前总统唐纳德·特朗普做出了他的他2024年竞选的首次亮相周六在两个关键的提前投票州。
特朗普的第一站是新罕布什尔州，在那里他取笑了竞选活动的增加，提出了一个专注于犯罪、移民和教育的议程，并批评了对在他的Mar-a-Lago庄园发现的机密文件的调查。
“这大约是开始。你知道，就是这样。我们开始了。我们作为总统候选人从这里开始，”特朗普在新罕布什尔州共和党年会上发表讲话时说。
“为了拯救美国，我们需要一个准备好与破坏我们国家的势力斗争的领导人，我们需要一个准备好在第一天就开始行动的总统——我做到了，伙计，我做到了。”
为了重振他的竞选活动，特朗普回应了自11月宣布以来他一直没有上路的怀疑和批评。
“他们说，‘他不是在做集会，他不是在竞选。也许他已经失去了那一步，”我们没有。我现在更生气了。我现在比以往任何时候都更加坚定，”特朗普在欢呼声中说。
特朗普还瞄准了民主党人，抨击该党的计划中的2024年总统初选日程这将剥夺新罕布什尔州的全国第一的初选地位。特朗普表示，如果当选，他将确保新罕布什尔州在共和党初选中保持领先地位，他任命即将离任的共和党主席斯蒂芬·斯捷潘内克为他在新罕布什尔州竞选的高级顾问。
周六的竞选活动也充满了对潜在共和党竞争者的不那么轻微的挖苦，因为特朗普试图劝阻其他共和党人发起总统竞选。这位前总统对自己赢得下届总统选举的能力充满信心，他告诉人群，他“认为我们这次也没有竞争对手。”
特朗普在新罕布什尔州露面后对记者说，他告诉美国广播公司新闻和其他媒体，他将把佛罗里达州州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯的总统竞选视为“不忠诚”。
特朗普说:“当我听到他可能参选时，你知道，我认为这是非常不忠诚的。”“但这与忠诚无关，但对我来说，这就是忠诚。”
特朗普是迄今为止唯一宣布参加竞选的共和党候选人，他还表示，普遍预期的挑战者妮基·黑利最近给他打电话，说“她愿意考虑”在2024年竞选总统。特朗普曾是特朗普政府的大使，也是前南卡罗莱纳州州长。
“我说，‘看，你知道，如果你想跑，就凭你的心走，’”特朗普告诉记者。“她公开表示‘我永远不会和我的总统竞选。’"
在新罕布什尔州的活动之后，特朗普发出了一封筹款电子邮件，试图利用他重返竞选活动的机会。
“我将正式成为第一个在新罕布什尔和南卡罗来纳这两个初选州进行竞选活动的共和党总统候选人。没有其他候选人这么早就开始工作，以赢得每一张最后的选票，并将美国从拜登的毁灭中拯救出来，”邮件中写道。
但特朗普第三次问鼎白宫之际，他也面临着多项调查，包括司法部对他在离任时处理机密文件的调查，以及佐治亚州对推翻2020年总统选举结果的努力的刑事调查——领导调查的检察官本周早些时候表示，在这一案件中，有关潜在指控的决定“即将做出”。
“我不担心，”特朗普周六被问及此案中指控的可能性时表示。他坚持认为，因为他当时是总统，所以“我有义务批评或质疑”选举。
特朗普还在周六的两次竞选活动中批评了法院授权的联邦调查局对Mar-a-Lago的搜查以及对在他的庄园发现的机密文件的调查。与此同时，在前副总统迈克·彭斯和总统乔·拜登的住处也发现了机密材料。
司法部长梅里克·加兰(Merrick Garland)已任命两名特别顾问调查川普和拜登，而DOJ(the America)一直在审查本周早些时候在彭斯印第安纳州家中发现的材料。
在南卡罗来纳州参加他当天的第二场活动时，特朗普对着一个挤满数百人的小房间发表讲话，宣布了他在该州的领导团队，并谈到了它在初选过程中早期作用的重要性。
“俗话说，‘南卡罗来纳州挑选总统’，你以前听说过一点，对吗?”他说。
他在南卡罗莱纳州的领导团队包括参议员林赛·格雷厄姆、州长亨利·麦克马斯特、副州长帕梅拉·埃维特、财政部长柯蒂斯·洛夫蒂斯、众议员乔·威尔森、众议员拉塞尔·弗莱、众议员威廉·蒂蒙斯、前副州长安德烈·鲍尔、前美国司法部长彼得·麦考伊和前Amb。艾德·麦克马伦。
“我们相信常识。我们相信独立宣言。我们相信宪法。我们相信圣经，我们相信你，”麦克马斯特指着特朗普说。
“你听到过多少次‘我们喜欢特朗普的政策，但我们想要新的人。’没有唐纳德·特朗普，就没有特朗普政策，”格雷厄姆补充道。
在政策方面，特朗普周六表示，他将“取消对任何推行批评性种族理论或左翼性别意识形态的学校的联邦资助”，在我就职后的几个小时内，“恢复特朗普总统任期内的每一项边境安全措施”，调查“激进的左翼检察官”，并表示他支持对国会议员施加任期限制的宪法修正案。
“这只是我们议程的开始。我期待着多次回来，”特朗普在新罕布什尔州结束讲话时说。
Trump says he's 'more committed' than ever as he holds first 2024 campaign events
Former President Donald Trump made his campaign debut for his 2024 run on Saturday in two key early-voting states.
