WASHINGTON - Donald Trump pulled the trigger on a third White House run on Tuesday, setting the stage for a bruising Republican nomination battle after a poor midterm election showing by his hand-picked candidates weakened his grip on the party.
"America's comeback starts right now," the former president told hundreds of supporters gathered in an ornate American flag-draped ballroom at his palatial Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
"In order to make America great and glorious again, I am tonight announcing my candidacy for president of the United States," said the 76-year-old, who filed his official 2024 paperwork with the US election authority moments earlier.
Trump's unusually early entry into the White House race is being seen in Washington as an attempt to get the jump on other Republicans seeking to be the party flag-bearer -- and to stave off potential criminal charges.
Trump, who lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden after being impeached twice by the House of Representatives, launches his new bid with several potential handicaps.
He is the target of multiple investigations into his conduct before, during and after his first term as president -- which could ultimately result in his disqualification.
In a combative speech, Trump attacked Biden over inflation and crime and lauded his own accomplishments as president, including toppling the Islamic State and building a border wall with Mexico.
"Under our leadership, we were a great and glorious nation. But now we are a nation in decline," he said.
"In two years the Biden administration has destroyed the US economy," he said. "With a victory we will again build the greatest economy ever.
READ: US Senate race neck-and-neck as Trump readies presidential bid
"The blood-soaked streets of our once great cities are cesspools of violent crimes," he said, vowing to "restore and secure America's borders."
The 79-year-old Biden has said his intention is to seek a second term -- but he will make a final decision early next year.
"I will ensure that Joe Biden does not receive four more years," Trump vowed, while the US leader greeted Trump's announcement with a tweet saying: "Donald Trump failed America."
Trump had made denial of the 2020 election results a key litmus test for midterm candidates seeking his endorsement -- but a string of defeats by loyal allies sapped his momentum in preparing a new White House bid.
Having failed to wrest control of the Senate, Republicans appeared poised to take over the House, but with a razor-thin majority.
Despite his lacklustre election performance, the real estate tycoon retains an undeniable popularity with the millions of grassroots supporters who have flocked to his "Make America Great Again" banner.