Former US President Donald Trump started his campaign for the 2024 presidential elections on Saturday, 28th January. His initial stop was two early-voting states.
He first visited New Hampshire and addressed an annual meeting of the Republican Party in Salem. He said, “I’m more angry now, and I’m more committed now, than I ever was.” There he focused on issues like crime, immigration and education. In his address, he also condemned the inquiry into classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
“This is about the beginning. You know, this is it. We’re starting. We’re starting right here as a candidate for president,” said Trump.
“To save America, we need a leader who is prepared to take on the forces laying waste to our country, and we need a president who is ready to hit the ground running on day one — and I am, boy am I hitting the ground,” he added.
After New Hampshire he addressed a rally of 200 people in Columbia in the state’s capitol building. He was accompanied by Governor Henry McMaster and US Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina who supported him.
In his addresses, Trump also addressed criticisms about being absent since he first announced campaigning for the elections last November. His focus on the issues and dismissing all criticisms were being made in a bid to boost his campaigns.
“They said, ‘He’s not doing rallies, he’s not campaigning. Maybe he’s lost that step.’ We didn’t. I’m more angry now. And I’m more committed now than I ever was,” Trump said.
Though the Republican candidate was the main leader of the party earlier, now some party officials have expressed doubts about Donald Trump’s ability to beat Democratic President Joe Biden, who is expected to run against him in the next presidential elections.
Donald Trump is not the only Republican candidate running for president this time. Republican candidates, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is widely regarded as Trump’s biggest danger, 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.
As he might now face some competition from within the party, Trump took digs at some of the Republican contenders in order to discourage them from running for president. For this, he showed confidence in his ability to win the next presidential election, proudly saying to the crowd that he doesn’t “think we have competition this time either.”
During his campaign in South Carolina, many key leaders were not seen. They included the state party chairman, five Republican US representatives from the state and South Carolina US Senator Tim Scott, who is also seen as a potential Republican presidential candidate.
At both his campaign sites, Trump repeated some of his issues he addressed in the 2016 campaign, including sharply criticizing illegal immigration and China.
He did, however, also place a strong emphasis on social concerns, probably in response to DeSantis, whose unrelenting focus on culture conflicts has contributed to the rise of his national image.
Speaking to reporters after his New Hampshire appearance, Trump told some of the news outlets that he would consider a presidential run by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, as “disloyal.”
