ed. note-actual speech was much longer; see the video, partial transcript at bottom...

Donald Trump
Announcement of Candidacy
Trump Tower
New York, NY
June 16, 2015

[Remarks as Prepared for Delivery  |  C-SPAN video]

Our country is in serious trouble.  We are not respected by anyone.  We are a laughing stock all over the world.

ISIS, China, Mexico are all beating us.  Everybody is beating us. Our enemies are getting stronger and we are getting weaker.

Politicians are all talk and no action. They will never be able to fix our country.  They will never bring us to the Promised Land, and I cannot sit back and watch this incompetence any longer.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am officially running for President of the United States.

While I love my company and what I have built, I love my country even more.  When was the last time the US won at anything? When was the last time we beat China or Japan in trade? or Mexico at the border? or anybody in negotiation? When was the last time we had a military victory that was so complete and total that the other side just said “We Quit!” It just doesn’t happen for the US anymore. 

Our country needs and deserves a comeback…but, we are not going to get that comeback with politicians. Politicians are not the solution to our problems-- they are the problem. They are almost completely controlled by lobbyists, donors and the special interests—they do not have the best interests of our people at heart.

We will never achieve our full potential if we send yet another politician to the White House. They will grow government, not cut it--they will grow debt, not stop it. We are right now in a massive bubble that could be ready to explode—real unemployment in the range of 20%, artificially induced low interest rates, and a stock market that bears no relation to reality-- are symptoms of something that could be catastrophic. We better have a great leader who truly understands what’s going on.

Our country has a debt which will soon pass $20 trillion. We have unsecured borders. There are over 90 million Americans who have given up looking for work. We have 45 million Americans on food stamps and nearly 50 million Americans living in poverty.

Clearly, our so called “leaders” in Washington are failing us. They have failed to honor their sacred duty to care for our veterans and their families. They have failed to keep our military strong and vibrant. Through gross incompetence, we give billions of dollars of high grade military equipment to our enemies. Our President truly doesn’t have a clue!

At the same time, the world is becoming far more dangerous every day. Iran is racing towards developing nuclear weapons. China is exponentially expanding its military power, ISIS is beheading Christians simply for being Christian. In Benghazi, Islamic terrorists killed our diplomats without any consequences.  Iran and ISIS, separately, are taking over vast areas in the Middle East and with it the largest oil reserves in the world. Our President has no plan. 

The America we love will continue its decline because Washington is broken. We will never fix Washington from the inside unless we send someone to Washington from the outside.  It is time for government to be run efficiently and effectively. It is time to get things done, and by done I mean properly done!

This is our time to once again make our government a government of the people, by the people and for the people. That is why today I am declaring my candidacy for President. I will Make America Great Again!

We will change Washington together and defeat the special interests. I am not a politician. I can’t be bought.  I won’t be running around the country begging people for money for my campaign. I won’t owe anybody anything. I won’t be beholden to anyone except to you, the American people, if you elect me to serve as your President.

It is time to take our country in a bold new direction.

It is time to get Americans back to work.

It is way past time to build a massive wall to secure our southern border – and nobody can build a bigger and better wall than Donald Trump. A country without borders is, quite simply, not a country.  Mexico is not our friend. They are beating us at the border and hurting us badly at economic development.  They are sending people that they don’t want—the United States is becoming a dumping ground for the world.

It is of primary importance to take care of our veterans and their families -- to make sure that every veteran has access to great medical care and attention. Our veterans are our heroes but are treated as third class citizens.

It is essential to rebuild our military so we have a strong presence that will send a clear message to our enemies that America is the leader of the free world. As President Reagan proved, there is only peace through strength.

The government must honor its obligations to our seniors. We must protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, without cuts…there will no longer be any waste, fraud and abuse on my watch.

ObamaCare must be repealed and replaced with something far superior and at far less cost.

Likewise, we must greatly simplify our tax code. Our middle class, which has been totally forgotten, will thrive once again under President Trump.

It is time to stop sending jobs overseas through bad foreign trade deals. We will renegotiate our trade deals with the toughest negotiators our country has… the ones who have actually read “The Art of the Deal” and know how to make great deals for our country. 

It is time to close loopholes for Wall Street and create far more opportunities for small businesses. 

It is necessary that we invest in our infrastructure, stop sending foreign aid to countries that hate us and use that money to rebuild our tunnels, roads, bridges and schools—and nobody can do that better than me.

We have to stop Common Core. We must keep education local and under parental control. Unelected Washington bureaucrats shouldn’t determine what is best for our children. 

It is important for our allies to know they can once again depend on us. We will no longer bow down to our enemies.

We must stand by Israel. We will remind the world that a threat against Israel is a threat against the United States.

