(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump aired a litany of grievances about Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and other ongoing investigations against him during his first post-arraignment remarks.
The scene at Mar-a-Lago mirrored that of a campaign rally, with the former president shaking hands and pumping his fist as “God Bless the USA” — a signature Trump rally anthem — played through the speakers.
Trump took a defiant tone from the Mar-a-Lago podium, describing the charges brought against him as an “insult to our country” and painting them as an effort to “interfere with the upcoming 2024 election.”
“I never thought anything like this could happen in America,” Trump said Tuesday as he spoke out about his arrest for the first time.
“The only crime that I’ve committed is to fiercely defend our nation from those who seek them to destroy it,” he continued.
The 2024 presidential hopeful alluded to his status as a candidate for office, arguing the charges amounted to political persecution.
“They can’t beat us at the ballot box, so they try to beat us through the law,” he said.
He also at times attacked Bragg and Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the case, as well as some members of their families. Spotted in the crowd at Mar-a-Lago were Trump’s children, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Tiffany Trump, Notably, his wife, Melania Trump, as well as daughter Ivanka Trump, son Barron Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner were not seen in the audience.
Trump had received a warning from Merchan hours earlier to refrain from language that could incite violence or jeopardize the well-being of any individuals, though the judge did not impose a gag order.
The former president targeted not only Bragg, but also most of the other legal matters in which Trump is currently entangled. Portions of his remarks were riddled with falsehoods as he ranted against the Department of Justice’s probe into his possible mishandling of classified information and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ probe into efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia.
Also in attendance at the Mar-a-Lago remarks were Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz, former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell.
Trump was indicted last week, becoming the first former president to ever officially face charges. He surrendered Tuesday afternoon at a lower Manhattan courthouse, where he was processed as a criminal defendant, including having his fingerprints taken. Appearing in court, Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. He’s denied all wrongdoing.
The statement of facts that accompanied the indictment alleged Trump orchestrated a “catch and kill” scheme to hide damaging information from the public during the 2016 presidential race, then fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal that criminal conduct.
Prosecutors said the scheme dated back to 2015 and continued while he was in the Oval Office, and included payments by others to two women who claimed to have heard long-denied affairs with Trump as well a a former doorman at Trump Tower who had claimed to have a story about Trump having a child out of wedlock, though the story wasn’t true.
Bragg spoke after Trump’s arraignment, emphasizing the law applies to every American “no matter who you are.”
“We cannot and will not normalize serious criminal conduct,” the district attorney said.
Each count of falsifying business records is punishable by up to four years in prison.
(CHICAGO) — Election day in Chicago will not only decide the next mayor of the city, but it also promises to end a campaign season that has polarized Chicagoans about which segment of the Democratic Party will ultimately lead the city.
Tuesday is a run-off election between Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson and former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas. Neither man secured 50 percent of the vote in February, an initial election that ousted incumbent Lori Lightfoot from securing a second term.
In the six-week run-up to Tuesday, Vallas and Johnson have sparred in numerous televised debates about issues like crime and education. However, underscoring the conversations is the obvious contrast between the progressive left of the Democratic Party, represented by Johnson, and the moderate wing of the party, represented by Vallas.
“You have Vallas being called a Republican and Johnson being called a Socialist. Those issues are designed of course to get a more reptilian brain response from voters, but they don’t tell us exactly where both campaigns are on the major issues rather than a broad brush,” said Arthur Lurigio, a criminologist at Loyola University Chicago. “Being extreme is in their interest.”
Johnson has capitalized on comments Vallas made years ago about critical race theory and he has blasted both endorsements and campaign donations Vallas received from prominent Republicans like Darren Bailey, the Illinois senator who lost the state’s recent gubernatorial election, and a PAC founded by Betsy DeVos, the former education secretary under former President Donald Trump.
The insinuation that Vallas is a closet Republican — a smear in this reliably blue city — has appeared on yard signs, stickers, and in a television ad that claims Vallas is “endorsed by the Chicago Republican Party.
This weekend, Republican Party Chairman Steve Boulton released a statement denouncing Johnson and said his “campaign is lying yet again” about the endorsement. “The ad is false, and under federal law, the broadcasters are under an obligation to pull the ads,” he said.
Vallas, who earned the endorsement of the local chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, has blasted Johnson for comments he made years ago about defunding the police. Both men say they want to hire more detectives although Vallas says he wants to fill more than 1,700 vacancies in the department, while Johnson said he wants resources directed to schools and mental health services. Vallas also says Johnson’s plan to raise $800 million in additional taxes would cripple the city’s economy.
