Donald Trump ignores pressure from fellow Republicans, teases 2024 run in DC return

Insisting that he won his second bid for the White House and would not allow his perceived enemies to bar a return, former US President Donald Trump on Tuesday ignored pressure from some fellow Republicans to avoid repeating his false claims about a stolen 2020 election.

Although he stopped short of declaring his candidacy in the 2024 presidential election, Trump predicted Republicans would retake the Senate in his first speech in Washington since leaving office 18 months ago.

In a 93-minute speech to the conservative America First Policy Institute, Trump said "I ran the first time and I won. Then I ran a second time and I did much better ... and you know what? That's going to be the story for a long time, what a disgrace it was. But we may just have to do it again."

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Predicting a future federal government controlled by Republicans, Trump used his speech to paint a picture of an America plagued by crime.

Highlighting that he would use the National Guard to stop violence in states and cities, Trump added that he will relocate the urban homeless to tent encampments on the outskirts of American cities.

It comes after the congressional committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot depicted Trump as ignoring pleas of family and aides to intervene as he watched his supporters on live TV target the seat of Congress for hours.

Dismissing the panel as ''hacks and thugs'', Trump said it wants to damage his reputation so that he won't be able to run in the presidential election in 2024.

Rendering him unfit to return to the White House, the committee is trying to build a case that Trump's efforts to overturn his defeat in November 2020 by Democrat Joe Biden constitutes dereliction of duty and illegal conduct.

With some 40 per cent of Republicans saying he is at least partly to blame for the Capitol riot, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed that Trump's standing has weakened slightly even though he still remains the leading figure in the Republican Party.

Among those maneuvering for possible Republican primary challenges in 2024 is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis who can take advantage of Trump's waning popularity.

(With inputs from agencies)

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