Donald Trump slammed President Joe Biden’s failed exit from Afghanistan while teasing a possible presidential run in 2024.
The former president told fellow Republicans that “the moment has come” for him to make a formal declaration regarding his second presidential run.
Trump said that he expects his choice would make “people very pleased,” while stressing that America has “lost everything” under Biden’s leadership.
His declaration comes after a top Republican contributor who contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns told DailyMail.com that the former president would not run for president again.
Instead, the donor predicted Trump would choose Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to carry the national MAGA torch.
Trump announced his intentions to run for government in the near future when delivering the keynote talk at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Dallas, Texas this weekend.
When asked when Republicans should anticipate a formal announcement, Trump said Saturday, ‘It’s obviously not a very lengthy period, the moment is coming.’
‘I believe people will be extremely thrilled, our nation has never been in a situation like this, we’ve lost everything,’ says the president.
He said that the US was confronting both internal and foreign policy difficulties, and that America had lost its “prestige” when Biden withdrew US soldiers from Afghanistan last year.
‘Our nation has never been in a worse state,’ Trump said.
‘They handed up $85 billion in equipment, dead troops, you still have Americans over there possibly as hostages, will be captives ultimately, there has never been a period like this,’ says one observer.
Trump (left, photographed Saturday) said that the country was experiencing both internal and foreign policy issues, claiming that America had lost its “prestige” when Biden withdrew US soldiers from Afghanistan last year.
He also said that the United States is a “nation that has enabled Russia to wreck a country, Ukraine, murdering hundreds of thousands of people, and it will only get worse.”
Trump said that Biden had transformed ‘by far the safest border in US history’ into ‘the worst border ever in history.’
‘Just last month, an illegal immigrant was indicted in Texas for the cold-blooded killings of four elderly ladies throughout the state. And he’s been tied to at least 24 fatalities,’ he said.
‘What we do in the next months and years will decide whether American civilisation collapses and fails or thrives, honestly like never before.’
‘We’ll be making an announcement in the not-too-distant future,’ he continued.
Trump also addressed the 2020 election, which he believes was rigged and stolen.
‘Our nation is being deliberately destroyed since the election was manipulated and stolen. And everyone knows it. ‘I ran twice and won both times,’ he boasted.
‘America is on the verge of collapse. And we are the only force on Earth capable of saving it. We must take this moment to confront extreme left socialists and Nazis.’ His words came soon after CPAC released a survey that showed the former president as a “overwhelming favorite” for the Republican candidacy in 2024.
Trump received over 70% of the votes cast during the conference. DeSantis came in second place with 23.7 percent.
Trump has stayed engaged within the Republican Party while leaving office, including endorsing a large number of candidates at all levels of government – local, state, and even the US Senate. Some observers believe Trump may end up endorsing DeSantis rather than running for office himself in 2024.
Dallas businessman Doug Deason talked to DailyMail.com’s senior political correspondent, Rob Crilly, soon before the former president landed in Dallas to speak at CPAC.
Despite the fact that Trump pleased the audience by hinting at a 2024 candidacy, Deason said the former president has a lot to lose by running.
‘I believe Donald Trump is having a good time,’ he remarked. ‘And I believe he is in a position to wield power.’
‘He’s the kingmaker, and why would he want to go back and be beaten up all the time, have all the responsibilities, and not be growing his empire?’
‘He’s got to return and assist repair it, and why let it deteriorate?’
‘What makes you think it will come apart again?’ Because he’ll be assaulted again, just like he was before.
‘And he can be kingmaker while not being king.’
Trump has a solid grip on the Republican Party’s base.
So Deason’s remarks will be seen as a warning to the former president that influential party supporters would prefer him to stand down rather than risk defeat.
Deason was a significant figure in Trump’s victory in Texas. In 2020, he served as co-chair of the state’s Trump Victory Fund, and in 2016, he and his father Darwin Deason contributed more than $900,000 to assist Trump and other Republicans win.
This time, he claimed he was not abandoning Trump, who he argued would still likely win the Republican nomination if he ran.
But he emphasized DeSantis and his wife Casey’s appeal.
‘I believe Ron DeSantis is Donald Trump without the baggage.’
‘I mean, Donald J. Trump has the finest policies of any president I’ve known, including President Ronald Reagan.’
‘But, you know, he can be petty, and he won’t let things go.’ And you know, you both love and despise it.’ Deason has conducted fundraisers for DeSantis, who is running for re-election as governor of Florida.
The ascent of DeSantis, 43, on the national stage has sparked speculation that he may signal a generational shift.
His attempts to keep Florida open throughout the epidemic, as well as his leadership position in the nation’s cultural wars, have kept him in the news.
As a consequence, when Republicans are asked who they want as their candidate in 2024, surveys regularly rank him second (although by a wide margin) behind Trump.
DeSantis, who counseled Trump on criminal justice reform, would be a more inclusive leader, according to Deason.
‘He’ll sit and listen and allow others to interact, and he won’t dominate a discussion,’ he added, contrasted with Trump’s attitude. ‘I believe Ron would make an excellent president.’