Vallas has earned the backing of prominent leaders within the state Democratic Party, including U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, and former Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn. Johnson, a former schoolteacher whose campaign is funded by the Chicago Teachers Union, is endorsed by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and civil rights leader Jesse Jackson.
While Vallas and Johnson received nearly 33% and 22% of the vote in February, respectively, polling shows the race is tightening. A Northwestern University poll last week showed each candidate earning 44% of the overall vote, with 12% undecided. On Monday, however, a poll conducted by Victory Research showed Vallas leading with 49.6%, followed by Johnson with 45.4%. Only 5% of voters remain undecided.
(WASHINGTON) — Multiple U.S. Secret Service agents connected to former President Donald Trump’s security detail have been subpoenaed by special counsel Jack Smith, according to a source familiar with the situation.
The subpoenas are part of Smith’s investigation into Trump’s handling of classified information at his Mar-a-Lago estate after leaving the White House.
The agents’ testimony is expected in the next few weeks. The development was first reported by Fox News.
The special counsel’s office declined to comment to ABC News.
Following Trump’s decision to seek a second term as president, the special counsel was appointed in November by Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate both the handling of classified information at the former president’s residence and efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Among those previously subpoenaed by Smith are former Vice President Mike Pence, former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, and attorney Evan Cochran.
(WASHINGTON) — Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene faced fresh questions about her history of incendiary behavior and spreading baseless attacks on Democratic opponents — but doubled down in an interview with “60 Minutes” which aired on CBS on Sunday night.
“On an issue, when I’m outspoken about it, and I take my stand or my position, the first reaction is, ‘Marjorie’s crazy. Marjorie’s extreme. Marjorie’s a right-wing extremist,'” Greene told Lesley Stahl in the interview. “And then what will happen is my colleagues will go back home to their district, and their own constituents are coming up and saying, ‘Are you supporting Marjorie? Do you agree with Marjorie? Have you cosponsored Marjorie’s bill?'”
The sit-down in Greene’s Georgia home aired ahead of her vowing to be in New York City on Tuesday for former President Donald Trump’s historic arraignment after he was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury that had been investigating hush money paid on his behalf. Though the charges against him remain under seal, Trump has denied any wrongdoing and said he is being politically persecuted.
Stahl, the veteran journalist who interviewed Greene, introduced “MTG,” as she’s often called, as having gone “from fringe of the [Republican] Party to the front row,” now as an ally of Speaker Kevin McCarthy and holding spots on two major House committees. Stahl described her as someone who has “gained notoriety with a sharp tongue and some pretty radical views.”
To that end, Greene — who has repeatedly been banned from Twitter and was stripped of her committee assignments in the last Congress — said as the interview began that the American government “doesn’t deserve to be respected that much.”
Greene sticks with ‘pedophile’ attack
The wide-ranging feature showed Stahl watching Greene do CrossFit exercises and the pair walking the grounds of Greene’s 10 acre-estate as Stahl said the congresswoman, in her second term, is worth $11 million.
In one of the more explosive moments from the interview, Greene falsely conflated Democrats supporting minors’ access to gender-affirming health care with “pedophilia.”
“They support grooming children,” Greene said, defending her previous charge that “Democrats are a party of pedophiles.”
“They are not pedophiles,” a stunned Stahl pushed back. “Why would you say that?”
Greene maintained that Democrats including President Joe Biden support “children being sexualized and having transgender surgeries.”
But the Biden administration has supported a broad view of gender-affirming care as described by doctors, including for kids — rather than pushing surgeries.
“My question really is, can’t you fight for what you believe in without all that name-calling and without the personal attacks?” Stahl asked Greene on “60 Minutes.”
“Well, I would ask the same question to the other side, because all they’ve done is call me names and insult me non-stop,” Greene replied.
Asked about her social media choices
She appeared most uneasy when asked her about other controversial comments she’s made and supported on social media.
When she said that she’s apologized to her House colleagues for having had subscribed to the far-right QAnon conspiracy theory, Stahl asked if she’s also apologized to Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for liking a comment in 2019 on Facebook which said Pelosi should “get a bullet to the head.”
“I didn’t say that, so I don’t need to apologize for words that weren’t mine,” Greene said. “Other people also ran my social media. I don’t think I did that,” she added, despite not being an elected official that year.
Asked then if she’s apologized for previously agreeing with a description of the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, which killed 17 students and school employees in 2018 as a “false flag,” Greene denied she did that at all, even though on Facebook she had once liked a post with that description and commented, “Exactly!!”
