UNITED STATES: Donald Trump made his first campaign foray on Saturday, almost three months after announcing his 2024 White House bid. He visited two early voting states, South Carolina and New Hampshire, ignoring criticism that his run was off to a sluggish start.
Donald Trump gears up for 2024 presidential elections
“I’m more angry now, and I’m more committed now than I ever was,” Trump said to a small gathering at the New Hampshire Republican Party’s annual convention in Salem, New Hampshire, before departing for Columbia, South Carolina, with his leadership team.
The events on Saturday were much more subdued than Trump’s usual loud rallies in front of throngs of supporters. With South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham and Governor Henry McMaster standing at his sides, Trump addressed around 200 people in Columbia at the state capitol building.
Formerly the indisputable leader of the Republican Party, a growing number of political leaders are now worried about Trump’s chances of defeating Democratic President Joe Biden if he decides to run again, as is widely anticipated.
Several Republican candidates, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is widely regarded as Trump’s biggest threat, are debating whether to run for president. Leading Republicans in both of the states that the former president visited, including Chris Sununu of New Hampshire and Nikki Haley of South Carolina, are considering running for office themselves.
In South Carolina, there were a number of notable omissions, including the state party chairman, five of the state’s Republican US congressmen, and US Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, who has himself been mentioned as a future Republican presidential candidate.
Trump made an effort to soothe those worries by telling the gathering that he anticipated a tide of additional support from federal leaders and South Carolina’s state within days.
As per a person with knowledge of the preparations, a number of Republican state lawmakers opted not to go after failing to secure guarantees from Trump’s campaign that their attendance would not be viewed as an endorsement.
The Republican Party Chair in Sumter County, South Carolina, William Oden, declared he was a supporter of the former president but was leaving his options open.
Oden stated, “I haven’t decided. We’re holding off till everyone exits. And just as in business, I reserve judgement until we hear from every contender.”
At all of his visits on Saturday, Trump rehashed some of the ideas that drove his 2016 campaign, harshly condemning both China and illegal immigration.
But he also put a strong emphasis on social concerns, possibly in response to DeSantis, whose unrelenting focus on culture wars has helped him gain national notoriety.
In Columbia, the former president blasted transgender rights and critical race theory education, a formerly obscure academic idea that has triggered school board protests and classroom prohibitions in certain states.
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