We need to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.  We cannot allow a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.

It is time to defeat ISIS. With a proper plan, it can be done quickly and effectively.

It is time to get tough with the Chinese on currency manipulation and espionage. We will tax China for each bad act, and if they continue then we will tax them at an even higher level.

Quite simply, it is time to bring real leadership to Washington.

The fact is, the American Dream is dead -- but if I win, I will bring it back  bigger and better and stronger than ever before.

Together we will Make America Great Again!

Thank You!


Introduction by Ivanka Trump

Today, I have the honor of introducing a man who needs no introduction. His legend has been built and his accomplishments are too many to name. That man is my Father.
 
Most people strive their entire lives to achieve great success in a single field. My father has succeeded in many—at the highest level and on a global scale.
He’s enjoyed success in a vast diversity of industries because the common denominator is him—his vision, his brilliance, his passion, his work ethic, and his refusal to take no for an answer.
 
I've enjoyed the good fortune of working alongside my father for 10 years now and I've seen these principles in action—daily.

I remember my father telling me as a little girl, "Ivanka, if you're going to be thinking anyway, you might as well be thinking big.” That's how he approaches any task he undertakes—he thinks big.

He has employed tens of thousands of people throughout his career and has inspired them to do extraordinary things. He has the strength to make hard decisions and motivate those around him to achieve the impossible. He is an optimist who chases big dreams and sees potential where others do not. He leads by example and will outwork anyone in any room.

He is the opposite of politically correct—he says what he means and means what he says. My father is also the best negotiator I have ever met. Countless times, I’ve stood by his side and watched him make deals that were seemingly impossible to get done. He has the discernment to understand exactly what the other party needs and then get exactly what he wants.

My father knows how to be a fierce opponent, but also how to be a very loyal friend. When it comes to building bridges, he can do so figuratively, but also has the rare ability to do so literally—on time and under budget.

Throughout his career, my father has repeatedly been called upon by both local and federal governments to step in and save long-stalled, grossly over-budget public projects. Whether building a skating rink in Central Park, meticulously restoring the exterior façade of Grand Central Terminal, enabling the development of NYC’s Jacob Javits Convention Center, creating a championship public golf course for the City of New York, or redeveloping the iconic, but underutilized, Old Post Office Building on Pennsylvania Avenue, my father succeeds, time and time again, where government has failed before him.
 
I consider myself fortunate to have learned from the best—both as an entrepreneur, and, most importantly, a parent. My father is a man who is deeply grounded in tradition. He raised my siblings and me to work hard and strive for excellence in all that we do. He taught us that we have a responsibility to make a positive contribution to society. Here today, my father is again leading me by example.
 
My generation finds itself at a crossroads. Our leadership has been mired in bureaucracy of its own creation. If we don’t adapt politically and economically our country will be left behind.
 
To address the many challenges we face, we don’t need talk. We need action! We need execution! We need someone who is bold and independent, with a proven track record of successfully creating, building and running large, dynamic and complicated organizations—and in the process enabling many Americans to better their lives.

I can tell you that there is no better person than my father to have in your corner when you are facing tough opponents or making hard decisions. He is battle-tested. He is a dreamer, but, as importantly, he is a doer.
 
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s my honor to introduce to you today, a man who I have loved and respected my entire life, my father, Donald J. Trump.


Cruz for President

Cruz Welcomes Donald Trump to Presidential Race

HOUSTON, Texas -- U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, issued the following statement following Donald Trump’s announcement that he will seek the 2016 Republican nomination for President of the United States:

“I’m pleased to welcome Donald Trump into the race for the 2016 Republican nomination for President of the United States. His experience as a successful businessman and job creator will prove crucial to ensuring the eventual GOP nominee is not only well-equipped to defeat Hillary Clinton in November, but also to make America great again.”


Democratic National Committee

DNC Statement on Donald Trump 2016 Announcement 

Washington, D.C. – With Donald Trump’s announcement that he is running for president, DNC National Press Secretary Holly Shulman released the following statement:
 
“Today, Donald Trump became the second major Republican candidate to announce for president in two days. He adds some much-needed seriousness that has previously been lacking from the GOP field, and we look forward hearing more about his ideas for the nation.“ 
 
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Trump Smashes Social Records Following Presidential Announcement

Trump First Candidate to Announce on Periscope While Trending Worldwide on Twitter and Facebook During Declaration Speech

(New York, NY) June 17th, 2015 – Yesterday, Donald Trump declared his candidacy for President of the United States of America. Immediately following his historic announcement, Mr. Trump was the most searched Republican Presidential candidate in every state in the country.  3.4 million Facebook users in the US generated 6.4 million interactions regarding the launch of his campaign, the highest by far, among all 2016 GOP candidates.

