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Donald Trump is giving his first speech since leaving office as president at the Conservative Political Action Conference (C-PAC).

His public appearance comes just weeks after he was acquitted during an impeachment trial which saw some members of his own Republican Party vote against him.

The former president is expected to attack the actions being taken by successor Joe Biden in the Florida speech.

The C-PAC appearance represents his continued influence over Republicans.

The mood of the conference so far has been extremely pro-Trump, with loyalists including Texas Senator Ted Cruz and his son Donald Trump Jr. among the speakers confirmed.

Donald Trump’s speech was hotly anticipated by his supporters, given his relative absence from the political spotlight since leaving office.

He remains banned from social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, over his response to January’s deadly riot at the US Capitol.

He has been living at his Mar-a-Lago Florida golf resort since leaving the White House.

According to prepared script excerpts sent by his office ahead of time, Donald Trump will attack early actions by President Joe Biden during the speech – especially on immigration.

He is also set to focus on what he will describe as the future of “our movement” during the speech, amid a divide among some Republicans over the party’s future political direction.

He is expected to say that the “incredible journey” that he and supporters “began together four years ago is far from over”. But Donald Trump is not expected to confirm another presidential run in 2024 yet, according to a senior adviser quoted by CBS.

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Donald Trump Jr. trailed his father’s appearance during his own speech on February 26.

He told the audience: “I imagine it will not be what we call a low energy speech, and I assure you that it will solidify Donald Trump and all of your feelings about the MAGA [Make America Great Again] movement as the future of the Republican party.”

Members of the Republican Party remained largely loyal to Donald Trump during his time in office but 10 voted to impeach him in the House of Representatives last month and seven voted to convict him in the subsequent Senate trial. The overall tally, 57-43 in favor of his guilt, fell short of the two-thirds margin needed to convict Donald Trump.

The schism in the party has remained since, with those who have broken rank against him notably absent from the CPAC stage.

The C-PAC, which began in 1974, is seen as the most influential gathering of conservatives and a barometer of the Republican party’s political direction.

Despite losing November’s presidential election and being deeply criticized over the January riot by some of his supporters, reports suggest Donald Trump remains extremely popular among his voting base.

Last week, one poll suggested 46% of surveyed Trump voters would vote for him on a third-party ticket rather than another Republican candidate.

House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, the most senior elected Republican official, has said he will not defend Donald Trump, after remarks he made about groping women led to outrage.

Paul Ryan vowed to focus on defending seats in Congress, but did not end his endorsement of the Republican Party’s nominee.

Donald Trump tweeted that Paul Ryan should not waste his time fighting him.

Earlier Hillary Clinton cast doubt on Donald Trump’s apology for the remarks, made 11 years ago.

On October 9, Donald Trump described his words as “locker-room talk”.

In a bitter TV debate, a month before the presidential election, Donald Trump denied he had groped anyone.

Hillary Clinton tweeted on October 10 that, if Donald Trump stood by this assertion, he was “clearly not sorry”.

Meanwhile Donald Trump’s running mate Mike Pence said he would stand by him despite an outcry over the remarks.

A 2005 video released on October 7 revealed Donald Trump describing how he had sought to have s** with a married woman and making inappropriate comments about women.

Photo Reuters

Photo Reuters

Asked about the video in the debate, Donald Trump turned his fire on Hillary Clinton’s husband, former President Bill Clinton, whom he described as “abusive to women”.

Hillary Clinton refused to address the comments.

At least 38 senior Republicans – including senators, members of Congress, and state governors – have withdrawn their support for Donald Trump since the video surfaced.

According to sources familiar with a conference call he held with congress members on October 10, Paul Ryan appeared to have accepted that Hillary Clinton would win the White House and wanted to make sure Republicans in Congress were strong enough to challenge her.

Paul Ryan said he would spend “his entire energy making sure that Hillary Clinton does not get a blank cheque with a Democrat-controlled Congress”, the source said.

“You all need to do what’s best for you in your district,” Paul Ryan was quoted as telling colleagues.

Donald Trump apologized for the remarks, and when pressed during the debate on whether he had engaged in s**ual misconduct, he denied doing so.

However, Hillary Clinton said his explanation that these were words not actions did not amount to an apology.

“If Trump stands by what he said about women as <<locker room talk>>, he’s clearly not sorry,” she tweeted.

