Donald Trump is back in Washington. In an hour-and-a-half speech, he accuses his successor of failure across the board. He once again portrays himself as a victim of political persecution and flirts with a return to the White House.
Former US President Donald Trump used his first public appearance in Washington since leaving office a year and a half ago to hint at another possible candidacy. Speaking to conservative think tank America First Policy Institute, Trump said he won his first presidential run in 2016 and did "much better" in his second run in 2020. "We might just have to do it again," added the 76-year-old Republican. "We have to put our country back in order." In the "coming weeks and months" he wants to present "many more details". Trump has repeatedly hinted that he could run again in the 2024 presidential election.
In his hour-and-a-half keynote speech, Trump sharply criticized his successor Joe Biden of the Democratic Party, blaming him for high inflation, high crime and an "invasion" by millions of migrants. "We are a country in decline," said the right-wing populist. "We are a failing nation."
Trump also used his speech to the America First Policy Institute, which was founded by former election managers to advance his policies, to attack the parliamentary inquiry into the Capitol storming of January 6, 2021 - and once again described himself as a victim of political Persecution. "If I gave up my beliefs, if I stayed silent, stayed at home and played it easy, the persecution of Donald Trump would stop immediately," said the 76-year-old. "But I won't do that."
"They really want to hurt me so I can't work for you guys again," Trump said. "And I don't think that's going to happen." The audience responded with chants of "Four more years" - a common US slogan for another term.
Trump was defeated by his challenger Biden in the November 2020 presidential election. He then launched an unprecedented campaign to stay in power, including spreading false allegations of alleged electoral fraud. Finally, on January 6, 2021, radical Trump supporters stormed Congress just as Biden's victory was about to be officially confirmed. The storming of the Capitol with five dead and around 140 injured police officers caused horror around the world.
Biden reacted with sharp criticism to Trump's speech in Washington on Tuesday. "Call me old fashioned but I don't think inciting a mob to attack cops constitutes 'respect for the law,'" the president wrote on Twitter. People shouldn't forget that Trump watched the January 6 violence and "didn't have the backbone" to act.
Trump is still the strong man among the Republicans - but he is not undisputed in the conservative party either. In a recently published poll commissioned by the broadcaster CNN, 55 percent of Republican supporters spoke out against a renewed Trump candidacy. There would certainly be competition, and many other Republicans are flirting with a presidential candidacy in 2024. Among the potential candidates are Trump's former Vice President Mike Pence and Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis. Pence had already given a speech in Washington on Tuesday, albeit at a different think tank - the conservative Heritage Foundation. Last Friday, Trump and Pence appeared in parallel at events in the US state of Arizona. Both Republicans campaigned there for competing party colleagues in the race for the governorship.
