Name? Donald Trump
Westphalian identity? US American
Age? 74
Why is he in the news? In a low-energy announcement from his Mar-a-Lago resort, former US president Donald Trump has officially declared his run for US presidency in 2024, his third time. Having lost the presidential race in 2022 against President Joe Biden, he has vowed to “save [the] country”, from the president’s ‘failures’.
Why do we care? Trump’s return to the White House in 2024 would underline a turning point for US foreign policy. If he (or a likeminded candidate) manages to take the seat, it will mean a hard rejection to multilateralism and staunch opposition against US adversaries. Needing to run for the Republican nomination, likely against Florida Governor Ron Desantis, Trump may find it advantageous to play up on the anti-Chinese rhetoric amidst Biden’s rapprochement with President Xi Jinping.
Why should you care? Trump is the most polarising figure in US politics today – even amongst Republican voters. With his run for president, it means that he has the particular challenge of convincing some of the base he lost that he is still a worthy candidate and leader of the Republican party. However, unless you’re a reader from the US, you should care 4/10 of Trump’s third bid for the presidency.
Who else cares? German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has not kept quiet on his negative opinion of Trump’s 2024 bid. Scholz, commenting on the bid, said that he hopes that a “decision against populism” will be the results of the 2024 election as it happened in 2020. He, like many other European leaders, prefers President Biden’s multilateral vision, which facilitates the trans-atlantic relationship between the EU and US.
Any further comments? The Republican party’s establishment was hoping he would wait to announce his bid until after Georgia’s Senate runoff elections. The runoff will provide a better understanding of how Georgians could vote come 2024 as the Trump-backed Republican takes on the moderate Democrat incumbent.
