Hours after the Florida residence of Donald Trump was raided by the FBI, he released a campaign-style video on his Truth Social account. The video begins in a dark tone as Trump narrates. “We are a nation in decline. We are a failing nation.” The video runs for almost four minutes. The first two minutes and forty-two seconds speak to the problems in America today. Then, a brighter, more positive Trump begins to speak in an uplifting manner.

See what is happening here? Trump begins with a doom and gloom narrative, complete with rain, and sounds of thunder. It is filmed in black and white. It speaks to the general feeling of American voters today in Biden’s America. He taps into a general malaise not felt since the days of Jimmy Carter. There are plenty of problems for Trump to run through.

Some of the more ominous parts include mentions of Putin’s war in Ukraine, the renewed push by Team Biden to strike a nuclear deal with Iran, the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, the energy crisis, and a lack of respect for America on the world stage. He says that America is “a joke.”

“We are a nation that allowed Russia to devastate a country, Ukraine, killing hundreds of thousands of people, and it will only get worse.,” Trump narrates. “We are a nation that has weaponized its law enforcement against the opposing political party like never before.”

“We are a nation that is allowing Iran to build a massive nuclear weapon and China to use the trillions and trillions of dollars it’s taken from the United States to build a military to rival our own,” Trump laments in the video. “We are a nation that over the past two years is no longer respected or listened to all around the world.”

The second half of the video shifts to a more positive tone. It’s Churchillian with some of Reagan’s shining city on a hill vibe to it. It ends on a good note – “The best is yet to come.”

“There is no mountain we cannot climb, there is no summit we cannot reach, there is no challenge we cannot meet,” the former president says as swelling orchestral music plays behind him. “We will not bend, we will not break, we will not yield.”

“The tyrants we are fighting do not stand even a little chance because we are Americans and Americans kneel to God and God alone,” Trump urges the viewers. “And it is time to start talking about greatness for our country again.”

Is Trump running in 2024? There is no mistaking this ad for anything other than a slam against Joe Biden’s presidency. Lord knows he has plenty of material to work with if he wants to cut these ads until he formally announces his candidacy, if he does. He references America’s lack of energy independence and “dominance” which we had “just two short years ago.” It’s hard to argue with anything he talks about. If the coronavirus pandemic had not happened, Trump would have likely sailed to re-election. He knows that. People may not have liked how he talked or some of his social interactions but his policies were solidly conservative and they were successful. That said, do I want him to run again? No. I’m ready for fresh blood and we have a good candidate in DeSantis. It’s time for younger conservatives to move up.

I’m not a Trump consultant, though, and I doubt there is anything that will stop him from running, especially after the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago yesterday. If you haven’t read Ed’s post from earlier today, go read it. This kind of monkey business hasn’t happened to a former president before Trump’s raid. Even Hillary Clinton was allowed to skate on her thousands of emails on her private server set up in her home. There has to be something more to the FBI’s raid than some boxes of documents alleged to be classified documents. Trump could have declassified them before they were loaded in a truck and move to Florida. None of this makes sense.

Democrats are still too Trump-deranged for their own good. If this FBI raid turns out to be a big ole nothing, the fall-out is going to be epic. Trump will ride it right back into the White House in 2024. Let’s not pretend that much of this is all about Democrats trying to keep Trump out of the White House. It’s what the January 6 commission is about (otherwise it would be a traditional commission, not a partisan one) and it sure looks like the FBI raid is just more of the same, at least for now until more is known at it.

At least one Trump is all-in for Trump to run in 2024. Eric Trump went on the record with Sean Hannity on Monday night. “I hope – and I’m saying this for the first time – I hope he goes out and beats these guys again,” Eric Trump told Sean Hannity. “Because honestly, this country can’t survive this nonsense. It can’t.”

Eric said he was the one who received the call about the FBI raid and he told his father. “I was the guy that got the call this morning. And I called my father and let him know that it happened,” Eric Trump said of the raid.

Merrick Garland better have his ducks in a row. He’s got lots of ‘splainin’ to do. We sure dodged a bullet when Mitch McConnell held up Garland’s nomination to the Supreme Court. Thanks, Mitch.