Tuesday's announcement wasn't really much of an actual announcement.
Donald Trump had been telegraphing his renewed bid was coming for a while — but political experts say this was all part of his strategy to win the GOP nomination in what's expected to be a crowded field.
Speaking inside the gilded ballroom of his Palm Beach home, Tuesday night, former President Trump made it official, another White House run; even filing his paperwork before taking the stage.
"In order to make America great and glorious again — I am announcing my candidacy for president of the United States," Trump said.
During Trump's more than hour-long speech, he touted his previous term, railed on current President Joe Biden, promised congressional term limits, tougher border security, a missile shield and an end to early voting.
His early announcement, strategists say, is an attempt at chasing off potential primary challengers, which might include Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis who continues to get national attention for his major re-election victory a week ago.
"I think a lot of Republicans in Florida are disappointed that the fight had to start so quickly after they just garnered a huge victory that caught the nation's attention," University of South Florida professor emerita Dr. Susan MacManus said.
MacManus says it could be a hard choice for the GOP, which might be ready to break with Trump after losses in 2020 and a lackluster midterm.
"They're gonna have to choose, but it's not right now, and it's not even a couple of months from now, because the primaries are a long time off," MacManus said.
DeSantis, meanwhile, has been rather quiet about his former ally's "big announcement."
That's despite receiving a taste of Trump's ire in a recent statement — which the governor finally addressed earlier Tuesday.
"All that is just noise, you know, at the end of the day, I would just tell people to go check out the scoreboard from last Tuesday night," DeSantis said.
Trump and DeSantis now seem to be on a collision course for 2024 — and at the moment, the governor might be in the lead.
New surveys from Iowa, New Hampshire, Georgia, and Florida — show DeSantis with a double-digit margin over Trump.
The big question now becomes who will the GOP rally around in these coming months-- and who else will run?
Besides DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are thought to be in the mix.
Time will tell.
