Dallas, June 6 (RHC)-- Former Texas Governor Rick Perry has entered the U.S. presidential race, becoming the eleventh major Republican candidate to announce his bid. Speaking from an airplane hangar outside of Dallas, Texas, Perry said that as commander-in-chief of the U.S. military he would reassert American influence over the world.

Perry said: "To project American strength again, to get our economy going again, and that is why today I am running for the presidency of the United States of America." Rick Perry had sought the Republican nomination for president in 2012, but he lost popularity after a series of gaffes.

Perry's entry further swells the crowded Republican field, whose candidates will increasingly battle for not only votes but fundraising. On the Democratic field, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley are the only ones who have officially declared their candidacy.

Perry criticized President Barack Obama for pulling out troops from Iraq and for failing to acknowledge the threat from militants. "The truth is we are at the end of an era of failed leadership." Perry said: "Weakness at home has led to weakness abroad. The world has descended into a chaos of this president's own making."