Donald Trump opens campaign for 2024 presidential elections

“Starting. We're starting from here as presidential candidate”, he told Republican Party leaders gathered at the annual meeting in New Hampshire, before he stopped in late afternoon hours in Colombia to introduce his team to the South Carolina state. “I'm more angry already and I'm more devoted now than I've ever been to”

Two of the first three races for appointment within the party are held in these two countries, giving them extraordinary powers in candidate selection.

Former President Trump and his allies hope the developments will provide a demonstration of strength in support of the former president, following a weak start at the beginning of the campaign that raised questions about his commitment to re-channed. Over the past few weeks, his supporters have contacted political officials and those selected to provide support to Mr. Trump at a vital moment when other republics are preparing to run.

“Starti was given, and the campaign season started”, said Stephen Stepanek, the outgoing chairman of the Republican Party in New Hampshire. Former President Trump announced that Mr. Stepanek will serve as his senior adviser for the campaign in this country.

Although former President Trump remains the only candidate declared for the 2024 presidential elections, other possible challenges -- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who served as ambassador to the UN during the administration of former President Trump -- are expected to begin their election campaigns over the coming months.

In South Carolina, Governor Henry McMister, Senator Lindsey Graham and some lawmakers from this state are expected to participate in Saturday's activity. But Mr. Trump's campaign team has faced difficulties in securing the support of members of this state's legislature, even from some of them who eagerly supported it during previous nominations.

Some say that with over a year to the preliminary vote, it is too early to express support, or that some are waiting to see who else will enter the race. Others have said it is time for the party to surpass Mr. Trump, heading towards a new generation of directors.

Republican representative in the legislature of this state, RJ May, deputy chairman of the Freedom Group in the South Carolina State House, said he would not participate in Mr. Trump's activity, as he has focused on the legislative battle of his group within the Republican Party group. It signalled it is open to other candidates in the 2024 presidential race.

“I think we will have a very strong candidate list here in South Carolina”, said Mr. May, who voted for former President Trump in 2016 and 2020. He added that “with 100% I would accept a Donald Trump against a Benden”.

Dave Wilson, president of the conservative Christian NGO “Palmetto Family”, said some conservative voters might have concerns about the former President Trump's recent comments that Republicans who oppose abortion rights may have cost the party defeat in the November elections.

The “suggests several people within the conservative lines of the Republican Party if they should let the process flow itself, or not,”, said Mr. Wilson. His organisation did an event in 2021, where former Vice President Pence spoke. He added that “should continue to win the vote on their own. Nothing should be taken as good as”.

Acknowledging that Mr. Trump “did some phenomenal things when he was President”, like. The security of a conservative majority in the Supreme Court, Mr. Wilson said republican voters in South Carolina may want a “candidate who may be a flagkeeper not only for the time being, but who would create continued inertia across America for conservativeism over the next several decades --”.

But Gerri McDaniel, who worked for the Trump 2016 electoral campaign and who will take part in Saturday's activity, rejects the idea that voters are willing to look beyond the former president.

Some of the media say he is continuing to lose support. No, he's not losing”, she said. The “will just be bigger than it was before, as there are so many people who are angry at what's happening in Washington”.

The activity to be held at a government building in South Carolina, with the presence of elected officials, is in many ways incompatible with the image of a former TV show protagonist who usually prefers large gatherings and has tried to cultivate the image of an alien from outside politics. But the reality is that Mr. Trump is a former president who wants to be re-elected to the White House, highlighting the differences between the time he was in office and the current administration.

The collections are also at high cost, and former President Trump added financial challenges when he decided to launch his campaign in November much earlier than many of his allies suggested. This put him under obligation to enforce strict rules of fundraising and prevented him from using his well-financed political organization for such activities, which could cost several million dollars.

Officials believe that Mr. Trump will speak in the second - floor room of the government building, an area of this ceremonial pomp found between the House of Representatives and Senate.

Some of South Carolina's most visible political moments have been unveiled in this country, including the signing by Mrs. Haley in 2015 of a law to remove the Confederate flag from government building territory, as well as the signing by Mr. McMister in 2021 of the law against abortion in this country after the first six weeks of pregnancy. The Supreme Court of this state has recently declared this law anti-unconstitutional, and Mr. McMister has vowed to try for a review.

The former President Trump's initial campaign has already sparked debate, in particular after he dined with the white nationalist, who denies the existence of the Holocaust, Nick Fuentes, as well as the previously recognised rapper Canye West, who has made a series of anti-Semitic comments. They also converted into a series of digital trade cards that Mr. Trump had put on sale, where he appeared among other things as a superhero, as a cowboy and as an astronaut.

At the same time, he continues to be the object of several criminal investigations, including the discovery of hundreds of classified documents on his property in Florida, as well as if he prevented justice by refusing to hand them over. He is also being investigated at the federal and state level for efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 elections, when he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

However, former President Trump remains the only candidate declared for 2024, and initial polls show he is the favourite to win his party's nomination to run for president.

Mr. Stepanek, who was obliged to remain neutral until the end of his mandate as party chairman in New Hampshire, who ended during Saturday's meeting, downplayed the importance of a slow start for Mr. Trump, which election campaign officials say coincides with the time spent creating an infrastructure for the national level campaign.

In New Hampshire, he said, “has not had much expectations, or enthusiasm” for Mr Trump's re-election. He said Mr. Trump's most loyal followers continue to support him.

There are a lot of people who weren't with him in 2015, 2016, and who then became supportive and ongoing rivals”, said Mr. Stepanek. But the people who supported him in New Hampshire, who pushed him to his victory in 2016 in the preliminary elections in New Hampshire, are still there, waiting for President”. / VOA