“I don’t know if you actually have my– No, I never said Parkland was a false flag. No, I’ve never said that. School shootings are horrible. I don’t think it’s anything to joke about,” Greene said, despite “60 Minutes” showing a social media screenshot of what she wrote.
“Have you fact-checked all my statements from kindergarten through 12th grade? And in college?” Greene said to Stahl. “I got a few speeding tickets. Do we need to talk about those, too?”
In another notable moment, presented with her comments that America should have a “Christian government,” that abortion should be banned nationally, that the FBI should shut down and that all immigration should stop for four years, Greene confirmed those was her views and expanded on her desire for a Christian government.
“The Constitution, the very First Amendment, prohibits having a religion in the government,” Stahl said.
“Yet the Founding Fathers quoted the Bible constantly and were driven by their faith,” Greene responded.
Profile spot draws backlash
Even before the interview aired, many online criticized Stahl for focusing on Greene on “60 Minutes” rather than ignoring her given her background.
“I have known Lesley Stahl for more than 40 years, worked alongside her for many election weeks. She has been a great journalist, but this is a disgraceful, cringeworthy performance. Shameful to the max,” tweeted Norman Ornstein, an emeritus scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.
Another critic wrote, “Jon Stewart once wrote a parody of Larry King interviewing Hitler. This has the same vibe.”
David Hogg, a survivor of the Parkland massacre and gun safety advocate whom Greene badgered outside the Capitol in March 2019, according to a video clip which “60 Minutes” also aired Sunday, wrote on Twitter that he was “glad” Greene got the airtime.
“It’s important to interview one of the main leaders of the Republican Party so the American people know everything and I mean everything they support. Including denying school shootings,” Hogg tweeted.
A spokesperson for “60 Minutes” declined to comment on the record. Others on social media defended the choice to profile Greene, given her rising profile.
Greene, amid what she says is an evolving attitude toward the mainstream press, reportedly approved of the interview.
“It wasn’t bad!” she told Semafor, a news website. “I thought it was pretty good. And I’ve gotten nonstop text messages from, golly, so many people in my district and my family and my friends.”
The congresswoman lauded Stahl in a tweet on Saturday and has since shared several clips of their chat.
“It was an honor to spend a few days with the legendary icon [Lesley] Stahl and talented crew,” Greene wrote, misspelling Stahl’s first name. “Leslie is a trailblazer for women in journalism. And while we may disagree on some issues, I respect her greatly.”
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden will kick off an administration-wide “Investing in America” tour with a trip to Minnesota on Tuesday, according to a White House official.
While in the North Star State, Biden will visit the Fridley headquarters of Cummins, which manufactures truck engines and alternative clean energy technology. During his remarks, the president will discuss how his “Investing in America” agenda is unleashing a manufacturing and innovation boom, building a clean energy economy and creating well paid jobs in communities like Fridley and elsewhere across the nation, the White House official said.
Since Biden took office in January 2021, companies have committed to invest more than $2 billion across Minnesota. The president’s visit on Tuesday will coincide with Cummins’ announcement that the company is investing $1 billion to expand its manufacturing in Indiana, North Carolina and New York, according to the White House official.
Vice President Kamala Harris and first lady Jill Biden will also travel to communities across the country this week as part of the “Investing in America” tour. Harris will go to Georgia, while the first lady will hit Michigan, Vermont, Colorado and Maine. Over the course of three weeks, the president and various members of his administration will cover more than 20 states, the White House official said.
The tour comes as Congress is on a two-week recess for the spring holidays. The Biden administration appears keen to visit Americans in their hometowns as lawmakers get the chance to hold their own local events.
(WASHINGTON) — Sen. John Fetterman is speaking publicly for the first time since he entered the hospital in February with severe depression, saying in an interview on “CBS Sunday Morning” that he looks forward to returning to work later this month.
Fetterman, D-Pa., said he also looks forward to “being the kind of dad and the kind of husband and the kind of senator that Pennsylvania deserves. Truly, that’s what my aspiration is.”
Elected in November in one of 2022’s most significant midterm elections, Fetterman checked himself into Walter Reed Military Medical Center for treatment for depression on Feb. 15, his staff has said.
During his CBS News interview, alongside wife Gisele, he explained that he never had any suicidal ideation or self-harm but was “indifferent” to living. He also stopped eating, lost weight and found himself staying in bed.
“You just won the biggest race in the country. And the whole thing about depression is that objectively, you may have won, but depression can absolutely convince you that you actually lost. And that’s exactly what happened, and that was the start of a downward spiral,” he said.
