WASHINGTON _ Four years and two days after he came down that "beautiful escalator" in Trump Tower in New York to formally announce his first run for the White House, President Donald Trump plans to launch his reelection campaign Tuesday night in a packed arena in Orlando, Fla.
The tourists and passersby paid to applaud the New York real estate mogul last time have been replaced by passionate Trump fans wearing red "Make America Great Again" hats and millions more voters around the country who have embraced the president's disruptive policies and norm-busting style.
But the polarizing message is the same as in 2016 _ a potent mix of grievance, hyperbole and nativist warnings of an invasion of immigrants, including rapists, drug dealers and "some ... good people."
Trump tried to reprise some of that rhetoric late Monday, tweeting that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents would next week begin deporting "millions of illegal aliens who have illicitly found their way into the United States. They will be removed as fast as they come in."
An administration official said immigration judges have issued more than 1 million deportation orders, and ICE agents will attempt to find and remove as many of those migrants as possible.
If it goes forward, the effort may give Trump political bragging rights, but ICE is unlikely to locate and remove people at the scale and speed Trump promised.
As he gears up for the 2020 race, Trump has touted the nation's strong economy and low unemployment, the issues that traditionally motivate the largest swath of voters.
But Trump has returned again and again to immigration, believing it's the most important issue to his base.
Trump has never ceased talking about the escalator ride and the 2016 campaign, using his unexpected victory as proof that the elite political class and media continue to underestimate him and his supporters' strength.
On Monday night, he tweeted against his favorite network, Fox News, claiming that their public opinion polls "are always bad for me" while taking another shot at "Crooked Hillary" Clinton, his 2016 opponent.
"Our polls show us leading in all 17 Swing States," Trump insisted, contradicting numerous media reports that his campaign's internal polling showed him trailing major Democrats in the half-dozen or so battleground states that normally decide an election.
Trump will get far more help this time around from mainstream Republicans, who viewed him with alarm in 2016, but have poured money and enthusiasm into his reelection campaign.
Trump's Twitter account reaches more than 61 million followers and it's now joined by a sophisticated digital media operation that is outpacing Democrats'. Unlike last time, his campaign has a professional structure with staff across the country and targeted advertising already underway.
"The Fake News doesn't report it, but Republican enthusiasm is at an all time high," Trump tweeted Tuesday. "Look what is going on in Orlando, Florida, right now! People have never seen anything like it (unless you play a guitar). Going to be wild _ See you later!"
