Former US President Donald Trump has started campaigning for the 2024 election. (file)
Columbia, South Carolina:
Former US President Donald Trump visited two early voting states on Saturday to mark the first time since announcing his bid to reclaim the White House in 2024 and dismissed criticism that his run was off to a slow start. was closed for
“I’m more angry now, and I’m more committed now than ever,” Trump told a small crowd at the New Hampshire Republican Party’s annual meeting in Salem before heading to Columbia, South Carolina, with an appearance on For his leadership team in the state.
In contrast to Trump’s often raucous rallies in front of thousands of devotees, Saturday’s events were notably muted. In Columbia, Trump spoke to about 200 people at the state capitol building, accompanied by Governor Henry McMaster and US Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
Once the undisputed center of gravity in the Republican Party, a growing number of elected officials have expressed concern about Trump’s ability to defeat Democratic President Joe Biden if he decides to run again, as widely expected.
Several Republicans are considering whether to launch his own White House bid, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, widely seen as the biggest threat to Trump. Top Republicans in the two states the former president visited — including New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley — are weighing bids of their own.
There were several conspicuous absences in South Carolina, including the state party chair, the state’s five Republican U.S. Representatives, and U.S. Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, who himself has been touted as a potential Republican presidential nominee.
Trump attempted to allay those concerns, telling the crowd that he expected a wave of additional support from South Carolina’s state and federal lawmakers within days.
Several Republican state lawmakers decided to attend after failing to receive assurances from Trump’s team that doing so would not be considered an endorsement, according to a person with knowledge of the plan.
William Oden, the Republican Party chairman in Sumter County, South Carolina, said he was an admirer of the former president but was keeping his options open.
“I haven’t decided,” Oden said. “We’re waiting for everyone to come out. And as I do in business, I don’t make a choice until we’ve heard all the candidates.”
Eyeing DeSantis?
At both stops on Saturday, Trump echoed some of the themes that animated his 2016 campaign, including illegal immigration and sharp criticism of China.
But he also emphasized social issues, perhaps in response to DeSantis, whose relentless focus on the culture wars has helped raise his national profile.
In Colombia, the former president railed against the teaching of transgender rights and critical race theory, a once-vague academic concept that has sparked school board protests and classroom bans in some states.
Trump said, “We’re going to stop the left-wing radical racists and perverts who are trying to indoctrinate our youth, and we’re going to take the Marxist hand off our children.”
“We are going to defeat the cult of gender ideology and affirm that God created two genders: male and female. We are not going to allow men to play women’s games.”
Trump didn’t spend much time on his complaints about the 2020 election, though he cited his false claim that the election was stolen from him as “ridiculous.”
Since launching his campaign in November, Trump has maintained a relatively low profile. He called in early January to persuade many conservative Republicans in the US House of Representatives to vote for a colleague, Kevin McCarthy, as the new speaker.
Most rejected his requests, although McCarthy was elected to the position after a fierce battle.
Trump commands a significant base of support, especially at the grassroots level. While he loses in some one-off polls against DeSantis, he wins by a significant margin when poll respondents are presented with a wider field of choices.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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