Fetterman said he hopes the publicity surrounding his diagnosis can help others struggling with mental health issues to choose to seek help.
“I will be going home and [this will] be the first time ever to be in remission with my depression. And I can’t wait to [see] what it really feels like to take it all in and to start making up any lost time,” he said.
“This isn’t political,” he said. “I’m just somebody that’s suffering from depression.”
Fetterman’s return to the Senate, anticipated to come during the week of April 17, will also ease Democrats’ control of the chamber, where they hold a 51-49 majority. The absences of Fetterman and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., over a shingles infection have curtailed their ability to move legislation through the floor.
Still, during his time in Walter Reed, Fetterman’s office insisted he remained involved in legislative activities, including posting pictures on social media of him meeting with his staff.
(NEW YORK) — Donald Trump’s lawyer doesn’t know what to expect when the former president is arraigned on Tuesday in New York City given the historic nature of Trump’s indictment, he said on Sunday.
“This is unprecedented. I don’t know. I’ve done a million arraignments in that courthouse with celebrities and whatnot. But this is a whole different thing. We have Secret Service involved. I understand they’re closing the courthouse for the afternoon. I just don’t know what to expect to see,” Joe Tacopina told ABC “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos.
“What I hope is that we get in and out of there as quickly as possible, that it’s, at the end of the day, a typical arraignment where we stand before the judge, we say ‘not guilty,’ we set schedules to file motions and whatnot or discovery, and we move forward and get out of there,” Tacopina said.
He likened the case to “persecution” and said the charges, which remain under seal, “revolve around” Trump paying money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election to keep her from going public with a claim of an affair that Trump denies.
Asked by Stephanopoulos if Trump was planning to address reporters with a press conference after his court appearance, Tacopina said, “I don’t know what the president’s plans are. We’ve been speaking, but he knows Trump better than anybody. And he’s not afraid to speak.”
“But again, I think that’s the decision he’ll make, his PR team will make, and maybe even the Secret Service in conjunction with that. But we’ll have to wait and see,” Tacopina said. (Later Sunday, Trump’s team said he would make a speech Tuesday night from his Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida.)
When pressed on whether Tacopina agrees with Trump’s assessment that the judge in the case is biased, Tacopina said he disagreed.
“No, I don’t believe that judge is biased. I mean, the president has his own opinion,” he said.
“I’m his attorney, but I’m myself. I’m not his PR person,” he continued. “I’m not his spokesperson. He’s entitled to his own opinion. And what he’s been through, quite frankly, I don’t blame him for feeling the way he feels.”
The indictment, which was announced Thursday after a monthslong examination by a Manhattan grand jury, has sparked uproar from Republicans and a mix of jubilation and hesitance from Democrats who believe Trump broke the law but are wary of him turning the proceedings into a political boon in the early stages of the 2024 presidential race.
Trump is expected to travel on Monday to New York, where he will surrender to law enforcement for processing and face around two dozen counts, including felonies, sources familiar with the matter have told ABC News.
He has long maintained investigations into him are part of a partisan “witch hunt,” though he has defended reimbursing the payment to Daniels while denying he ever had a sexual relationship with her.
“He’s gearing up for a battle,” Tacopina said on “This Week.”
“Factually, it’s a joke. And it won’t survive a challenge of law in a courtroom,” he said of the case, though Stephanopoulos pushed back and noted that Tacopina “can’t know that for sure” because the charges are still sealed ahead of the arraignment.
While Tacopina acknowledged much remained unknown, even to Trump’s lawyers, his goal was clear: “I want this to be done as smoothly and quickly as possible and begin this fight to do really — to put justice back on course.”
He downplayed a recent report that Trump’s legal team was considering seeking to have the case moved to Staten Island, which is seen as a more favorable environment for Trump: “We’re way too early to start deciding what motions we’re going to file or not file.” But he also said, “Everything’s on the table.”
“It’s way too premature to start worrying about venue changes until we really see the indictment and grapple with the legal issues,” he said.
More broadly, Tacopina said he worried about what a case against a former president could mean for the country.
“We all know that had Donald Trump not been Donald Trump and was ‘John Smith,’ this case never would have been brought,” he said.
ABC News’ Katherine Faulders, Aaron Katersky, Olivia Rubin and John Santucci contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson made his 2024 White House bid official on Sunday in an exclusive sit-down interview with ABC “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl.
Ahead of his presidential announcement, Hutchinson, a Republican, spent several days in the first-in-the nation caucus state of Iowa, stirring speculation that he intended to enter into what he acknowledged is a tense national political landscape.