Google Trends is reporting that in addition to being the most searched republican candidate in every state in the US yesterday, one hour after his announcement his search interest was at 87%. Comparatively, another GOP candidate also launching his campaign this week, registered just 13% interest the previous day. Additionally, Mr. Trump was the first 2016 candidate to use Periscope to announce his candidacy.

Mr. Trump has a tremendous audience across the country and he will continue to utilize his reach via various social media platforms to share his vision to Make America Great Again.

Visit donaldjtrump.com for more information and follow @realdonaldtrump via Twitter, Periscope and Instagram. Follow Mr. Trump at Facebook.com/DonaldTrump.

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Press Contact:

Hope Hicks 


Partial Transcript
(beginning of speech...)

Wow.  That is some group of people.  Thousands.  So nice.  Thank you very much.  That's really nice.  Thank you.

It's great to be at Trump Tower.  It's great to be in a wonderful city, New York, and it's an honor to have everybody here.  This is beyond anybody's expectations.  There's been no crowd like this.

And I can tell you, some of the candidates, they went in, they didn't know the air conditioner didn't work.  They sweated like dogs.  They didn't know the room was too big because they didn't have anybody there.  How are they going to beat ISIS?  I  don't think it's going to happen.

Our country is in serious trouble.  We don't have victories anymore.  We used to have victories, but we don't have them.  When was the last time anybody saw us beating, let's say China in a trade deal?  They kill us.  I beat China all the time, all the time.  When did we beat Japan at anything?  They send their cars over by the millions-and what do we do?  When was the last time you saw a Chevrolet in Tokyo?  It doesn't exist, folks.  They beat us all the time.  When do we beat Mexico, at the border?  They're laughing at us, at our stupidity.  And now they're beating us economically.  They are not our friend, believe me, but they're killing us economically. 

The U.S. has become a dumping ground for everybody else's problems.

[shout from attendee]  Thank you. 

It's true.  And these aren't the best in the finest.  When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best.  They're not sending you. [gesturing to audience]  They are not sending you. [pointing to audience]

They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us.  They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists, and some, I assume are good people, but I speak to border guards and they tell us what we're getting.  And it only makes common sense.  It only makes common sense.  They're sending us not the right people.  It's coming from more than Mexico.  It's coming from all over South and Latin America, and it's coming probably, probably from the Middle East, but we don't know because we have no protection and we have no competence.  We don't know what's happening.  And it's got to stop, and it's got to stop fast.

Islamic terrorism is eating up large portions of the Middle East.  They've become rich.  I'm in competition with them.  They just built a hotel in Syria.  Can you believe this?  They built a hotel.  When I have to build a hotel I pay interest.  They don't have to pay interest because they took the oil that when we left Iraq I said we should have taken.  So now ISIS has the oil, and what they don't have, Iran has. 

And in 19-- And I will tell you this, and I said it very strongly - years ago I said -- and I love the military and I want to have the strongest military that we've ever had and we need it now more than ever -- but I said don't hit Iraq because you're going to totally destabilize the Middle East.  Iran is going to take over the Middle East.  Iran and somebody else will get the oil.  And it turned out that Iran is now taking over Iraq.  Think of it.  Iran is taking over Iraq, and they're taking it over big league.  We spent $2 trillion in Iraq.  Two trillion.  We lost thousands of lives, thousands in Iraq. We have wounded soldiers who I love, I love; they're great.  All over the place thousands and thousands of wounded soldiers.  And we have nothing. 

We can't even go there.  We have nothing, and every time we give Iraq equipment, the first time a bullet goes off in the air, they leave it.  Last week I read 2,300 Humvees--these are big vehicles--were left behind for the enemy.  Two thous-- you would say maybe two, maybe four.  2,300 sophisticated vehicles.  They ran and the enemy took them.

[audience member shouts: We need Trump now!]

You're right.

Last quarter, it was just announced, our gross domestic product, a sign of strength, right?  But not for us.  It was below zero.  Who ever heard of this?  It's never below zero.  Our labor participation rate was the worst since 1978.  But think of it.  GDP below zero.  Horrible labor participation rate.  And our real unemployment is anywhere from 18-20%.  Don't believe the 5.6.  Don't believe it.  

That's right.  A lot of people up there can't get jobs.  They can't get jobs because there are no jobs, because China has our jobs and Mexico has our jobs.  They all have our jobs.  But the real number, the real number is anywhere from 18, 19 and maybe even 21% and nobody talks about it because it's a statistic that's full of nonsense.

Our enemies are getting stronger and stronger by the day, and



June 25, 2015
Fallout over remarks about Mexicans in speech.

July 27, 2015
ADLF Files Complaint Following Possible Donald Trump Violation