Trump puts end to the guessing on 2024 run

Former US president Donald Trump has announced his third bid for the White House, with his announcement on Tuesday night coming as he faces growing criticism and challenges within the Republican Party.

The 45th president painted a grim picture of conditions in the United States when he ended the speculation over another run 20 minutes into a speech that began at 9 pm at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

"In order to make America great and glorious again, I am tonight announcing my candidacy for president of the United States," Trump said in the resort's ornate ballroom.

Trump made the announcement despite prominent party members urging him to wait, first for the dust to settle on the Nov 8 midterm elections and, later, until after the outcome of a Senate runoff vote in Georgia on Dec 6.

"In four short years, everyone was doing great: men, women, African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans," Trump said of his term in office that began in 2017.

"Inflation was nonexistent, our southern border was the strongest ever. The United States had finally obtained the impossible dream of energy independence."

Trump also referred to "blood-soaked streets" in US cities.

He also criticized the deadly US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021. And of the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, he said it "never would have happened "if he were still president.

Trump said President Joe Biden is "leading us to the brink of nuclear war" and frequently referred to "radical left" Democrats and human — and drug-trafficking at the southern border.

During the speech, Biden's Twitter account said: "Donald Trump failed America", with a post including scenes from the riot at the US Capitol on Jan 6, 2021.

Trump enters the race in a moment of deep political vulnerability, The Associated Press reported. He had hoped to launch his campaign in the wake of resounding GOP midterm victories, fueled by candidates he elevated during this year's primaries.

The announcement came as Republicans were just one seat shy on Wednesday of securing a majority in the US House of Representatives. Democrats had retained control of the Senate.

The final outcome in the House hangs on tight races in states including California, with thousands of votes still being counted. Republicans have won 217 seats compared with the Democrats' 209, a tally by The Associated Press shows, with 218 needed for a majority.

Just one president in US history has been elected to two nonconsecutive terms: Grover Cleveland in 1884; he rebounded in 1892 after being defeated in 1888.

Challenges faced

Trump is expected to face challenges for the GOP nomination, most likely from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the leading current alternative to Trump who has drawn the former president's ire by positioning himself as a 2024 alternative. He hasn't announced if he will run.

Other possible candidates include former vice-president Mike Pence, former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, former UN ambassador Nikki Haley and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin.

Earlier on Tuesday, DeSantis basically shrugged off the ex-president's recent criticisms and pointed to the results of the midterm election, which saw him win Florida in a landslide while Trump-endorsed candidates lost key races for governor and the Senate across the country.

"At the end of the day, I would just tell people to go check out the scoreboard from last Tuesday night," DeSantis said.

CNN reported on Tuesday that a growing group of the wealthiest Republican donors is backing GOP presidential contenders including DeSantis and Youngkin for 2024, blaming Trump for the party's lackluster performance in the midterms last week.

Several post-midterm polls have shown DeSantis surging ahead of Trump as the 2024 front-runner.

A YouGov survey of 413 Republicans and Republican-leaning independents found that 42 percent want DeSantis to be the party's 2024 presidential nominee, while 35 percent would prefer Trump. The same poll conducted in mid-October found Trump with 45 percent support, leading DeSantis by 10 points. DeSantis led Trump by 11 points in a new poll of likely Republican primary voters by the Republican Party of Texas.

Though he still maintains an iron grip on his MAGA — "Make America Great Again" — base, some Republicans in battleground states and elsewhere are doing the once unthinkable: casting blame toward Trump, citing his choices for midterm elections who lost in races for the Senate and for gubernatorial and secretary of state posts.

In Illinois, Jim Durkin, the longtime state House Republican leader who decided to step down after last week's results were worse than expected, said "Trump stopped the wave" and is "squarely in the blame "for losses nationwide.

Not everyone is blaming Trump for the poor showing. He has the backing of the No 3 House Republican, Representative Elise Stefanik of New York, and J.D. Vance, a Trump-endorsed Republican who won a Senate race in Ohio.

Trump served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.

He lost to his Democrat challenger Biden in the 2020 presidential election but has refused to acknowledge defeat and continued to promote unsubstantiated claims that the race was rigged.

Biden said last week that he still intends to seek reelection and that he would likely make an official decision "early next year".

The 2024 presidential election is scheduled for Nov 5 of that year.

Heng Weili in New York, agencies and Xinhua contributed to this story.