“I have made a decision, and my decision is I’m going to run for president of the United States,” Hutchinson told Karl. “While the formal announcement will be later in April, in Bentonville [Arkansas], I want to make it clear to you, Jonathan, I am going to be running. And the reason is, I’ve traveled the country for six months, I hear people talk about the leadership of our country. I’m convinced that people want leaders that appeal to the best of America, and not simply appeal to our worst instincts.”
The former governor told Karl he is inspired by his travels around the country over the last six months and acknowledged it would take “a lot of hard work and good messaging” to raise his national profile and break through a crowded primary field.
“It’s still about retail politics in many of these states, and also, this is one of the most unpredictable political environments that I’ve seen in my lifetime. So my message of experience, of consistent conservatism and hope for our future in solving problems that face Americans, I think that that resonates,” Hutchinson said.
Hutchinson joins a field of Republican presidential hopefuls that already includes former President Donald Trump, former South Carolina Governor and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
Although more Republicans are expected to join the primary in the coming months, Trump’s shadow looms large following his recent indictment by a Manhattan grand jury — making him the first current or former president to face criminal charges.
In a statement issued shortly after news of the indictment broke on Thursday, Hutchinson expressed his belief that Trump should not be the next president, arguing the final decision should be made by voters at the ballot box. Asked by Karl how Trump’s indictment affects the 2024 presidential race, Hutchinson said the development “adds to the unpredictability” of the political process.
“I think it’s a sad day for America that we have a former president that’s indicted, and so it’s a great distraction, but at the same time, we can’t set aside what our Constitution requires — which is electing a new leader for our country — just because we have this side controversy and criminal charges that are pending. And so we’ve got to press on, and the American people are gonna have to separate what the ideas are for our future,” he said.
Karl pressed Hutchinson on whether he believes Trump should drop out of the race now that he’s been indicted.
“I do,” Hutchinson said, standing by the position he took before Trump was charged. “I mean, first of all, the office is more important than any individual person. And so for the sake of the office of the presidency, I do think that’s too much of a sideshow and distraction and he needs to be able to concentrate on his due process and there is a presumption of innocence.”
“I’ve always said that people don’t have to step aside from public office if they’re under investigation, but if it reaches the point of criminal charges that have to be answered, the office is always more important than a person. And so, there’s some consistency there. And I do believe if we’re looking at the presidency and the future of our country, then we don’t need that distraction,” he added.
In contrast to GOP presidential candidates and potential candidates, Hutchinson did not blast the indictment as purely political, noting “the grand jury found probable cause and that’s the standard for any criminal charges in our society.”
“I know there’s going to be some that say I should be tougher on the prosecutor, I should be tougher on the unfairness of this. I’ve expressed my view that I wouldn’t bring those charges if I was a prosecutor. But let’s let the system work. And what I don’t want to do as a leader is undermine everything that is good about America, which is our criminal justice system,” he added.
“There are a lot of Republicans attacking that judicial system and that legal system right now,” Karl said.
“And I’m different,” Hutchinson countered.
Despite his critique of Trump, the former Arkansas governor drew a distinction that his political position is in the “non-Trump lane” rather than the “anti-Trump lane.”
“When I say ‘non-Trump’, I want to be able to speak to the Trump voters. I want to be able to speak to all of the party and say, ‘This is the leadership that I want to provide, and I think that we need to have border security. I think we need to have a strong America; we need to spend less at the federal level.’ These are the values that I represent,” Hutchinson said.
Hutchinson, who told Karl in a previous interview on “This Week” that Trump should be disqualified from the nomination due to Jan. 6, did not explicitly say whether he would support Trump if the former president were to win the Republican nomination, stating instead, “I don’t believe he should be the next leader of our country.”
So far in the campaign season, Trump’s popularity among the Republican base appears to be rivaled only by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has yet to announce his candidacy. The former president receives 47% of support among Republican and Republican-leaning voters, while DeSantis receives 33%, according to a recent poll from Quinnipiac University released prior to news of Trump’s indictment.
Throughout President Joe Biden’s time in office, DeSantis embraced being a political foil by implementing statewide policies largely centering on culture wars in a bid to challenge the federal authority.
Pressed by Karl about the Florida governor’s executive style and focus on cultural issues, Hutchinson praised DeSantis for doing “an effective job in Florida” with respect to the state’s economy. Hutchinson also said he shares the concerns expressed by “a large segment of America about the cultural direction of our country.”
However, Hutchinson indicated that he differs with DeSantis on issues pertaining to how the government interacts with private businesses, advocating for “the limited role of government.”
