Donald Trump has announced he will run for the US presidency in 2024, vowing "America's comeback starts right now"
He addressed supporters in an hour-long speech at his Florida estate Mar-a-Lago
The former president, the first to be impeached twice, has a massive campaign war chest and remains popular with the Republican base
But he has been blamed for the Republicans' disappointing performance in the midterm elections, with a predicted "red wave" failing to materialise
To run for president, Trump would have to win the Republican Party's nomination - but others are expected to compete for it
Republicans are also on the cusp of taking a majority in the House of Representatives, though it will be a narrow one
Midterm voters by and large rejected candidates who backed Trump's baseless claims of election fraud in 2020, and many of his high-profile picks for office struggled or lost outright
Last week Trump lashed out at Florida Governor Ron DeSantis - a rising Republican star who is also expected to run for the party's 2024 nomination
The BBC asked Americans how they would feel if Donald Trump ran for president again.
Here's what they had to say:
Donald Trump 2024: Americans have mixed feeling about his comeback
Image source, Getty ImagesTrump has just wrapped up his speech after a little over an hour. He now waves to supporters alongside his wife, Melania.
Stay with us for analysis and reporting from inside the room at Mar-a-Lago.
"This is not just a campaign. This is a quest to save our country," says Trump, ending his speech.
"I am asking for your vote. I am asking for your support."
He adds that if he is successful, "We will shatter the forces of tyranny and we will unleash the glories of liberty for ourselves, and for our children and for generations yet to come."
"America's golden age is just ahead," he says, adding: "Thanks very much and God bless you all."
As we approach an hour with Trump at the podium, the former president has told supporters the greatest threat to the movement he started comes from within the country.
He says the Department of Justice's investigation - into whether he improperly kept classified documents with him at his Mar-a-Lago residence - is "a weaponisation of the justice system".
"I'm a victim," he tells the crowd.
You can read more about the many investigations into Trump here.
Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent
Donald Trump appears to have mostly stuck to his script during his presidential announcement speech so far, offering an indication of how he plans to frame his coming campaign.
He boasted of his record as president, glossed over the hardships and missteps during the Covid pandemic and totally ignored his months election-denial after his presidential defeat culminating in the 6 January attack on the US Capitol by a mob of his supporters.
He then turned his aim on the man who defeated him, Joe Biden, paying particular attention to rising inflation, the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the surge in undocumented migration at the US border.
Interestingly, he tiptoed around the Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying only that it wouldn’t have happened under his watch. Republicans, of late, have become increasingly divided over continued US support for Ukraine.
He spent more than a little time defending the Republican performance during the recent midterm elections – and the losses of prominent candidates that he backed.
“I didn’t need this,” he said, after announcing his bid. “I had a very nice, easy life.” But this speech suggests otherwise. He can’t resist once again trying to lay claim to the national spotlight.
President Biden is currently meeting with world leaders at the G20 summit in Indonesia - but his official Twitter account just called out his predecessor around the same time Trump started speaking.
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Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent
Donald Trump has once again boasted of his endorsement success rate in last week’s midterm elections, which he said was 232 wins and 22 losses.
While that may be the case, most of those wins were in contests where the outcome was not seriously in doubt. And among those 22 losses were candidates in key Senate and governor races who Trump boosted over more established options – candidates whose losses cost Republicans control of the Senate and put key 2024 presidential swing states under the authority of Democrats.
Those are the results that have opened Trump to criticism from some within his own party, who have said American voters aren’t buying the brand of politics he’s selling.
As Donald Trump speaks at Mar-a-Lago, supporters are receiving calls for donations in their email inboxes.
The former president already has a massive campaign war chest.
Image source, .
Morgan Gisholt Minard
Reporting from West Palm Beach, Florida
Image source, Getty ImagesIf you've got an open window and are anywhere within a mile of Mar-a-Lago, where Donald Trump has just announced his candidacy, you can hear cheers, honking horns, and chants of "four more years!" coming from supporters assembled outside the exclusive club.
Trucks outfitted with "don't blame me - I voted for Trump" banners and American flags have been cruising the neighbourhood at a leisurely pace all evening. And for the former president's fans at home, a new fundraising email has just dropped from Donald J. Trump - subject line: "I am running for President. AGAIN."
