Former President Trump announces he is ready to make America ‘great and glorious again’

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) - Against the wishes of some members of his party and to the delight of his supporters, former President Donald Trump says he wants his old job back.

In about an hour long speech, Trump announced he is seeking the Republican presidential nomination for 2024. Jennifer Mercieca, a professor of Texas A&M’s Department of Communication & Journalism, joined First News at Four to break down the former president’s speech.

While the speech certainly appealed to his base, Trump also had some lines targeting the whole nation.

“There was at least one appeal to all of America to say that he had united the nation once and that he would do it again,” explained Mercieca.

Similarly to 2016, Trump framed his candidacy as the answer to a nation in crisis. The speech used similar language to what he’s said in the past, but Mercieca says something was different about Trump’s delivery.

“One thing that was different, and a lot of people have noticed this, is that he read from the teleprompter the whole time. Usually he has good comedic timing. He’s usually pretty good with drama and suspense, and those elements were just not present in his speech last night,” she said.

Some Republicans, such as Brazos County representative Congressman Michael McCaul, had hoped the former president would wait until after the Georgia runoff to announce his candidacy.

“You know if Herschel Walker wins, as I anticipate he will, that would be far more stronger for him to come out at that point in time than prematurely. And I know his goal is to scare all opponents out of the primary, but I think that would be a better move from a political strategy,” McCaul told First News at Four on Nov. 9.

Copyright 2022 KBTX. All rights reserved.