“There is some differences of view absolutely,” Hutchinson said. “The [state] legislature supported him in many instances, but I think we as conservatives need to stop and say, ’Is this the role of government to tell business what to do?’”
A term-limited Hutchinson concluded his second term as governor of Arkansas and was succeeded by former Trump White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders earlier this year. The executive experience bookended decades of public service including three consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, service in the George W. Bush administration as Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration and later as the nation’s first Undersecretary of Homeland Security for Border Protection.
(WASHINGTON) — The 2024 presidential race is shaping up, with Donald Trump mounting a comeback bid for the White House against competition from politicians like former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and others.
Here’s an updated list of who is running for president in 2024 and a brief look at the potential contenders who have not yet confirmed their plans — as well as where President Joe Biden stands on seeking reelection and those politicians who have definitively ruled out a campaign.
Donald Trump, Republican
Trump, 76, formally launched his third bid for the White House on Nov. 15, following the 2022 midterms, which did not meet Republican expectations.
Trump announced his campaign from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. It didn’t come as a surprise, given that Trump had been hinting for months that he would make a run.
“America’s comeback starts right now,” he said, describing the U.S. as “in decline” and touting his administration as a “golden age.”
However, Trump’s third run for the White House comes as he faces multiple investigations — he denies wrongdoing — and has become increasingly estranged from some other leading figures in the GOP in the wake of Jan. 6, his 2020 election lies and other controversies and scandals.
While polling shows he remains popular with many voters in the party, many others say they want another nominee.
“America’s comeback starts right now,” he insisted in his announcement speech.
Steve Laffey, Republican
The former mayor of Cranston, Rhode Island, Steve Laffey announced his candidacy for president on Feb. 2.
In a statement, he said he wanted to confront the country’s issues.
“Our country has done the equivalent of using Band-Aids in place of major surgery. Somehow, we have ‘gotten by,'” he said. “For the first time in a generation, we must directly confront our problems.”
Laffey is a long-shot for the Oval Office, given his relative lack of name recognition or statewide or federal experience.
He previously made a run for Senate in 2006 in Rhode Island, against Republican Lincoln Chafee, who was ultimately defeated by Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse.
Nikki Haley, Republican
Haley, 51, announced her presidential bid in a video released on Feb. 14, a day ahead of a formal kickoff on Feb. 15 in Charleston.
Haley, who also served as a U.S. ambassador to the U.N. in the Trump administration, is the first high-profile Republican to challenge Trump.
In her announcement video, Haley, the daughter of immigrants, highlighted her heritage as a South Asian woman and touted her hopeful view of what America can offer.
“My mom would always say, ‘Your job is not to focus on the differences but the similarities.’ My parents reminded me and my siblings every day how blessed we were to live in America,” Haley said.
She underscored her credentials as a former leader of the Palmetto State, stressing its resilience, but most of all she said there was major need for change in the GOP’s candidates.
“Republicans have lost the popular vote in seven of the last eight presidential elections. … It’s time for a new generation of leadership,” she said.
Haley was elected as the first female governor of South Carolina in 2010, stepping down in 2017, during her second term, to serve as a Trump ambassador until 2018.
Vivek Ramaswamy, Republican
Ramaswamy, a 37-year-old multimillionaire entrepreneur who founded a major biotech company, announced on Feb. 21 that he is running for president as a Republican.
“We are in the middle of this national identity crisis, Tucker, where we have celebrated our diversity and our differences for so long that we forgot all the ways we’re really just the same as Americans, bound by a common set of ideals that set this nation into motion 250 years ago,” Ramaswamy told Fox News’ Tucker Carlson.
When asked what his message to voters will be, Ramaswamy said that “we need to put merit back into America in every sphere of our lives” — which includes immigration policy and affirmative action, the latter of which he argued was “a national cancer.”
In a campaign video shared on Twitter, he said: “We still agree on our nation’s most fundamental principles, at least most of us do. Yet the goal of the ruling party in this country is to convince us that we are divided.”
The Indian-American entrepreneur is also the author of “Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam.”
Perry Johnson, Republican
A 75-year-old Michigan businessman, Johnson launched his presidential campaign for the 2024 Republican nomination amid the 2023 Conservative Political Action Conference that began on March 1.
Johnson took third in CPAC’s straw poll for presidential picks, with nearly 5% of the vote. While he polled behind Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, he was ahead of Haley and others.
While Johnson has no experience in elected office, he has a long career in business in Michigan. with almost 30 years of experience in the quality standards field. Two of his companies — Perry Johnson Registrars, and Perry Johnson, Inc. — both can certify businesses as meeting certain industry standards.
