Donald Trump Set To Declare Himself 2024 Presidential Candidate

Published in Le Devoir
(Canada) on 23 February 2021
by Fabien Deglise (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Patrick Crowley. Edited by Elizabeth Cosgriff.
Hardly gone and already on his way back. Next Sunday, Donald Trump will announce his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election, during his first public appearance since leaving the White House. According to sources close to the American billionaire, cited by Axios, the former president is preparing to present himself as the “presumptive nominee” for the Republican Party in 2024, in a new “show of force” aimed at reminding his detractors, including those at the heart of the party, that he is still in control.

The announcement, expected during an address at the Conservative Political Action Conference, which is being held in Orlando on Sunday, comes more than two weeks after the former president's acquittal in his second impeachment trial and at a moment where the party is deeply divided on its future, after the electoral defeat in November and the Capitol riot of Jan. 6, carried out by those loyal to Trump.

The former president's return will, however, be complicated due to the court cases that are likely to catch up with him. On Monday, the Supreme Court rejected his request to prevent the handing over of his financial records to a judge in New York as part of multiple ongoing cases. One of them was in relation to loans made to the Trump Organization; the other was regarding payments to two of the billionaire's alleged mistresses. The financial documents could confirm suspicions of fraud and embezzlement and could lead to charges being brought against the former president.

By way of a statement, Trump promised on Monday that he would "continue to fight" against the Justice Department, while denouncing the decision of the country's highest court, still under the influence of ultra-conservatives after the last nomination he made. Trump stated, "[This] is all Democrat-inspired in a totally Democrat location, New York City and State, completely controlled and dominated by a heavily reported enemy of mine, Governor Andrew Cuomo." It should be noted that the decision made by the Supreme Court was supported by two judges nominated by Trump, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.

It is in this climate of defeat that Trump will meet with his advisers this week in Mar-a-Lago to organize his first speech, during which he is preparing to state that he may no longer “be on Twitter, or in the Oval Office” but “I’m still in charge,” according to a longtime adviser, cited by Axios.

“Trump effectively is the Republican Party,” Jason Miller, Trump’s senior adviser, told the online publication. “The only chasm is between Beltway insiders and grassroots Republicans across the country,” and “When you attack President Trump, you’re attacking the Republican grassroots.”

Like he did in 2016, Trump seeks to portray himself on Sunday as an unconventional politician once again going to war against the powers in Washington that, according to him, caused his loss by stealing the election from him in November. However, there is no evidence to support this claim of fraud.

As it so happens, the announcement of Trump’s candidacy will come at the end of the week that saw deaths related to COVID-19 exceed half a million in the United States. The Republican’s resistance, such as his denial of the pandemic and methods of its prevention during the last year of his term, in part explains the extent of the damage.

A Divided Party

The divisions at the core of the Republican Party are accentuated between those who wish to turn the page on the Trump years and those who still support the self-proclaimed billionaire in his bid to reclaim Congress in 2022 and the White House in 2024. The Republican representatives who dared to defy the leader by voting for or calling for his impeachment have been criticized by the party’s regional bodies in recent days.

Additionally, tens of thousands of party members have decided to leave the party in the wake of the Capitol riot on Jan. 6. At the president’s request, supporters of Trump then launched themselves against the executive branch* to derail the certification of the vote confirming Biden's election.

But the former reality TV star still remains in the saddle at the head of the party, with 59% of Republicans stating that they want Trump as leader of the party in 2024, according to a study published last week. On Sunday, a survey carried out by the University of Suffolk and USA Today showed that 46% of the same Republicans would be ready to follow him if he decided to launch his own political party.

As well as this, Trump has promised to oppose Republican officials who have publicly spoken out against him in the past few weeks, by opposing them with candidates of his choice in the coming primaries and the 2022 midterms in multiple states.

*Editor’s note: The Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol attempted to interfere with the certification of the presidential election by Congress, the legislative branch. The certification vote was presided over by Vice President Mike Pence.


Donald Trump se déclarera candidat à la présidentielle de 2024 dimanche

À peine parti et déjà sur le chemin du retour. Dimanche prochain, Donald Trump doit annoncer sa candidature à la présidentielle de 2024, lors de sa première apparition publique depuis son départ de la Maison-Blanche.

Selon des sources proches du milliardaire américain, citées par le site Axios, l’ex-président se prépare à se présenter comme le « candidat désigné » du Parti républicain pour 2024, dans une nouvelle « démonstration de force » visant à rappeler à ses détracteurs, y compris au sein de sa formation politique, qu’il a toujours le contrôle du parti.

L’annonce, prévue lors d’une allocution à la Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) qui se tiendra à Orlando dimanche, arrive plus de deux semaines après l’acquittement de l’ex-président lors de son deuxième procès en destitution et à un moment où le parti reste profondément divisé sur son avenir, après l’échec électoral de novembre et l’insurrection du Capitole, par des fidèles de Donald Trump, le 6 janvier dernier.

Cette semaine, Donald Trump va rencontrer ses conseillers à Mar-a-Lago pour orchestrer ce premier discours, au cours duquel il se prépare à affirmer qu’il n’est peut-être « plus sur Twitter ni au Bureau ovale », mais « qu’il contrôle toujours pleinement la situation », selon un conseiller de longue date, cité par Axios.

« Trump, c’est le Parti républicain », a commenté Jason Miller, conseiller principal de Trump dans les pages de la publication en ligne. « Le seul clivage qui existe est entre l’establishment de Washington et les républicains de la base à travers le pays . » Or, « lorsque vous attaquez le président Trump, vous attaquez la base républicaine », a-t-il dit.

Tout comme il l’a fait en 2016, Donald Trump va chercher à se poser à nouveau dimanche en politicien non conventionnel repartant en guerre contre le pouvoir de Washington.
Hasard du calendrier, l’annonce de la candidature de Donald Trump doit être faite au terme de la semaine qui va marquer l’atteinte du demi-million de décès liés à la COVID-19 aux États-Unis. L’inertie du républicain, tout comme sa négation de la pandémie et des mesures pour s’en protéger, durant sa dernière année au pouvoir, explique en partie l’ampleur des dégâts.

Un parti divisé
Les divisions au sein du Parti républicain s’accentuent entre ceux qui rêvent de tourner la page sur les années Trump et ceux qui comptent toujours sur le milliardaire autoproclamé pour retrouver le pouvoir au Congrès en 2022 et à la Maison-Blanche en 2024. Les élus républicains qui ont osé défier le chef en votant pour ou en appelant à sa destitution sont, depuis plusieurs jours, blâmés par les instances régionales du parti.

Plusieurs dizaines de milliers de membres du parti ont par ailleurs décidé de le quitter dans la foulée de l’insurrection du Capitole, le 6 janvier. À l’appel du président, les partisans de Donald Trump s’étaient alors lancés contre le pouvoir exécutif pour faire dérailler la certification du vote confirmant l’élection de Joe Biden.

Mais l’ex-vedette de la téléréalité reste encore bien en selle à la tête du parti, avec 59 % des républicains qui affirment vouloir Donald Trump comme chef de leur parti en 2024, selon un sondage publié la semaine dernière. Dimanche, un coup de sonde mené par l’Université Suffolk et USA Today a établi que 46 % de ces mêmes républicains seraient prêts à le suivre s’il décidait de lancer un nouveau parti politique.

Par ailleurs, Donald Trump a promis de s’opposer aux élus républicains qui se sont publiquement prononcés contre lui dans les dernières semaines, en leur opposant des candidats de son choix lors des primaires à venir dans plusieurs États en vue des élections de mi-mandat de 2022.

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