Image source, Getty Images
Mike Wendling
US disinformation reporter
Trump has just claimed he presided over the “fastest economic recovery ever recorded".
The recession in early 2020 was deep but very quick, and the Trump administration pumped relief into the hands of millions of Americans, external.
But economic growth didn't stop when Trump left, in fact it continued well into 2021 - which is why Trump's successor, Joe Biden, also takes credit for the recovery, external.
The speed of the rebound was largely due to the nature of the recession, caused by the massive worldwide shutdown due to the Covid pandemic. That's not to say the recovery wasn't helped by Trump's policies, but the unusual recession certainly made the bounce back faster.
"In order to make America great and glorious again, tonight I am announcing my candidacy for the president of the United States."
He says it is "really easy" to speak to a crowd when "there is such love in the room".
"So from now until election day in 2024... I will fight like no one has ever fought before. We will defeat the radical left Democrats who are trying to destroy our country from within."
Republicans lost the Senate in the midterm elections - but a run-off election in Georgia next month will decide whether the party can win back one of its seats.
The Republican candidate in the race - Herschel Walker - is a long-time personal friend who Trump convinced to join the race.
"Get out and vote for Herschel Walker," Trump says to the crowd in Florida.
"He was an incredible athlete. He'll be an even better senator."
Many of Trump's endorsed candidates underperformed in this year's midterm elections, leading some top Republicans to turn on him.
On the other side of the world, President Biden is meeting with world leaders regarding the missile that killed two people in Poland today.
Trump claims that Biden has brought the US to the brink of nuclear war with its handling of the conflict in Ukraine.
"Even just today a missile sent in, probably by Russia, to Poland," says Trump.
"The people are going absolutely wild and crazy and they're not happy. They're very very angry."
Trump is speaking proudly about his record in office.
"In four short years, everyone was doing great," he says. "Everyone was thriving like never before."
He says that the US economy was making a swift recovery when he left office, after falling during the coronavirus pandemic.
"Now we are a nation in decline," he says, citing high inflation rates.
The economy's average annual growth was lower under Trump than under some recent former presidents, even before the pandemic hit.
A voice over the loudspeaker introduces Trump as "the next president of the United States". Trump has now started speaking.
He has started his speech by digging into President Biden's record and tells supporters "America's comeback starts right now".
Image source, ReutersDonald Trump is about to start speaking moments after filing the paperwork to run for president again.
As he approaches the stage Do You Hear the People Sing? from the musical Les Miserables is playing. The sign on the podium says Trump 2024.
Let's hear what he has to say - we'll be bringing you live updates.
Americans must file paperwork in order to run for president.
The document just filed by Donald Trump's team with the Federal Election Commission designates a principal campaign committee to take in contributions and make expenditures on his behalf.
Screengrab of the paperwork filed by Trump
Donald Trump has just filed paperwork to run for president in 2024 minutes before he is expected to address a crowd in Mar-a-Lago.
Jonathan Csapo
Reporting from West Palm Beach, Florida
John and Flora met while waving banners outside of Trump’s home on Monday night
"Take America Back” and “Don’t blame me, I voted for Trump” are among the more popular choices for T-shirts at this impromptu fair outside a local supermarket just down the road from Mar-a-Lago.
Among the former president’s fans who have gathered here are John and Flora – who met while waving banners outside of Trump’s home on Monday night. John travelled from the state of Idaho to be here and Flora is from nearby Orlando, Florida. They’ve become friends.
“The media doesn’t get it – this is not about Trump,” says John. He tells me that there is a movement that has grown out of the Trump fan base and that it represents a freedom first agenda and fighting off the threat of communism. Both he and Flora say they identify as conservative independents – not Republicans.
When pressed about Trump’s chances to win the presidency in 2024, the new friends say that Trump has a proven track record.
“Promises made, promises kept,” says Flora. They describe Trump as an independent businessman – not a politician – and that with a two party system, their only option is to vote for the lesser of two evils. They say they wish there was a third political party that better represented their views.
Former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago event - said to include a "major announcement" - is scheduled to kick off in 30 minutes.
Stay with us for live updates and analysis.