Meanwhile Mike Pence praised Donald Trump’s honesty.

“I think last night he showed his heart to the American people. He said he apologized to his family, apologized to the American people, that he was embarrassed by it,” Mike Pence told CNN on October 10.

Earlier Mike Pence had described the remarks as indefensible.

The vice-presidential candidate said he was “honored to stand with” Donald Trump and denied he had considered withdrawing from the race.

When moderator Anderson Cooper asked about the video, Donald Trump denied ever assaulting women, dismissing the remarks as “just words”. Instead he focused on ex-President Bill Clinton’s indiscretions.

Hillary Clinton said the explosive video “represents exactly who he is”.

“With prior Republican nominees, I disagreed with them, but I never questioned their fitness to serve,” she said.

Donald Trump said if he won, he would appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Hillary Clinton and she would be in prison over her private email arrangements.

“Everything he just said is absolutely false but I’m not surprised,” she responded.

“It’s just awfully good that someone with the temperament of Donald Trump is not in charge of the law in our country.”

“Because you’d be in jail,” Donald Trump interrupted.

He also said Hillary Clinton “has tremendous hate in her heart” while criticizing her for referring to his supporters as “deplorables”.

Hillary Clinton said she apologized for the comment, adding: “My argument is not with his supporters, it’s with him, about the hateful and divisive campaign he has run.”

Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton also sparred on the conflict in Syria, Russian aggression, Trump’s refusal to release his tax returns and his plan for the “extreme vetting” of immigrants arriving from countries with links to terrorism.

The evening concluded when an audience member asked the candidates to say one positive thing about each other.

Hillary Clinton said his children were a great reflection of him while Donald Trump called his opponent “a fighter” who never gives up.

An hour before the debate began, Donald Trump appeared at a news conference with women who accused Bill Clinton of s**ual misconduct.

Donald Trump joined three women who allege Bill Clinton assaulted them and called the women “very courageous”.

Hillary Clinton also defended controversial remarks she made in a private speech that was made public in leaked emails on October 8.

The transcript revealed Hillary Clinton said a politician has a public and private position, but at the debate she said she had watched a film about Abraham Lincoln and was referring only to what he had done.

In a letter signed by more than 70 Republicans, the GOP’s National Committee head is being urged to stop funding Donald Trump’s campaign.

The signatories said Donald Trump’s “divisiveness” and “incompetence” risked drowning the party in November’s election.

The letter said that the GOP should instead focus on protecting vulnerable candidates in elections to the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Former members of Congress are among the signatories of the letter.

“We believe that Donald Trump’s divisiveness, recklessness, incompetence, and record-breaking unpopularity risk turning this election into a Democratic landslide,” said a draft of the letter published by Politico.Donald Trump San Diego rally

“Only the immediate shift of all available RNC resources to vulnerable Senate and House races will prevent the GOP from drowning with a Trump-emblazoned anchor around its neck.”

The letter added: “This should not be a difficult decision, as Donald Trump’s chances of being elected president are evaporating by the day.”

Reacting to the move, Donald Trump said he was not concerned that the party could cut him off.

“All I have to do is stop funding the Republican Party,” he said.

According to a Time Magazine report on August 11, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus had threatened to withdraw funding from the Trump campaign, and instead direct it to Congressional campaigns.

Donald Trump denies that this conversation ever took place.

The Republican presidential nominee has endured 10 days of negative headlines after a string of controversial comments.

In recent weeks, several leading Republicans have deserted Donald Trump over his outspoken attacks.

Polls suggest support for Donald Trump has been falling in key battleground states in recent weeks.

Mitt Romney has urged the Republican Party to reject Donald Trump, reportedly calling the front-runner a “phony” and “fraud”.

The former Republican presidential candidate accuses Donald Trump of “playing the American public for suckers”, in a planned speech leaked to the media.

Donald Trump has meanwhile mocked Mitt Romney on Twitter as a “failed candidate” who should not advise on getting elected.

Many senior Republicans are alarmed at the prospect of Donald Trump securing the nomination for November’s election.

In the latest attack from top figures in the party, several members of the Republican national security community wrote an open letter describing Donald Trump’s “vision of American influence and power in the world” as “wildly inconsistent and unmoored in principle”.Mitt Romney Donald Trump indictment

“He swings from isolationism to military adventurism within the space of one sentence,” the letter said.

