Former President Donald Trump announced his plans Tuesday night to run for the 2024 presidential election.
The reaction across party lines prior to and following the announcement have been a mixed bag.
What Trump said about his run for 2024?
The Associated Press reported that Trump made the announcement from the Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
“In order to make America great and glorious again, I am tonight announcing my candidacy for president of the United States,” Trump said during his speech. “I am running because I believe the world has not yet seen the true glory of what this nation can be.”
The reactions leading up to this announcement have been varied, as Republicans are split on whether to back Trump or a different candidate, such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“The base in Missouri is caught between the people that believe Trump is the original disruptor and a growing group that believe it’s time for DeSantis,” said a former Republican speaker of the Missouri House, Elijah Haahr, according to NBC News.
Some Republicans are skeptical of Trump’s 2024 run
There are some politicians who are hesitant to back Trump due to the 2020 election loss.
“I think looking forward is always a better campaign strategy,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia said. “Looking back to 2020 obviously didn’t work out.”
Trump critics, such as Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, have spoken openly about their opinions on the former president running for a second term, according to CNN.
“I think that President Trump and election denying was an albatross around Republican necks,” Romney said, per CNN. “And frankly, I think he’s been on the mountain too long. We’ve lost three races with him. And I’d like to see someone from the bench come up and take his place and lead our party and help lead the country.”
Some Republicans remain loyal to Trump
Despite the backlash facing the former president, there are some Republicans ready to support and back Trump in a 2024 run.
The New York Times reported that Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida took to social media on Monday to discuss Trump’s announcement plans.
“To all the press texting & calling me: Trump should announce tonight,” Gaetz wrote on Twitter, per the Times. “His candidates won the primaries,” and went on to say, “Trump deserves all the credit for this wave election & announcing tonight he will seize it.”
NPR reported that the Republican nominee for Arizona governor, Kari Lake, wrote in a Twitter post that Trump has her “complete and total endorsement.”
While Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham did not fully endorse the former president, he took to Twitter to say, “His speech tonight, contrasting his policies and results against the Biden Administration, charts a winning path for him in the primaries and general election.”