Before CPAC, his most notable political bid was when he ran for governor in Michigan in 2022 but was removed from the ballot before the Republican primary due to what state officials found to be fraudulent and invalid petition signatures.
Asa Hutchinson, Republican
Hutchinson, 72, announced he would run for president on April 2 during an interview on ABC’s “This Week” but said an official launch would not take place until later in April in his home state.
“I am going to be running. And the reason is, I’ve traveled the country for six months, I hear people talk about the leadership of our country. I’m convinced that people want leaders that appeal to the best of America, and not simply appeal to our worst instincts,” Hutchinson told “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl.
The former governor has emerged as a Trump skeptic within the Republican Party, and indicated to Karl that he would seek to veer away from culture wars and return to a party centered around the idea of small government — though he insisted he’s not “anti-Trump,” despite calling on the former president to drop out of the race over his indictment in New York City.
“When I say ‘non-Trump’, I want to be able to speak to the Trump voters. I want to be able to speak to all of the party and say, ‘This is the leadership that I want to provide, and I think that we need to have border security. I think we need to have a strong America; we need to spend less at the federal level.’ These are the values that I represent,” Hutchinson said.
Hutchinson expressed hope that his personal style in early primary states could pay dividends.
“It’s still about retail politics in many of these states and also, this is one of the most unpredictable political environments that I’ve seen in my lifetime. So my message of experience, of consistent conservatism and hope for our future in solving problems that face Americans, I think that that resonates,” Hutchinson told Karl.
Marianne Williamson, Democrat
Williamson, 70, first wrote in an email to donors on Feb. 26 that would will formally announce on March 4 that she is running for president as a Democrat, in a long shot primary challenge to Biden.
Williamson is a bestselling self-help book author who first ran for president in 2020 on a pacifist and progressive platform.
She dropped out of that race before any primaries were held, but she outlasted several other serious contenders with impressive electoral resumes, including now-Vice President Kamala Harris, who at the time was a senator from California.
Williamson has advocated for solving foreign conflicts without military intervention and embraced progressive platforms like so-called “Medicare for All” and a $15 minimum wage.
She also became a viral sensation for infusing her campaign with language from her career as an author, warning Trump in 2020 that “I’m going to harness love for political purposes. I will meet you on that field, and sir, love will win.”
In her launch speech, Williamson focused on advocating for progressive policies, though she still included rhetoric reminiscent of her last campaign.
“We’re all here because we care about this country. But we’re all here, or at least many of us are, because we are upset about this country, we’re worried about this country,” she said, adding, “It is our job to create a vision of justice and love that is so powerful, that it will override the forces of hatred and injustice and fear.”
Williamson also noted the conventional wisdom that she will face a nearly impossible task of unseating Biden in a primary, casting herself as a fighter against the establishment.
“I’m not naive about the forces which have no intention of allowing anyone into this conversation who does not align with their predetermined agenda,” she said.
Where President Joe Biden stands on reelection bid
Biden, 80, has repeatedly said he intends to run for reelection in 2024 barring some major issue such as his health. However, the Democrat has not officially announced a decision.
“[M]y intention has been from the beginning to run. But there’s too many other things we have to finish in the near term before I start a campaign,” he told ABC News anchor David Muir at the White House in February.
Biden told Muir in December 2021 that the possibility of a rematch with Trump wouldn’t dissuade him.
“Why would I not run against Donald Trump for the nominee? That’ll increase the prospect of running,” he said.
A look at potential presidential candidates
The list of other potential White House hopefuls includes Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, among others, as well as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has played down questions about his ambitions even as sources have told ABC News he’s privately indicated he’ll launch a campaign in May or possibly June.
DeSantis has said for the time being he’s focused on serving as governor of Florida, an office he was reelected to in November by a mammoth 19-point margin. An announcement would likely not come before the state’s legislative session is over in the summer.
Sununu, meanwhile, has been open that he’s mulling a White House run, saying on “This Week” in February that he’s “definitely thinking about it and having those conversations.”
Scott has been more mum on his possible aspirations, though he has traveled to early primary states like Iowa, New Hampshire and his home state of South Carolina and is scheduled to participate in a presidential candidate forum next month.
Another possible entrant is former Vice President Mike Pence, who broke with Trump over his ability to overturn the 2020 election results. Pence told ABC News’ Muir last year that he was thinking about a bid and has been traveling to early primary states with a message focused largely on social issues.
“I wish her well. Ambassador Nikki Haley did a great job in our administration, and she may have more company soon in the race for president, and I promise folks here in Iowa and all of you I’ll keep you posted,” he teased on Feb. 15 when asked about Haley’s announcement.