Donald Trump has sought to present himself as a “unifier”, after his victories in seven states on so-called Super Tuesday consolidated his position at the front of the race for his party’s nomination.

Mitt Romney, who has been a fierce critic of Donald Trump, is expected to warn in his speech on March 3 that his policies are a threat to the Republican Party and to the country as a whole.

“Here’s what I know: Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud,” Mitt Romney says, according to a leaked transcript of his remarks.

“His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University,” he is quoted as saying.

Mitt Romney will also warn that the nomination of Donald Trump would pave the way to the presidency for Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

Donald Trump meanwhile accused Mitt Romney of having run “one of the worst races in presidential history” and “working with the establishment” to prevent a Republican win.

Mitt Romney lost the 2012 election to President Barack Obama.

Several GOP leaders, including House Speaker Paul Ryan and South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, have spoken out against Donald Trump’s controversial policies and positions in recent days.

Donald Trump’s latest controversy centers on his failure to disavow David Duke, a leader of the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan, who endorsed him. He later said he had on several occasions in the past disavowed David Duke.

Paul Ryan said on March 1 that nominees “must reject any group or cause that is built on bigotry. This party does not prey on people’s prejudices”.

Donald Trump rival Marco Rubio indicated in his speech on Super Tuesday that the Republican establishment was unlikely to back the former reality TV star.

According to the New York Times, some GOP donors are already trying to raise funds for an anti-Trump effort.

Paul Ryan has said he will run for House Speaker if Republicans in the chamber unite behind his candidacy.

The Wisconsin Representative, who ran as Mitt Romney’s vice-presidential candidate in 2012, is seen as his party’s best hope to elect an effective Congressional leader.

A group of ultra-conservative House members have recently rebelled against party leaders.

House Speaker John Boehner resigned last month under pressure.

John Boehner’s handpicked successor House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy withdrew from consideration after it was clear he did not have the support of the ultra-conservative bloc known as the Freedom Caucus.

Photo Getty Images

Photo Getty Images

Freedom Caucus, a group of about 30 to 40 members, demanded key concessions from Kevin McCarthy. The California representative reportedly said he could not effectively lead the House under those conditions.

The very public party infighting has been seen detrimental to the Republicans’ goal of retaining control of Congress and re-taking the White House in 2016.

“We as a conference should unify now,” Paul Ryan told reporters on October 20 after meeting with House Republicans.

“What I told members is if you can agree to these requests and if I can truly be a unifying figure, then I will gladly serve, and if I am not unifying, that is fine as well – I will be happy to stay where I am.”

Paul Ryan gave his colleagues until October 23 to express their support.

He had been reluctant to serve, preferring his role as the chairman of the influential House Way and Means Committee.

Paul Ryan also is the father of three young children and returns home to Wisconsin on weekends to spend time with them.

John Boehner spent many of his weekends raising money for fellow Republican representatives.

Paul Ryan said on October 20 that if elected the role will have to change to accommodate his family life.

To run, Paul Ryan also demanded a House procedure known as “motion to vacate the chair” be abandoned.

The motion allows a small group of lawmakers to challenge the Speaker and is a key source of leverage for the Freedom Caucus.

John Boehner resigned in part because of this tactic.

It is unclear whether Republicans will unite behind Paul Ryan. At least one conservative called Paul Ryan’s demand to end the “motion to vacate the chair” a “non-starter” and others are still uncertain.

The first black senator popularly elected in the US, Edward Brooke, has died aged 95, Republican Party officials say.

Edward Brooke was elected to Congress in 1966 by voters in Massachusetts at a time of widespread racial unrest.First black senator Edward Brooke

A former lawyer, Edward Brooke had also been the first African-American to hold the post of attorney general in any state when he was elected senator.

Two black senators before Edward Brooke were both picked by state legislatures.

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The White House has potsponed a meeting with Democrats and Republicans congressional leaders as lawmakers continue talks on raising the nation’s debt limit.

The talks were to take place between President Barack Obama, Vice-President Joe Biden and leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives.

The US government shutdown, also a result of the political deadlock, has now entered its third week.

Officials warn of economic calamity should the US default on its debt.

In a statement, the White House said Monday afternoon’s meeting had been postponed to “allow leaders in the Senate time to continue making important progress towards a solution that raises the debt limit and reopens the government”.

