Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry formally launched his presidential campaign in Addison, Texas, Thursday.
Flanked by Navy SEALs and standing in front of a C-130 with “Perry for President” emblazoned on the side, told supporters “we’re at the end of an era of failed leadership.”
“The world has descended into chaos of [President Obama’s] own making,” Perry said. “No decision has done more harm than the president’s decision to withdraw troops from Iraq … America had won the war, but our president failed to secure the piece. How callous it seems now.”
Perry’s 2012 candidacy was dogged by his poor performance on the debate stage, which some have attributed to severe back pain. In 2015, he has already made trips to early primary states and cattle calls of GOP presidential contenders, looking to re-enter the national conversation.
The governor will emphasize Texas’ strong economic record, border security and foreign policy on the campaign trail. In an interview with the Washington Examiner‘s David Drucker earlier this year, Perry indicated that he would undo any agreement the Obama administration decides to make with Iran.
“I would suggest one of the first things that I did, if not the first thing, from the time I took my hand off the Bible until the inaugural balls would be to sign an executive order wiping out this agreement it appears we’re going to have with Iran,” Perry said. “It’s a bad deal. It’s a bad deal for the Middle East, it’s a bad deal for Israel.”
Perry served in the Air Force, and joins Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., as the only Republican presidential candidates with any military experience. On Thursday, several veterans and active-duty members of the military joined him in Texas to witness his announcement.
But Perry also aimed his speech at younger voters and told the “millennial generation” he was running to be their president.
“You deserve better,” Perry said. “I am going to offer a responsible plan to fix the entitlement system, and to stop this theft from your generation.”
And while he has been critical of Obama’s executive actions on immigration, he rattled off multiple executive orders he would sign on ‘day one’ to combat Russian aggression overseas. These included executive orders authorizing construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline and authorizing the export of America’s oil and natural gas.
“Vladimir Putin uses energy to hold our allies hostage,” Perry said. “If energy is to be used as a weapon, I say America must have the largest arsenal.”
He closed his speech by pleading with the supporters gathered in Texas to give Americans a second chance, but appeared to be asking voters to give him a second look too.
His path to the presidency appears narrow — fewer than 3 percent of Republican voters support him, according to RealClearPolitics’ average of polls — and his legal troubles could prove to be too much for him to handle. He faces criminal charges from an indictment that he abused his power as governor when he tried to force an official to resign.
While the potential felonies could become a headache for him on the campaign trail, RickPAC, a political action committee that supports Perry, sees it as a fundraising opportunity. RickPAC is selling T-shirts with Perry’s mugshot on them for $25 each. On Thursday, he took the stage to a Perry-themed campaign song, with the line, “I answer to no one.”
