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Donald Trump has dropped his heaviest hint yet that he will make another run for the White House telling a rally he will “very, very, very probably do it again”.

The former US president told a crowd in Iowa to “get ready” as he teased a comeback in 2024.

There is speculation Mr Trump could throw his hat into the ring in the coming weeks, ahead of the national Thanksgiving holiday on 24 November, as he seeks to benefit from expected Republican gains in Tuesday’s midterm elections and steal a march on rivals.

Democrat electoral hopes have been battered by voter concerns about high inflation, while Joe Biden’s public approval rating consistently languishes below 50%.

Opposition parties also historically fare better in midterm elections.

Polls indicate the Republicans are poised to take control of the US House of Representatives and possibly the Senate as well, which would give them the power to block Mr Biden’s legislative plans for the next two years.

Addressing Republican supporters, Mr Trump said: “And now, in order to make our country successful and safe and glorious, I will very, very, very probably do it again.

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“Get ready, that’s all I’m telling you, very soon. Get ready.”

One senior adviser told the Reuters news agency: “I think like a moth to a flame, Trump will run in 2024.

“I think that he wants to run and announcing before Thanksgiving gives him a great advantage over his opponents and he understands that.”

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How do midterm elections work?

However, Mr Trump remains a divisive figure after his controversial four-year term that ended with the deadly assault on the US Congress by his supporters on 6 January 2021.

He has also continued to falsely claim his election defeat was the result of fraud.

Mr Trump currently faces a string of investigations, including an inquiry into classified documents he took from the White House after leaving office, some of which prosecutors say have not yet been recovered.

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Biden: ‘Democracy is at risk’

Read more:
Biden warns democracy at risk as midterms loom

Anger, betrayal and fear as America braces for midterm elections

A poll last month showed just 41% of Americans viewed him favourably.

Mr Trump has kept up a steady appearance at political rallies since leaving office, during which he has frequently signalled the possibility he would contest the presidency again.

He is expected to host family and friends at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday night to celebrate expected victories among candidates he backed in the midterms.

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A number of senior Republican figures are also considering whether to seek the party’s presidential nomination in 2024.

Florida governor Ron DeSantis, Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin and Mr Trump’s former vice president Mike Pence, are seen as among the among potential challengers.

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Anti-Trump protests sweep America for the second time in weeks

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Anti-Trump protests sweep America for the second time in weeks

Anti-Trump protests took place across America on Saturday, with demonstrators decrying the administration’s immigration crackdown and mass firings at government agencies. 

Events ranged from small local marches to a rally in front of the White House and a demonstration at a Massachusetts commemoration of the start of the Revolutionary War 250 years ago.

Thomas Bassford, 80, was at the battle reenactment with his two grandsons, as well as his partner and daughter.

He said: “This is a very perilous time in America for liberty. I wanted the boys to learn about the origins of this country and that sometimes we have to fight for freedom.”

At events across the country, people carried banners with slogans including “Trump fascist regime must go now!”, “No fear, no hate, no ICE in our state,” and “Fight fiercely, Harvard, fight,” referencing the university’s recent refusal to hand over much of its control to the government.

Some signs name-checked Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadorian citizen living in Maryland, who the Justice Department admits was mistakenly deported to his home country.

Read more: Donald Trump’s deportations explained

Pic: AP
Image:
Pic: AP

People waved US flags, some of them held upside down to signal distress. In San Francisco, hundreds of people spelt out “Impeach & Remove” on a beach, also with an inverted US flag.

People walked through downtown Anchorage in Alaska with handmade signs listing reasons why they were demonstrating, including one that read: “No sign is BIG enough to list ALL of the reasons I’m here!”

Pic: AP
Image:
Pic: AP


Protests also took place outside Tesla car dealerships against the role Elon Musk ahas played in downsizing the federal government as de facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The protests come just two weeks after similar nationwide demonstrations.

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Organisers are opposing what they call Mr Trump’s civil rights violations and constitutional violations, including efforts to deport scores of immigrants and to scale back the federal government by firing thousands of government workers and effectively shuttering entire agencies.

The Trump administration, among other things, has moved to shutter Social Security Administration field offices, cut funding for government health programs and scale back protections for transgender people.

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Day 91: Q&A – deportations, dollar bills and MAGA hats

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Day 91: Q&A - deportations, dollar bills and MAGA hats

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On Day 91, our US correspondents James Matthews and David Blevins tackle listeners’ questions.

Is Trump’s El Salvador deportation plan good business? Could President Trump put his face on a dollar bill? And are MAGA hats made in China?

If you’ve got a question you’d like the TRUMP100 team to answer, you can email it to trump100@sky.uk.

Don’t forget, you can also watch all episodes on our YouTube channel.

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JD Vance has ‘quick and private’ meeting with the Pope during visit to Rome

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JD Vance has 'quick and private' meeting with the Pope during visit to Rome

US vice president JD Vance has met with Pope Francis.

The “quick and private” meeting took place at the Pope’s residence, Casa Santa Marta, in Vatican City, sources told Sky News.

The meeting came amid tensions between the Vatican and the Trump administration over the US president’s crackdown on migrants and cuts to international aid.

No further details have been released on the meeting between the vice president and the Pope, who has been recovering following weeks in hospital with double pneumonia.

Mr Vance, who is in Rome with his family, also met with the Vatican’s number two, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher.

The Vatican said there had been “an exchange of opinions” over international conflicts, migrants and prisoners.

According to a statement, the two sides had “cordial talks” and the Vatican expressed satisfaction with the Trump administration’s commitment to protecting freedom of religion and conscience.

“There was an exchange of opinions on the international situation, especially regarding countries affected by war, political tensions and difficult humanitarian situations, with particular attention to migrants, refugees and prisoners,” the statement said.

Francis has previously called the Trump administration’s deportation plans a “disgrace”.

Read more from Sky News:
US VP meets Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni

Trump: Putin not playing me – but I might give up on peace talks

Mr Vance, who became Catholic in 2019, has cited medieval-era Catholic teaching to justify the immigration crackdown.

The pope rebutted the theological concept Mr Vance used to defend the crackdown in an unusual open letter to the US
Catholic bishops about the Trump administration in February, and called Mr Trump’s plan a “major crisis” for the US.

“What is built on the basis of force, and not on the truth about the equal dignity of every human being, begins badly and
will end badly,” the Pope said in the letter.

Mr Vance has acknowledged Francis’s criticism but said he would continue to defend his views. During an appearance in late February at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, he did not address the issue specifically but called himself a “baby Catholic” and acknowledged there were “things about the faith that I don’t know”.

While he had criticised Francis on social media in the past, recently he has posted prayers for the pontiff’s recovery.

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