It is unclear when it will be rescheduled.

The White House has potsponed a meeting with Democrats and Republicans congressional leaders as lawmakers continue talks on raising the nation's debt limit

The White House has potsponed a meeting with Democrats and Republicans congressional leaders as lawmakers continue talks on raising the nation’s debt limit

President Barack Obama sounded his own warning as he toured a soup kitchen for the poor in Washington D.C. earlier on Monday.

“This week if we don’t start making some real progress, both the House and the Senate – and if Republicans aren’t willing to set aside their partisan concerns in order to do what’s right for the country – we stand a good chance of defaulting,” he said.

“And defaulting would have a potentially devastating effect on our economy.”

Barack Obama said he saw “some progress” in the talks, ahead of Thursday’s deadline for the US to raise its $16.7 trillion borrowing limit or risk default on its debt.

Expected to attend the White House meeting were Senate Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican House Speaker John Boehner and House Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

On Monday, Harry Reid told the Senate he was “very optimistic we will reach an agreement”. Mr McConnell also expressed optimism, following what he described as “a couple of very useful discussions” with the Democratic leader.

Republican Senator Susan Collins acknowledged the Senate did not have a finished agreement, but said senators were “making very good progress”.

A separate bipartisan group led by Susan Collins also met for several hours earlier in the day to discuss possible solutions, the Associated Press news agency reported.

Congressional Democrats are now said to be using the looming debt ceiling deadline as leverage to push back against previously enacted cuts to the US government budget.

Those deep military and domestic spending cuts, known as the “sequester”, went into effect in January 2013 after Democrats and Republicans failed to reach a budget compromise.

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Former senior aides to Mitt Romney have hit back at the “hypocrites” in the Republican party who just days before the election were clamoring for jobs in a Romney administration and are now belittling him.

“I’m sure Governor Romney is finding out now who his real friends are,” said a former adviser.

“There were one or two well-known figures who were late committing to support him, were the most eager to curry favor when it looked like we would win and are now out there trashing the governor.

“In politics, when you win you are a genius and when you lose everyone calls you an idiot. But to see the way certain craven hypocrites are acting right now really sticks in the craw.”

Speaking on MSNBC, Dan Senor, a former top foreign policy adviser to Mitt Romney, accused some of the former Massachusetts supporters of being fair weather friends.

At a big event in Ohio just days before the election, he said, there were leading figures cozying up to Mitt Romney and trying to land cabinet positions.

“Tens of thousands of people, you could feel the energy, a hundred top-tier Romney surrogates were at the event,” he remembered.

“I’m backstage with some of them – I won’t mention their names – but they’re talking about Romney like he’s Reagan.

“<<His debate performances were the best performances of any Republican nominee in presidential history. He’s iconic>>. They were talking about him because they believed he was going to win in four or five days. And in fact, some of them were already talking to our transition to position themselves for a Romney cabinet.”

Mitt Romney aides blast Republican "hypocrites" like Bobby Jindal and Newt Gingrich

Mitt Romney aides blast Republican “hypocrites” like Bobby Jindal and Newt Gingrich

Within days, however, there was a “stunning” turnaround as the same people turned on Romney with a vengeance.

“They were on television, it was unbelievable, it was five, six days later, absolutely eviscerating him,” Dan Senor said.

But the other senior adviser, who declined to be named when criticizing senior Republicans, singled out Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Newt Gingrich as among those who had been quickest to lambast Mitt Romney.

After Mitt Romney told donors on a post-election conference call that many voted had plumped for President Barack Obama because he had offered them “gifts”, Bobby Jindal said Romney’s comments were “absolutely wrong”.

He said: “We have got to stop dividing American voters. We need to go after 100 per cent of the votes, not 53 per cent – we need to go after every single vote.”

That was a reference to Mitt Romney’s notorious “47 per cent” comments in which he said that proportion of voters was dependent on government and would inevitably back a Democrat.

Newt Gingrich called the “gifts” comments “nuts” and “insulting” to voters.

The anonymous adviser said: “Bobby Jindal wanted very, very much to be Vice President. He appeared publicly with Governor Romney after the 47 per cent comments, which the governor himself said were totally wrong.

“Newt Gingrich made it clear to us he wanted to be part of a Romney administration.

“Both these guys – and others – were the governor’s best friend when it seemed he was on the brink of becoming our 45th President. Now they’re calling him a bum. Real profiles in courage.”

