OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Former President Donald Trump delivered his highly-anticipated “big announcement” on Tuesday night and declared he’s making another run for the White House.
While speaking from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, Trump announced that he will be running for president in 2024.
“America’s comeback starts right now,” Trump said to a room full of supporters. “Unlike other presidents, I kept my promises.”
“The world was at peace, America was prospering, and our country was on track for an amazing future— because I made big promises to the American People and, unlike other Presidents, I kept my promises,” he said. “Under our leadership, we were a great and glorious nation, something you haven’t heard for quite a long period of time. We were a strong nation, and importantly we were a free nation. Now, we are a nation in decline. We are a failing nation.”
Trump declared: “I am tonight again announcing my candidacy for President of the United States.”
BREAKING: President Donald J. Trump, the 45th President of the United States, announces his candidacy for re-election as president in 2024. pic.twitter.com/R7zBQmhLtk
— RSBN 🇺🇸 (@RSBNetwork) November 16, 2022
TRUMP: The world was at peace, America was prospering, and our country was on track for an amazing future— because I made big promises to the American People and, unlike other Presidents, I kept my promises." pic.twitter.com/w07RxV39J4
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) November 16, 2022
BREAKING: Donald J. Trump OFFICIALLY files FEC paperwork for 2024 Presidential run pic.twitter.com/RieRB5a8qG
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) November 16, 2022
FEC: Trump has filed paperwork for his 2024 campaign for president.
— Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) November 16, 2022
BREAKING: Trump enters Mar-a-Lago ballroom with Melania ahead of 2024 Presidential announcement pic.twitter.com/M6GcXIhctM
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) November 16, 2022
When asked by reporters who he would pick as his running mate, Trump said, “I’ll let you know very soon.”
“Trump said at a rally in Ohio on Monday he will make a very big announcement at his Florida home on November 15, which is largely expected to be the announcement of his third presidential campaign. The former president was reportedly considering announcing his candidacy at the Ohio rally, just one day before the midterm elections, but he said he chose to hold off so as to not detract from the importance of tomorrow,” Forbes reported.
Trump appears to be narrowing down his list of potential running mates not named Mike Pence for a 2024 presidential bid, and one new name has surfaced that is turning heads.
According to Robert Draper, a correspondent for The New York Times Magazine, Trump is seriously eying Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene.
Draper said in an interview with The Daily Beast’s “New Abnormal” podcast “that Greene had risen quickly in her first term in Congress by using the same tactics she honed as a right-wing social media influencer harassing Democratic staffers, and she could shoot to the second-highest office in government,” Raw Story reported.
“Republicans kind of wanted to kick her to the curb immediately,” said Draper, per the outlet. “But instead, she became a fundraising dynamo, came to have this huge social media influence, and ultimately came to be very influential within the party itself.”
Draper went on to say that Trump has been seriously discussing Greene as a potential VP since February, and though he has likely considered others as well, Greene has another quality that may propel her to the top, the report said.
“She has been unflaggingly loyal to Trump throughout,” Draper said. “What is Trump concerned about most of all in a VP after the Mike Pence experience? Loyalty. He knows that if he needs someone to fight for him to overturn a presidential election. He has every reason to expect that Greene would be by his side and would be his proximate warrior.”
Greene is not the only female Republican lawmaker under consideration by Trump, according to previous reports. Several recent reports seem focused on one name: New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, currently her party’s No. 3 ranking member.
In a September Foreign Policy story titled, “Elise Stefanik Is Most Likely to Succeed,” the authors detail, “A young woman once hailed as the future of the Republican Party embraces Trumpism to stay that way.”
Meanwhile, in late May, CNN published a report speculating that Stefanik is likely a frontrunner:
While talk about a 2024 vice-presidential pick is of course premature, conversations about adding Stefanik to a future Trump ticket have gained steam in recent weeks at Mar-a-Lago and in other Republican circles, sources said. Current and former advisers and others in Trump’s orbit have privately argued that the New York Republican, who replaced Rep. Liz Cheney as the no. 3 House Republican last year, is a fierce and loyal attack dog, and Trump would benefit from tapping a woman for vice president should he run again.
Two people familiar with the matter said Trump has been surveying close friends and allies on what they think of Stefanik, one of several Republican women he is possibly eyeing for the potential VP slot, though he has not ruled out a few male contenders, too. One of these people said the former President believes Stefanik has undergone a genuine transformation – leaving the moderate wing of the party to join its increasingly powerful “America First” flank.
“There is a part of Trump who thinks he needs a female VP. He definitely likes her, likely because of how effusive she is to him,” an adviser to the former president said.
