Will candidate Trump run alone?

For the “big announcement” of his new presidential candidacy, Donald Trump took care of the decor: a row of huge American flags, a wide hall with columns, white-hot enthusiasts on gilded chairs. However, it observed something completely different: absentees.

Not a Republican executive, influential elected official or senator… After the billionaire candidates’ dismal performance in the midterm elections, almost no personality from the American right made the trip to Mar-a-Lago’s posh club on Tuesday. Evening.

“Trump lost them three elections (in 2018, 2020 and 2022), and they’re not going to let him destroy him for a fourth term in 2024,” said Larry Sabato, a political science professor at the University of Virginia.

A pillow company boss who staunchly denies the reality of Donald Trump’s sultry ally Joe Biden’s election, known for having Richard Nixon tattooed on his back… On Tuesday, the crowd was filled with these colorful characters. Since Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election.

“The lack of enthusiasm for Trump’s third presidential campaign is being felt even in his immediate family,” notes the political scientist with AFP, the billionaire star who has regained his grip on the Republican Party in recent months. .

Neither his son Dan Jr. nor his beloved daughter Ivanka — one of his closest advisers to the White House during his tenure — attended the announcement with much fanfare.

Minutes after her father’s nomination was formalized, Ivanka Trump issued a press release. “I love my dad very much,” she said. “But this time (…) I don’t plan to get involved in politics.”

– “Less Fuss” –

Donald Trump’s entry into the race for the White House no longer raises any doubts, at least covered by some conservative media outlets.

One of America’s most watched channels, Fox News, which until recently gave several hours of coverage to Donald Trump, chose to cut him off in the middle of his speech.

The New York Post, a leading newspaper among American conservatives, almost denied Donald Trump’s announcement.

“720 days to the next election, a Florida retiree makes a surprise announcement of presidential candidacy,” the daily wrote on its 26th page.

Both outlets, owned by the conservative Murdoch family media group, chose to shine their spotlight on fellow Florida resident Gov. Ron DeSantis. Forties, the new star of the hard right and the potential challenger to Donald Trump for the Republican nomination, was logically absent Tuesday evening.

– candidate-rebel –

But don’t bury Donald Trump too soon, warn his allies.

Most polls still have the former president, more comfortable with the crowd, winning the Republican primary as a wave of red hats continues to flock to his rallies.

Influential Republican Senator Lindsey Graham opined Tuesday evening that Donald Trump is “difficult to win” as long as he “continues to follow this tone.”

“The hard core base that has supported Trump for six years will remain largely loyal to him,” predicted Larry Sabato.

Donald Trump, who will come to power in November 2016 in an unprecedented political climate, may be tempted to play candidate-insurgent if defections in his ranks continue.

The New York billionaire on Tuesday did not fail to repeat the well-known score of a leader who is close to Americans – mostly white, but rather old – not like these Washington “elite” he likes to mock. .

“This will be our campaign for all of us,” he assured his supporters on Tuesday evening. “You, the American people, are the only force strong enough to defeat the massive corruption we face,” he said.