Former President Donald Trump revealed on Wednesday that he has already agreed to run in the 2024 general election campaign if he wins the Republican presidential nomination.
Trump, however, declined to say who he was when asked during a televised town hall in Des Moines, Iowa.
“Well, I can’t tell you that,” Trump, 77, told Fox News host Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, the event’s moderator.
“I mean, I know who it’s going to be,” he added.
The GOP presidential front-runner also boasted that he has fielded many calls from people eager to work in his potential new administration — while blasting the last “stiffness.”
“I have a lot of people who want to work with me,” he said. “I had people calling — when I got on stage, I got calls from two of the most important people in the military who wanted to come work for me.”
“Everyone wants to come work for us. We will have no problem. We have great people [in his first term]we have a couple who are not great, stiff, as I call them, but that’s true with anybody,” he added.
Trump also took aim at President Biden over his policies on Iran, accusing the incumbent of enriching US enemies by paying for the release of American hostages and lifting sanctions.
“Iran is broke,” Trump said of the financial state of the Islamic Republic when he lost to Biden, 81, in 2020, claiming that he convinced China and several other countries to stop buying Iranian oil during his administration.
“They have no money. No money for Hamas, for Hezbollah. There is no money for anyone,” he added.
Trump specifically called for the Biden administration’s action to extend a sanctions waiver last November that gave Iran access to about $10 billion from Iraq in exchange for electricity purchases.
“They got $10 billion to supply some electricity to Iraq, which, by the way, they own,” Trump said, calling Iraq “a subsidiary of Iran.”
The former president continued to argue that the US should have controlled Iraq’s oil production when it invaded in 2003.
“If you’re going to do it, save the oil, remember, save the oil,” Trump said, reflecting on his position on the Iraq war before he entered politics. “They don’t store oil. .. and we have nothing. We have nothing. You know, they used to say about war, the spoils belong to the victors. We go somewhere, we wipe it out and then we leave. We are run by idiots. We are run by idiots.”
Donald Trump says he has already decided on his 2024 running mate. Getty Images
Trump described his vision for foreign policy in his second term as “peace through strength.”
He also refused to rule out withdrawing from NATO.
“It depends if they treat us right,” he said of his commitment to the transatlantic alliance. “European countries took advantage [of the US].”
“The reason they have the money now to claim what they did by helping Ukraine is because of the money I got them,” Trump continued, referring to the pressure he’s putting on NATO members to commit to more defense spending.
“I mean, I know who it’s going to be,” Trump added. AFP via Getty Images
When asked how focused he would be on “retribution” – a central theme of his 2024 campaign – in a second term, Trump played down the notion that he wanted to retaliate against his antagonists, but suggested his supporters would back him, if he chose that path.
“Well, first of all, a lot of people would say that’s not so bad,” Trump said of going after his adversary. “Look at what they’re doing – the Russia Russia Russia hoax, the FBI-Twitter hoax, the 51 intelligence agent hoax, all the different hoaxes they’re doing. I mean, you know, a lot of people would say, that’s probably normal.”
“I will not have time for revenge,” he added “We will make this country successful again, I will not have time for revenge.”
“Our final reply is success.”
Trump leads his rival in the Hawkeye State by a 35-point margin, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average.
His closest rivals, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, polled about 16.5% to Trump’s 52.2% support.
The Iowa caucuses will be held on January 15th.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