Who isn’t running
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan on March 5 became the first major Republican mulling a presidential bid to say he will not run in 2024.
Hogan said in a statement that he would not “risk being part of another multicar pileup that could potentially help Mr. Trump recapture the nomination,” as Trump did in 2016 when he won the GOP nomination amid a splintered field.
ABC News’ Tal Axelrod, Hannah Demissie, Oren Oppenheim, Brittany Shepherd and Leah Vredenbregt contributed to this report.
Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — A plurality of Americans think former President Donald Trump should have been charged by a Manhattan grand jury with a history-making indictment, yet a near equal amount believe that the charges against him are politically motivated, according to a new ABC News/Ipsos poll.
According to the poll, 45% think Trump should have been charged with a crime in this case, whereas 32% don’t think so and 23% say they don’t know.
Democrats are, unsurprisingly, rallying behind the grand jury’s decision.
Almost nine in 10 Democrats (88%) think Trump should have been charged in the investigation by the Manhattan D.A., which has been probing a $130,000 hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels who alleges the two had an affair. Trump has long denied these claims.
Compared with Democrats, Republicans are less united. While a majority, 62%, say that Trump should not have been charged, one in five Republicans say they “don’t know” and 16% say he should have been charged, per the ABC News/Ipsos poll conducted using Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel.
Independents see more of a split, with two in five saying he should have been charged, 32% saying he shouldn’t have been and 27% saying “don’t know.”
Big picture, half of Americans believe the charges are very or somewhat serious, while 36% say they are not too serious or not serious at all. A smaller portion, 14%, say they don’t know. Considered among party lines, 87% of Democrats say the charges are very (49%) or somewhat serious (38%), and six in 10 Republicans say the charges are not too serious (19%) or not serious at all (41%).
Some members of the public may be waiting to see what precisely the indictment is connected to or what specific charges Trump will face.
Former President Trump has been charged with around two dozen counts, including felonies, sources familiar with the sealed indictment told ABC News. The indictment will be unsealed when Trump appears in court in New York on Tuesday.
At the same time, a plurality of Americans (47%) say the charges against the former president are politically motivated, echoing the sentiment from top GOP figures. An even larger majority of Republicans, 79%, hold that view, as does a plurality of independents (48%).. As expected, 64% of Democrats take the opposite view, though a far cry from overwhelming opposition.
Even Trump’s potential own competitors dismiss the investigation as political theater.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who is mulling a presidential bid himself, said the indictment is “offensive” and an “outrage.”
“I also think at a time when the American people are struggling so much, that this will only further serve to divide our country,” said Pence.
Speaking to ABC News, Trump himself called the indictment “political persecution” and “an attack on our country.”
Trump continues to be the front-runner for his party’s nomination among Republican primary voters. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who trails Trump in the polls despite not formally announcing his candidacy, said Saturday that the “law has been weaponized for political purposes.”
Only 43% of Americans think that Trump should suspend his campaign because of the indictment, while most (57%) either say it shouldn’t affect his bid (35%) or that they don’t know (22%).
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, has broken from the party line, telling ABC News that he believes Trump should terminate his campaign.
“I mean, first of all, the office is more important than any individual person. And so for the sake of the office of the presidency, I do think that’s too much of a sideshow and distraction and he needs to be able to concentrate on his due process and there is a presumption of innocence,” said Hutchinson.
Yet, many Americans are still keen that Trump should be charged for various other controversies in his orbit, with a plurality saying he should be charged for his handling of classified documents and his actions relating to the Capitol insurrection.
In addition, a slim majority (51%) say he should be charged for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Democrats are near unanimous in this view, with 90% believing he should be charged for his efforts to change the 2020 election results. Nearly half of all independents (49%) feel this way, but only 20% of Republicans agree.
Only 29% of Americans have a favorable view of Trump, but President Joe Biden’s favorability rating is similar at 32%. Both presidents see a drop from their approval in October 2020, when Trump saw a 35% favorability and Biden a 44% rating.
METHODOLOGY — This ABC News/Ipsos poll was conducted using Ipsos Public Affairs’ KnowledgePanel® March 31-April 1, 2023, in English and Spanish, among a random national sample of 593 adults. Results have a margin of sampling error of 4.4 points, including the design effect. Partisan divisions are 26-25-40 percent, Democrats-Republicans-independents. See the poll’s topline results and details on the methodology here.
ABC News’ Dan Merkle, Ken Goldstein, Aaron Katersky, Katherine Faulders and John Santucci contributed to this report.
