• Joe Walsh, a former GOP congressman and conservative radio personality, announces he will run against Trump for the Republican nomination.
• A Tea Party Republican, Walsh served one term in the House from 2011-2013 representing Illinois' 8th congressional district.
• Quick Read

During a Trump rally in North Carolina, supporters break into a “Send her back” chant, referring to Rep. Ilhan Omar. The crowd was echoing the president’s tweets from days earlier when he used the same language. The next day, Trump tells reporters he disagreed with the chants and falsely says he tried to stop them

Trump’s 2020 Campaign and the Republican National Committee announce they have raised $105 million in the second quarter of fundraising. According to the NYT, the money raised is “a testament to the more professional operation that [Trump's] campaign has been running.” To compare, Obama’s re-election campaign raised $85 million in its second quarter of fundraising.

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel announces that Trump’s 2020 campaign received $24.8 million in fundraising within the first 24 hours of his Orlando announcement

At an Orlando rally, President Trump launches his 2020 campaign for re-election. In the speech, Trump continues his 2016 incendiary, anything goes style of campaigning saying, "[The Democrats] want to destroy you and they want to destroy our country.” However, Trump's campaign might be different this time around. Days before the kickoff, the WSJ publishes a piece reporting that Trump's 2020 campaign is striving for "order and discipline"

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In an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, President Trump says that he might not alert the FBI if a foreign country offered him information on a 2020 opponent. Bipartisan backlash is quick and severe as under federal law, it’s illegal to “solicit, accept or receive” anything valuable to a U.S. election or campaign from a foreign national

Trump’s campaign has spent over $12 million dollars on Facebook ads, far more than any 2020 Democratic candidate. The ads mainly target older voters, and cover topics such as Trump’s birthday and MAGA hat contests. Trump tapped his 2016 campaign digital chief, Brad Parscale, to head his 2020 team, showing he is making social media a big part of his reelection strategy

President Trump announces an increase in tariffs on China from 10 percent to 25 percent. Some believe the move could be a hardline effort to solidify his base in preparation for 2020. Is trade a strength or weakness for Trump in 2020?

Trump's campaign team meets with Pennsylvania GOP officials as concern surrounding capturing the swing state in 2020 builds. Trump narrowly carried PA in 2016 on the backs of working-class voters. However, before 2016, the last time a Republican presidential candidate won the state was George H.W. Bush in 1988

The Trump campaign announces its raised more than $30 million in the first three months of 2019. The campaign now has more than $40 million in its campaign coffers 

Bill Shine resigns from his position as White House Communications Chief to take a position in Trump’s 2020 campaign. Before working for Trump, Shine was a staple at Fox News but was let go for allegedly helping to cover up former Fox chairman Roger Ailes’s reported sexually inappropriate behavior

Trump hosts a rally in El Paso, Texas, pushing for better wall security. Beto O’Rourke, undeclared Democratic presidential candidate, simultaneously holds a response rally

President Trump’s 2020 campaign team, in an email before the president’s televised speech about wall funding, seeks a fundraising goal of $500,000 in one day, stating the commander-in-chief wants “to know who stood with [him] when it mattered.” The email and speech come 18 days into a partial government shutdown over border wall funding