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Donald Trump has officially launched a third bid for the US presidency after several hints amid legal probes and blame for the Republican Party’s underwhelming midterm election results.

He made the announcement from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and said: “America’s comeback starts right now.”

Mr Trump said that “everybody was doing great” after his four years in office, “the world was at peace” and that he “kept his promises”.

“Two years ago we were a great nation. And soon we will be a great nation again,” the former US president added.

“The decline of America is being forced upon us by Biden and the radical left… this is not a decline we must accept.”

He delivered the address to an audience of several hundred supporters, club members and gathered press in a ballroom at his club in Florida – flanked by dozens of American flags and banners that read: “Make America Great Again!”.

Ahead of his speech, Mr Trump’s aides filed paperwork for his 2024 presidential bid.

More on Us Midterms 2022

His much-anticipated declaration to stand comes as Republicans are still reeling from voters’ rejection of several of their candidates in the US midterm elections – many of them personally chosen and endorsed by Mr Trump.

He had hoped to use his party’s expected gains as a springboard to vault himself to his party’s nomination. Instead, he now finds himself being blamed for backing a series of losing candidates after disappointing results in which Democrats retained control of the Senate.

Control of the House remains too early to call.

US Midterms results tracker – live

A small group of supporters gather outside former U.S. President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate where he says he will make a "big announcement", possibly regarding his political future, Tuesday in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. November 14, 2022. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
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Supporters gathered outside Mar-a-Lago head of the ‘big announcement’

Aides and allies had urged Mr Trump to wait until after the midterms were over – and to wait until after a 6 December Senate run-off election in Georgia – before announcing a presidential bid.

But the former president, it seems, was eager to return to the spotlight.

He is also hoping to stave off a long list of potential challengers, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who cruised to re-election last week and is now being urged by many in his party to run for president as well.

Mr Trump has described him as “Ron DeSanctimonious”, and dismissed him as “in desperate shape”.

Read more:
Why US midterms are a very unreliable way of predicting the next president

The midterms last week ended up being as much of a referendum on the defeated former president as it was on incumbent President Joe Biden, with more than a quarter of people (28%) saying their vote had been made “to oppose Donald Trump,” even though he was no longer in office.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as Pennsylvania Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz speaks at a pre-election rally to support Republican candidates in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, U.S., November 5, 2022. REUTERS/Mike Segar
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Mr Trump endorsed former TV doctor Mehmet Oz – but he lost the midterms Senate race in Pennsylvania

He remains a key force in the Republican Party, but is a divisive figure after his controversial four-year term ended with the deadly Capitol riots on 6 January 2021.

He has continued to falsely claim the election defeat the riots were protesting, was a result of fraud, and is currently facing a string of investigations, including into his tax affairs and whether he took classified documents from the White House after leaving office.

However, last month, a poll found 41% of Americans viewed him favourably.

Impeached twice

Another campaign is a remarkable turn for any former president, much less one who made history as the first to be impeached twice.

Just one president in US history has been elected to two nonconsecutive terms: Grover Cleveland in 1884 and 1892.

“Hopefully, tomorrow will turn out to be one of the most important days in the history of our Country!” Mr Trump had written on his Truth Social media network on Monday.

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Denmark summons top US diplomat over alleged Greenland influence operations

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Denmark summons top US diplomat over alleged Greenland influence operations

Denmark’s foreign minister has summoned the top US diplomat in the country over a report alleging that people connected to Donald Trump have been carrying out covert influence operations in Greenland. 

The move to summon the American charge d’affaires came after Denmark’s national broadcaster reported on Wednesday that at least three people linked to the US president have been involved in such operations.

Mr Trump has repeatedly said he seeks US jurisdiction over Greenland – a vast, semi-autonomous territory of Denmark. He has not ruled out military force to take control of the mineral-rich, strategically located Arctic island.

Denmark, a US NATO ally, and Greenland have both stated that the island is not for sale and have criticised reports of US intelligence-gathering activities in the territory.

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Why does Trump want Greenland?

Danish public broadcaster DR reported on Wednesday that unnamed Danish government and security insiders, as well as unidentified sources in Greenland and the US, believe that at least three Americans with connections to Mr Trump have been carrying out covert influence operations.

According to the report, one individual allegedly created a list of Greenlanders supportive of the US, gathered the names of those critical of Mr Trump, and encouraged locals to highlight incidents that could portray Denmark negatively in the American media.

Two others reportedly attempted to build relationships with local politicians, business figures, and residents.

More on Greenland

An influence operation is an organised effort to shape how people in a society think in order to achieve certain political, military or other objectives.

DR said its report is based on information from eight sources who believe the objective is to undermine Denmark’s relationship with Greenland by influencing Greenlandic society from within.

The US embassy in Copenhagen directed queries on the issue to Washington.

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The Danish broadcaster said it had been unable to clarify whether the Americans were working at their own initiative or on orders from someone else. It said it knows their names but chose not to publish them in order to protect its sources.

Sky News is unable to independently verify those claims.

“We are aware that foreign actors continue to show an interest in Greenland and its position in the Kingdom of Denmark,” Danish foreign minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said in a statement released by his ministry.

“It is therefore not surprising if we experience outside attempts to influence the future of the kingdom in the time ahead.

“Any attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of the kingdom will of course be unacceptable,” Mr Rasmussen said.

Cooperation between the governments of Denmark and Greenland “is close and based on mutual trust,” he added.

