facing lawsuits regarding alleged business fraud and denial of the 2020 election result.
Mr Mondschein said while a presidential run would not technically impact the legal cases involving Mr Trump, it could make investigations more difficult.
"(Running for president) wouldn't give him any immunity, it just makes things more complicated," he said
"The Department of Justice really tries to avoid being a political football .. they just want to do their jobs and be impartial enforcers of the law," he said.
"Investigating a political candidate is very very tricky ... it's really difficult to do it in an impartial manner, so it's something that is politically sensitive, but it is something that doesn't preclude the FBI or Department of Justice from doing their job."
Who could his rivals be?
Two years out from the election, Mr Trump's early announcement could signal his interest in discouraging other possible contenders such as Ron DeSantis or his own former vice president, Mike Pence, from making a bid for the Republican Party's 2024 presidential nomination.
In the aftermath of the midterm elections last week, Mr DeSantis is being viewed by many as Mr Trump's biggest rival for the Republican nominee in the presidential race.
Mr DeSantis was reelected as Florida governor in a landslide victory in the midterm elections, winning 59 per cent of the votes.
The two were previously allies, but there has been speculation of tension between the two ahead of a potential race for the presidential nomination.
"Ron DeSantis was one of the Republicans who did exceedingly well in the midterms ... he turned districts and counties that were blue and Democratic, strongly Republican," Mr Mondschein said.
"Right now, two years before the election, it looks like it's a DeSantis - Trump competition, but it's way too early to tell in terms of what could change."
Other potential Republican presidential hopefuls include Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin, Texas governor Greg Abbott, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Does he still have support?
In short, yes.
While the Republican party did not perform as well as expected in the midterm elections, polls show Mr Trump remains the most popular candidate for Republicans.
Mr Mondschein said while the former president has a "strong support base" within the Republican party, it is not clear whether that would translate into votes across the country.
Former United States president Donald Trump and Florida governor Ron Desantis were once allies, but will now likely be rivals for the Republican nominee in the 2024 election. Source: Getty / Joe Raedle
"With that said, it's not clear with the midterms if Republicans really want to stay with Donald Trump, given that so many of his candidates simply did not fare very well in the midterms."
In an Edison Research exit poll, seven out of 10 midterm voters expressed the view that Mr Biden should not run again.
In the same poll, six of 10 respondents said they had an unfavourable opinion of Mr Trump.
-Additional reporting by AAP