Trump's first stop was in New Hampshire, where he teased a ramp-up in campaign events, laid out an agenda focused on crime, immigration and education and criticized the investigation into classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
"This is about the beginning. You know, this is it. We're starting. We're starting right here as a candidate for president," Trump said as he delivered remarks at the New Hampshire Republican Party's annual meeting.
"To save America, we need a leader who is prepared to take on the forces laying waste to our country, and we need a president who is ready to hit the ground running on day one -- and I am, boy am I hitting the ground."
Looking to reenergize his campaign, Trump addressed skepticism and criticisms that he hasn't been on the road since his announcement back in November.
"They said, 'He's not doing rallies, he's not campaigning. Maybe he's lost that step.' We didn't. I'm more angry now. And I'm more committed now than I ever was," Trump said to cheers.
Trump also took aim at Democrats, slamming the party for their planned 2024 presidential primary calendar, which would strip New Hampshire of its first-in-the-nation primary status. Trump said if elected, he would ensure New Hampshire remains first in the nation for Republican primaries and he named outgoing state GOP Chairman Stephen Stepanek as his senior adviser for his New Hampshire campaign.
Saturday's campaign stops were also filled with not-so-slight digs at potential Republican contenders as Trump looks to dissuade other Republicans from launching presidential bids. The former president projected confidence in his ability to win the next presidential election, telling the crowd he doesn't "think we have competition this time either."
Speaking to reporters after his New Hampshire appearance, Trump told ABC News and other outlets that he would view a presidential run by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, for example, as "disloyal."
"When I hear he might run, you know, I consider that very disloyal," Trump said. "But it's not about loyalty, but to me it is, it's always about loyalty."
Trump, the only declared GOP candidate in the race so far, also said that widely expected challenger Nikki Haley, a former ambassador in his administration and former South Carolina governor, had called him recently to say "she'd like to consider" a run for president in 2024.
"I said, 'Look, you know, go by your heart if you want to run,'" Trump told reporters. "She's publicly said that 'I would never run against my president.'"
Following his event in New Hampshire, Trump sent out a fundraising email seeking to capitalize on his return to the campaign trail.
"I will officially be the FIRST Republican presidential candidate to campaign in the two early primary states of New Hampshire and South Carolina. No other candidate is working this early to win every last vote and save America from Biden's destruction," the email stated.
But Trump's third run for the White House also comes as he faces multiple investigations, including a Department of Justice probe of his handling of classified documents while out of office and a criminal investigation in Georgia into efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election result -- a case in which decisions regarding potential charges are "imminent," the prosecutor leading the investigation said earlier this week.
"I'm not worried," Trump said Saturday when asked about the possibility of charges in the case. He insisted that, because he was president at the time, "I had an obligation to criticize or to ask questions" about the election.
Trump also spent time during both his campaign stops Saturday criticizing the court-authorized FBI search of Mar-a-Lago and the investigation into classified documents found at his estate. It comes as classified materials have also been found at the residences of former Vice President Mike Pence and President Joe Biden.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed two special counsels to investigate Trump and Biden whereas the DOJ has been reviewing the material found at Pence's Indiana home earlier this week.
In South Carolina for his second event of the day, Trump spoke to a small, packed room filled with hundreds of people where he announced his leadership team for the state and spoke to the importance of its early role in the primary process.
"As the famous saying goes, 'South Carolina picks presidents,' you've heard that a little bit before, right?" he said.
His South Carolina Leadership team includes Sen. Lindsey Graham, Gov. Henry McMaster, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, Treasurer Curtis Loftis, Rep. Joe Wilson, Rep. Russell Fry, Rep. William Timmons, former Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, former U.S. Attorney Peter McCoy and former Amb. Ed McMullen.
"We believe in common sense. We believe in the Declaration of Independence. We believe in the Constitution. We believe in the Bible, and we believe in you," McMaster said, pointing to Trump.
"How many times have you heard 'we like Trump policies, but we want somebody new.' There are no Trump policies without Donald Trump," Graham added.
On policy, Trump said Saturday he would "eliminate federal funding for any school that pushes critical race theory or left-wing gender ideology," restore every border security measure of the Trump presidency "within hours of my inauguration," investigate "radical left-wing prosecutors" and said he supports a constitutional amendment to impose term limits on members of Congress.
"This is just the beginning of our agenda. I look forward to returning many times," Trump said as he ended his remarks in New Hampshire.
