Paul Bedard: Trump 2024 – “Time to Start Talking About Greatness”

Former President Donald Trump has finally signaled themes he might use in a 2024 bid, turning from adjudicating the 2020 election to addressing over 15 key areas in which he said President Joe Biden has fumbled, turning the United States into “a joke.”

Released just hours after his Mar-a-Lago winter camp was raided by the FBI, apparently in pursuit of missing documents, the former president listed 18 issues he said have turned sour under Biden that he would fix in a second term.

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Taken from rallies and shown partially in black and white for impact, Trump opened with “We are a nation in decline” and concluded with “It is time to start talking about greatness for our country again.”

The nearly four-minute online post had the feel of Trump’s 2015 address to supporters after riding down a golden staircase in his Trump Tower, a scene Politico dubbed “The Escalator Ride That Changed America.”

Missing was a mention of alleged fraud in the 2020 election, an issue aides have been urging him to shelve and instead focus on bread-and-butter issues that won him the 2016 election over heavily favored Hillary Clinton.

In the video, Trump hit on the sinking economy, the gas crisis, Biden’s abandonment of Afghanistan, and his favorite target, “fake news.”

He also said the Justice Department has been “weaponized” against him, a charge leveled by several top Republicans after last night’s FBI raid.

“We are a nation that in many ways has become a joke,” said Trump, who ran on a campaign theme in 2016 of “Make America Great Again,” followed up by a 2020 theme of “Keep America Great.” Lately, he has been touting a “Save America” theme.

Trump is expected to announce his decision about running in 2024 after the midterm congressional elections, though some insiders have speculated he might announce earlier to fight the multiple court cases he is facing.

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“Soon, we will have greatness again,” Trump said in wrapping up his video. “It was hardworking patriots like you who built this country. And it is hardworking patriots like you who are going to save our country. There is no mountain that we cannot climb, there is no summit we cannot reach. There is no challenge we cannot beat. There is no victory we cannot have. We will not bend, we will not break. We will not yield ever, ever, ever. We will never give in, we will never give up, and we will never ever back down,” Trump added.