Former President Donald Trump is hoping to do something that has only been done once in the history of the United States: Return to the White House after losing an election.
It will be his third presidential bid. Just before Trump was set to appear at Mar-a-Lago to make an announcement to run, his campaign filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission further solidifying his plans to campaign for president again.
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Trump said previously that he would make an announcement tonight from his Florida resort Mar-a-Lago. It is the resort where federal officials conducted a raid alleging Trump took classified and top secret documents with him after he left the White House. While Trump has not been charged with any crimes, officials have said an investigation is ongoing.
The former president wrote on his social media network that he hoped the day would "turn out to be one of the most important days in the history of our Country!”
Whether Trump has a clear path to the GOP nomination remains to be seen. Unlike in 2020 when Trump faced mostly token opposition, several prominent Republicans have been rumored to be considering a run ahead of the 2024 election. Among them would be former Vice President Mike Pence and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Trump made history by becoming the first president to be impeached twice. His term ended with his supporters violently storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Trump’s announcement would come a week after a midterm election that was largely disappointing for Republicans. Many within the party expected it to have a sizable majority in the House while becoming the majority in the Senate.
Democrats were able to maintain their Senate majority. While Republicans appeared to be on the brink of regaining the House, it won’t be by a wide margin.
That has prompted some in the Republican Party to say the GOP should move away from Trump.
"One of the messages from the election is, for republicans generally, is, we need we need as a party to move past President Trump and to move on to an agenda that represents the voices of all those in the party and the people of the country,” outgoing Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker told CNN.
The New York Times reported that Sen. Lindsey Graham from South Carolina told reporters on Tuesday that he wasn't entirely in agreement with an announcement on a 2024 presidential bit from Trump on Tuesday saying, “I just think we need to get 2022 over before we talk about 2024.”
Graham said, “I think he has a decent chance of coming back, maybe a good chance depending on how the country unfolds in next year. But I prefer to get Georgia behind us before we make those decisions.”
If Trump decides to run, he would be the first former president to run since 1912 when Theodore Roosevelt lost to Democrat Woodrow Wilson in a three-way race that also included incumbent president William Howard Taft. Roosevelt, who became president in 1901 following the assassination of President William McKinley, won a second term in 1904. He committed to not running in 1908 but opted to try again in 1912.
The only former president to win after leaving office was Grover Cleveland. After Cleveland succeeded in 1884, he lost in 1888 to Benjamin Harrison despite winning the popular vote. Cleveland ran again in 1892 and defeated Harrison.
