US President Donald Trump launches re-election bid at campaign rally
President Donald Trump is today set to launch his re-election campaign at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida.
The formal start to his reelection campaign has long been expected. Mr Trump has held a number of political rallies across the United States over the course of his tenure.
The incumbent president is set to be the main Republican candidate for re-election, amid a very low unemployment rate and strong overall economic growth. However, this comes in light of a strained foreign policy environment characterised, among other things, by strained tensions with Iran, a trade war with China, and a diplomatic stalemate with North Korea.
From a foreign policy standpoint, Mr Trump’s reelection will depend on his ability to demonstrate both his successes in foreign policy endeavors and the desirability of his worldview. Expect the US president to harp on his more than $200 billion increase in defence spending for the fiscal years 2017 to 2019, the positive role of tariffs in forcing China to the negotiating table over its long “detested” intellectual property theft and “unfair” trade practices, and its calls on US allies to pay more their “fair share” in multilateral alliances like NATO.
By election day, American voters will be tasked with deciding with the ballot if Mr Trump’s purported successes and vision for the US role in the world are desirable or flawed.
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