Trump drops hints that he may run for president in 2024
WASHINGTON: Still irate and bitter one month after his election defeat to rival Joe Biden, US President Donald Trump is openly musing about a second run at the presidency in 2024.
Refusing to accept defeat, Mr Trump's lawyers and supporters continued to file lawsuits on Wednesday and even called for extraordinary intervention, such as martial law, to force a new vote.
At a White House holiday reception on Tuesday night, Mr Trump said: "We are trying to do another four years. he told the assembled group, according to a Republican source who was at the event. "Otherwise, I'll see you in four years."
A source familiar with the internal debate said Mr Trump has been discussing with advisers on not attending the inauguration ceremony on Jan 20 but instead announcing his 2024 bid that day.
The source said there had been no decision. Only a handful of outgoing US presidents have chosen to miss the swearing-in of their successors.
Mr Trump tweeted a video on Wednesday in which he repeated unfounded accusations about the election being rigged and said he would keep up the fight against the outcome.
Mr Trump, who spoke from behind a lectern with the presidential seal, posted a two-minute version of the message on Twitter with a link to a 46-minute version on Facebook.
He recorded what he said "may be the most important speech I've ever made".
He repeated a long list of false assertions about voter fraud and accusing Democrats of a conspiracy to steal the presidency, The New York Times reported. Twitter labelled the post "disputed" and Facebook added a note that President-elect Joe Biden is the projected winner of the election.
Mr Trump's claims have gained traction among his followers, however, helping to raise as much as US$170 million (S$227 million) for an Election Defence Fund that can be used for a wide variety of future political activities, including another run for the presidency, according to news media reports.
And two prominent retired three-star generals, including Mr Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn, chillingly called for Mr Trump to declare martial law and have the military supervise a new election. - AFP, REUTERS
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