On Nov. 15, 2022, former President Donald Trump announced that he will be running as a candidate in the 2024 presidential election. 

“In order to make America great and glorious again, I am tonight announcing my candidacy for president of the United States,” said Trump to a crowd gathered at Mar–a–Lago, his Florida estate. 

During his speech, Trump reflected upon his four years as president — glorifying many events that took place during his divisive presidency. He contrasted the accomplishments of his first term with the Biden administration’s policies; many of said “accomplishments” were highly controversial at the time and some remain polarizing to this day. 

Trump also brought up the subject of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and claimed that he filled up the SPR while Biden has “virtually drained” it. According to the Energy Information Administration, when Trump was inaugurated in January 2017, the SPR contained 695 million barrels of oil and when he left office in January 2021, the SPR contained 638 million barrels. During Trump’s four–year term, the amount of barrels dropped by 57 million.

“[Trump’s speech] was very hyperbolic [with] a lot of outrageous claims, accusations and promises,” said Kieran Groves ‘23. “He’s definitely trying to pander his audience.”

In his speech, Trump briefly spoke about the claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election made by himself, his team and his supporters. Trump advocated for the use of paper ballots and compared America’s election system to that of a “third world country.” According to CNN, many of Trump’s advisers believe his “fixation on promoting conspiracies” about the last election will make it difficult for him to win the 2024 election. 

“President Trump and his surrogates have claimed that mail voting is rife with fraud, and that efforts to expand access to mail voting … are illegitimate,” according to the Brennan Center For Justice. “That is incorrect … Fraud in mail voting remains extremely rare and none of the states that hold their elections primarily by mail have had voter fraud scandals since implementing the systems.” 

Trump is engaging in his third presidential bid despite the legal peril he is facing. Investigations are still taking place regarding his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection as well as his retention of classified documents after he left office, so the possibility of indictment remains. 

“Trump is likely to be indicted by the Department of Justice, making him the first former president to campaign for the White House while facing charges,” said Renato Mariotti in “This is what’s going to happen if Trump gets indicted.”  “The historic nature of this scenario seems fitting for a candidate who has defied every norm of American politics during his seven–year career in public life.”

Trump is confident he will receive the GOP nomination with his strong support from many in the Republican party. However, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will possibly be running for president in the 2024 election and, along with some other candidates, pose a threat to Trump receiving the GOP nomination. 

“DeSantis is going to be the other choice for the Republican candidacy, so [Trump’s] going to need to rally his base because the Republican party is going to be split between … Trump supporters and the [less reactionary] Republicans,” said Groves. “I think [many Republicans] think Trump gives Republicans a bad rep.”