US Senator Elizabeth Warren has officially launched her 2020 presidential bid.
The Massachusetts Democrat had previously announced an 'exploratory committee' - a key first step for many presidential candidates.
However, with a year to go until the first primary votes, she's now formally announced her plans to run.
She joins several of her Senate colleagues who've already announced their own presidential bids - including Kamala Harris, Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillibrand.
Amy Klobuchar, another Democratic senator widely expected to join the race, has said she has a 'big announcement' to make later today.
Senator Warren is one of the most high-profile members of the upper house in Congress, and a prominent progressive in the Democratic party.
She has also been a frequent and outspoken critic of Donald Trump.
However, launching her bid yesterday, she stressed that she's running on a much broader platform than simply opposing the current president.
I believe in an America of opportunity. My daddy ended up as a janitor, but his little girl got the chance to be a public school teacher, a college professor, a United States Senator – and a candidate for President of the United States. #Warren2020 pic.twitter.com/F6CwKGhK9C
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) February 9, 2019
She explained: "[Trump] is just the latest and most extreme symptom of what's gone wrong in America... a product of a rigged system that props up the rich and powerful, and kicks dirt on everyone else."
Trump himself has frequently targeted Warren - in particular focusing on her controversial claims of Native American heritage.
The US President took to Twitter to again mock the senator as she formally launched her presidential bid:
Today Elizabeth Warren, sometimes referred to by me as Pocahontas, joined the race for President. Will she run as our first Native American presidential candidate, or has she decided that after 32 years, this is not playing so well anymore? See you on the campaign TRAIL, Liz!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2019
Many commentators took to social media to criticise President Trump for the tweet, drawing attention to the 'trail' punchline.
They pointed to the Trail of Tears - a 'forced relocation' of Native Americans in the US during the 1800s that left thousands of indigenous people dead.
I try to never dignify this man’s tweets, but there is little doubt here that he uses “TRAIL” to evoke the genocidal Trail of Tears, and does so to land a political jab. Warren has taken justifiable heat on this issue—but he used the murders of Indigenous people as a punchline. https://t.co/LiyK2iruDF
— Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith) February 9, 2019