Mitt Romney thanked family and campaigners for support in his concession speech after admitting defeat in 2012 US election.

Congratulating Barack Obama on his win, Mitt Romney said the Republican Party’s “principles would endure” the defeat and asked his supporters to join him and his wife Ann in praying for Obama and the U.S.

“Thank you.

I have just called President Obama to congratulate him on his victory. His supporters and his campaign also deserve congratulations. I wish all of them well, but particularly the president, the first lady and their daughters.

This is a time of great challenges for America, and I pray that the president will be successful in guiding our nation.

I want to thank Paul Ryan for all that he has done for our campaign and for our country. Besides my wife, Ann, Paul is the best choice I’ve ever made. And I trust that his intellect and his hard work and his commitment to principle will continue to contribute to the good of our nation.

I also want to thank Ann, the love of my life. She would have been a wonderful first lady. She’s – she has been that and more to me and to our family and to the many people that she has touched with her compassion and her care.

I thank my sons for their tireless work on behalf of the campaign, and thank their wives and children for taking up the slack as their husbands and dads have spent so many weeks away from home.

I want to thank Matt Rhoades and the dedicated campaign team he led. They have made an extraordinary effort not just for me, but also for the country that we love.

And to you here tonight, and to the team across the country – the volunteers, the fundraisers, the donors, the surrogates – I don’t believe that there’s ever been an effort in our party that can compare with what you have done over these past years. Thank you so very much.”

Mitt Romney thanked family and campaigners for support in his concession speech after admitting defeat in 2012 US election

Mitt Romney thanked family and campaigners for support in his concession speech after admitting defeat in 2012 US election

“Thanks for all the hours of work, for the calls, for the speeches and appearances, for the resources and for the prayers. You gave deeply from yourselves and performed magnificently. And you inspired us and you humbled us. You’ve been the very best we could have imagined.

The nation, as you know, is at a critical point. At a time like this, we can’t risk partisan bickering and political posturing. Our leaders have to reach across the aisle to do the people’s work. And we citizens also have to rise to the occasion.

We look to our teachers and professors, we count on you not just to teach, but to inspire our children with a passion for learning and discovery. We look to our pastors and priests and rabbis and counselors of all kinds to testify of the enduring principles upon which our society is built: honesty, charity, integrity and family. We look to our parents, for in the final analysis everything depends on the success of our homes. We look to job creators of all kinds. We’re counting on you to invest, to hire, to step forward. And we look to Democrats and Republicans in government at all levels to put the people before the politics.

I believe in America. I believe in the people of America. And I ran for office because I’m concerned about America. This election is over, but our principles endure. I believe that the principles upon which this nation was founded are the only sure guide to a resurgent economy and to renewed greatness.

Like so many of you, Paul and I have left everything on the field. We have given our all to this campaign.

I so wish – I so wish that I had been able to fulfill your hopes to lead the country in a different direction, but the nation chose another leader. And so Ann and I join with you to earnestly pray for him and for this great nation.

Thank you, and God bless America. You guys are the best. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thanks, guys.”

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Michele Bachmann won first poll of Republican contest for 2012 presidential race.

 

Republican Rick Perry will make the formal announcement on Saturday in Charleston, South Carolina.[googlead tip=”patrat_mic” aliniat=”dreapta”]

 

The Republican Rick Perry will officially announce his candidacy on Saturday, August 13, said Washington Times after information was provided exclusively by Carl Cameron from Fox News, known as having a hostile position to the current president, Barack Obama.

He will make his announcement in Charleston, South Carolina, where he is scheduled to speak at an annual conference of conservative bloggers.

Texas Governor Rick Perry is running for the US presidential race.

Republican Texas Governor, Rick Perry is running for the US presidential race.

Rick Perry will then travel to New Hampshire and on to Iowa Sunday — hitting 3 of the first 4 states to hold nominating contests next year.

Rick Perry makes his entrance about six months before the Iowa caucuses, the traditional kickoff of the nominating season (the first major electoral event of the nominating process for President of the United States). Iowa is scheduled to be followed by New Hampshire’s primary, Nevada’s caucuses and South Carolina’s primary, though several other states are considering moves to jump ahead in the line.

