Former United States president Donald Trump has announced his plans to run for presidency for the third time.
The announcement comes just a week after an underwhelming midterm showing for his fellow Republicans and will force the party to decide whether to embrace a candidate whose refusal to accept defeat in 2020 pushed American democracy to the brink.
Trump’s paperwork establishing his candidacy landed with the Federal Election Committee shortly before he delivered his announcement at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida waterfront estate.
“In order to make America great and glorious again, I am tonight announcing my candidacy for president of the United States,” Trump said to an audience of several hundred supporters, club members and gathered press in a ballroom at his Mar-a-Lago club, where he stood flanked by more than 30 American flags and banners bearing his “Make America Great Again” slogan.
Trump’s third presidential bid also coincides with a period of heightened legal peril as Justice Department officials investigating him and his associates revisit the prospect of indictments in their Trump-related probes.
The former president is currently being investigated for his activities before and during the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and his retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate after he left office.
“I am running because I believe the world has not yet seen the true glory of what this nation can be,” Trump said. “We will again put America first.”
