Former President of the United States Donald Trump has strongly indicated he is readying to run for the office again in 2024 and branded himself as the "healthiest ever".
Mr Trump, 76, was welcomed by supporters at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Texas and delivered a keynote speech to delegates.
In a potential attack on incumbent President Joe Biden, who has been isolating for nearly two weeks with coronavirus, Trump boasted that his former White House doctor Ronny Jackson “loved” looking at his body and told Mr Trump that he was "the healthiest president that’s ever lived".
At the event, he continually said that he’s made a decision on the 2024 race and was asked by Fox News when Republicans could expect a formal announcement.
The former President replied: “It’s certainly not a very long period, the time is coming. I think people are going to be very happy, our country has never been in a position like this, we’ve lost everything.”
He cited the US withdrawal from Afghanistan as one of the reasons the country's "prestige" had been damaged.
He continued: "Our country has never been at a worse point. They gave away $85 billion worth of equipment, dead soldiers, you still have Americans over there probably as hostages, eventually will be hostages, there has never been a time like this.
“We’ll be making an announcement in the not too distant future,” added Trump.
Trump was the 45th President who then lost his premiership in the 2020 US Presidential Election to Joe Biden.
During his speech, Mr Trump also claimed the last election was stolen from him and boasted about his former White House doctor Ronny Jackson.
Trump said: "He was a great doctor. He was an admiral, a doctor and now he’s a congressman.
"He loved looking at my body. It was so strong and powerful. But he said I’m the healthiest president that’s ever lived . . . I said, ‘I like this guy'."
Hungary's populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban and former right-wing Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage also attended the event.
Mr Trump was handed a massive boost by representatives after a straw poll by CPAC revealed he has more support than Florida's 43-year-old Governor Ron DeSantis.
The former POTUS received the backing of 69 per cent of CPAC delegates, putting him way ahead of Mr DeSantis on 24 per cent.
On Sunday, former New Jersey governor and Mr Trump's former adviser Chris Christie estimated dead even odds of the former president running for office again.
“Am I convinced Donald Trump ’s going to run for president? I am not convinced. I believe it’s a 50-50 shot right now whether he runs or he doesn’t,” he said to ABC’s This Week.
A recent Harvard/Harris opinion poll gave Mr Trump a four-point lead over Mr Biden and a seven per cent advantage against Vice President Kamala Harris.
This comes as a congressional committee continues to investigate the riots at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, when Trump supporters ransacked the building in the hope of halting the confirmation of Biden as president.
The committee has so far chastised Trump for his inaction over the violent protestors.