Responding to a request for comment, the Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET) said it believes that “particularly in the current situation, Greenland is a target for influence campaigns of various kinds” that could aim to create divisions in the relationship between Denmark and Greenland

The service said it has consistently increased its efforts and presence in Greenland in collaboration with local authorities and plans to maintain this approach moving forward.

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Donald Trump says he wants to meet North Korea’s Kim Jong Un again – as soon as ‘this year’

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Donald Trump says he wants to meet North Korea's Kim Jong Un again - as soon as 'this year'

Donald Trump has said he wants to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un again.

Speaking at the White House as he held talks with the new South Korean president Lee Jae Myung, Mr Trump told reporters: “I’d like to meet him this year… I look forward to meeting with Kim Jong Un in the appropriate future.”

“I’d like to have a meeting. I got along great with him,” President Trump said, adding they “became very friendly” during his first term in office.

“We think we can do something in that regard,” he said, adding that he would like to help the relationship between the two Koreas.

Trump and Kim at the demilitarized zone in June 2019. Pic: Reuters
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Trump and Kim at the demilitarized zone in June 2019. Pic: Reuters

Mr Trump and Mr Kim held three meetings between 2018 and 2019 during Mr Trump’s first term and exchanged a number of, what the president called, “beautiful” letters.

In June 2019, Mr Trump briefly stepped into North Korea from the demilitarized zone (DMZ) with South Korea.

The US president on Monday responded to a question about whether he would return to the DMZ by fondly recalling the last time he did so.

“Remember when I walked across the line and everyone went crazy?” especially the Secret Service, Mr Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

But “I loved it”, Mr Trump said. He added he felt safe because he had a good relationship with Mr Kim.

Mr Trump met South Korea's Lee Jae Myung at the Oval Office on Monday. Pic: Reuters
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Mr Trump met South Korea’s Lee Jae Myung at the Oval Office on Monday. Pic: Reuters

Mr Trump became the first sitting American president to set foot on North Korean soil six years ago.

However, little progress was made in curbing North Korea’s nuclear programme, and Mr Trump acknowledged in March this year that Pyongyang is a “nuclear power”.

Kim possible: Is Trump seeking another ‘Hermit Kingdom’ handshake?

It was Donald Trump’s first meeting with the new president of South Korea.

A highly unconventional platform for glowing words about the North Korean one.

He said he got along “great” with Kim Jong Un and would like to meet him again “this year”.

The US president’s renewed interest in North Korea appears less about policy and more about theatrics.

The historic image of President Trump stepping on to North Korean soil in 2018 gave him global headlines.

The timing is curious – North Korea has been busy polishing its nuclear credentials and vowing not to disarm without serious concessions.

In other words, Pyongyang is holding the same cards it held four years ago, only now they’re shinier.

But Trump seems eager to revive his image as the only US president bold, or brash, enough to break bread with the ruler of the “Hermit Kingdom”.

Supporters call it visionary diplomacy; critics call it reality TV masquerading as foreign policy.

Either way, President Trump clearly sees value in the spectacle.

Whether Kim Jong Un does is another story.

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Since Mr Trump’s first-term meetings with Mr Kim ended, North Korea has shown no interest in returning to talks.

The White House said in June that Mr Trump would welcome communications with Mr Kim.

The attempts at rapprochement come after the election in South Korea of Mr Lee, who has pledged to reopen dialogue with North Korea.

As a gesture of engagement in June, Mr Lee suspended South Korean loudspeakers blasting music and messages into the North at the DMZ along their shared border.

Analysts say, however, that engaging North Korea will likely be more difficult for both Mr Lee and Mr Trump than it was in the president’s first term.

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Since then, North Korea has significantly expanded its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.

And it has developed close ties with Russia through direct support for Moscow’s war in Ukraine, with Pyongyang providing both troops and weaponry.

Mr Kim told Russian President Vladimir Putin that his country will always stand with Moscow, state media reported in June.

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Lil Nas X pleads not guilty after being charged with assaulting police officer

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Lil Nas X pleads not guilty after being charged with assaulting police officer

US rapper Lil Nas X has pleaded not guilty after being charged with assaulting a police officer while walking in downtown Los Angeles in his underwear.

The musician, real name Montero Lamar Hill, was taken to hospital and arrested after police responded to reports of a naked man shortly before 6am on Thursday.

The district attorney’s office said on Monday that Lil Nas X faces three counts of battery with injury on a police officer and one count of resisting an executive officer.

He was being held on a $75,000 (£55,457) bail, conditional on attending drug treatment. It is not immediately clear whether he had posted it and been released yet.

He is set to return to court on 15 September for his next pre-trial hearing.

Pic: AP
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Pic: AP

During the hearing on Monday, Hill’s lawyer Christy O’Connor told the judge he had led a “remarkable” life, adding: “Assuming the allegations here are true, this is an absolute aberration in this person’s life.

“Nothing like this has ever happened to him.”

A law enforcement source told Sky’s US partner network, NBC News, on Thursday that the Old Town Road and Industry Baby hitmaker punched an officer twice in the face during the encounter.

The source added officers were unsure whether he was on any substances or in mental distress.

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NBC News cited TMZ footage where Hill was seen walking down the middle of Ventura Boulevard at 4am on Thursday in a pair of white briefs and cowboy boots.

In the videos, Hill tells a driver to “come to the party” in one clip and in another tells the person: “Didn’t I tell you to put the phone down?”

“Uh oh, someone’s going to have to pay for that,” Hill says as he continues to walk away.

In some clips, Hill struts as if he’s on a catwalk, posing for onlookers, and at one point he places an orange traffic cone on his head.

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