The rest of the field has been assembled in Iowa for Thursday night’s nationally televised debate, Saturday’s Ames Straw Poll, the Iowa State Fair, which runs for 11 days and is a traditional hot spot for meeting voters and mugging for cameras.

 

[googlead tip=”vertical_mic”] Rick Perry’s presidential nomination is expected to fundamentally reshape the race and divert attention from other contenders, many of whom will be competing this weekend in the Iowa Straw Poll.

 

Being now in his 11th year as Texas governor, Rick Perry could fill the void some party activists see and could unify social and economic conservatives in the “Grand Old Party” (GOP a traditional nickname for the Republican Party)

“This is about electing a true conservative leader with a real record of job creation as our next president,” said Scott Rials, executive director of “Make Us Great Again”, one of the several pro-Perry political action committees that have formed to raise and spend money independently of Rick Perry’s campaign.

 

“Governor Rick Perry is our best qualified candidate to win back the White House and get our economy back on track.”

 

“Contrary to written reports that Governor Perry would use his Charleston speech on Saturday to announce his intention to run, he will tell the influential red state gathering … that he has entered the contest,” Rick Perry’s campaign strategist, David Carney told The Washington Times on Thursday.

In a preview of the Perry campaign’s emphasis, David Carney hailed the three-term governor as someone “known by many as America’s jobs governor.”

Carney, who was chief strategist for Rick Perry last year when he defeated Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison in Texas’ gubernatorial primary, said the Perry record stands “in perfect contrast to the current occupant of the White House, whose administration has appeared to be flailing around, trying to deal with economic woes for months.”

The GOP’s move also adds another target for President Barack Obama and the Democratic National Committee, which had invested time in trying to discredit former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, whose polls show he is the front-runner in the field.

 

Conservatives were pleased with Rick Perry’s pending announcement.

 

“I think Governor Perry entering the race will solidify conservatives,” Dr. Randy Brinson, an Alabama gastroenterologist and founder of Rock the Vote, told The Washington Times.

 

“Romney will hope for a perilous split due to the large number of social conservatives in the race but history shows it will not occur as Romney strategists think.”

 

“Perry travels to Alabama and the key state of South Carolina to line up solid support over the weekend,” said Dr. Brinson, who is considered a major force in conservative politics in the South.

 

“Obvious strategy is to anchor South Carolina which is the make-or-break state for all Republican presidential contenders.”

 

Kirsten Gray, Texas Democratic Party spokeswoman, who disputed Rick Perry’s activity claims by saying he fought for a budget that would lay off thousands of state workers, said:

 

“Not surprising Rick Perry is making his announcement in South Carolina instead of Texas — there’s nowhere in the Lone Star State he could announce without an angry mob showing up.”

 

[googlead tip=”lista_medie” aliniat=”stanga”]According to the RealClearPolitics.com average of polls, Mitt Romney leads Rick Perry 20.4% to 15.4%. Former Alaska Governor, Sarah Palin, who has not announced a candidacy, places third, in a near-tie with Republican Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, an announced candidate who polls fourth.

Rick Perry did not seek space at the straw poll, though his announcement Saturday could fuel a write-in campaign there.

On Thursday, Mitt Romney was heckled by liberal activists as he delivered a soapbox speech at the Iowa fair.

 

"I’m not going to raise taxes. That’s my answer. If you want someone to raise taxes, you can vote for Barack Obama," said Mitt Romney to the liberal hecklers at Iowa fair.

"I’m not going to raise taxes. That’s my answer. If you want someone to raise taxes, you can vote for Barack Obama," said Mitt Romney to the liberal hecklers at Iowa fair.

 

“You ready for my answer? I’m not going to raise taxes. That’s my answer. If you want someone to raise taxes, you can vote for Barack Obama,

 

Mitt Romney told the hecklers.

Rick Perry’s entry makes him the first sitting governor in the race, the field having a handful of former governors.

Winning the presidency by Perry would mean for Republicans to return to the power after the defeat of George W. Bush in 2008.

Last May, Washington Times wrote that Governor Rick Perry is capable to attract not only among Republican voters, but also from conservatives, independents and even Obama’s Democrats.

The first sign that he could run for US presidency was in June 2011, when he was invited to a Fox News show and said:

 

“I am thinking seriously about it.”

 

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Rick Perry is the Texas Governor since 2000, when he ascended from the lieutenant governorship after George W. Bush won the White House.