In his first rally since leaving the White House, former President Donald Trump on Saturday lambasted the Biden administration’s immigration policies and urged his supporters to help Republicans regain a majority in Congress.
While Trump has delivered speeches at Republican events since his election defeat by Democratic President Joe Biden, the 2020 election rally he held in a state marks a return to the kind of freewheeling mass gatherings that support his base. important to maintain. .
Trump left office after the deadly January 6 attack on the US Capitol by his supporters, shortly after a speech in which he repeated his false claims that his election defeat was the result of fraud. He survived a second impeachment and continues to have a massive influence on the Republican Party, leaving open the question of whether he will run for office again in 2024.
On Saturday, to a crowd of thousands of enthusiastic supporters, Trump highlighted some of his regular list of complaints, with a particular focus on criticism of the US elections and the growing number of immigrants crossing into the United States from his southern border.
“We’ll take the House back, we’ll get the Senate back, and we’ll get America back, and we’ll do it soon,” he said.
Democrats will have a very thin majority on the line in the 2022 midterm elections in both houses of Congress, and history favors Republicans’ chances of securing seats in those contests.
Trump’s return to a large rally marks the beginning of public events that lashed out at elected Republicans whom he sees as surpassing him. In Ohio he campaigned for Max Miller, a former White House aide who launched the primary challenge against Representative Anthony Gonzalez, one of 10 House Republicans https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-trump-republicans-impeachment -idINKBN29I1A8 who voted to impeach Trump for inciting the January 6 attack on the Capitol by his supporters that killed five people, including a Capitol police officer.
Trump has vowed to campaign against all 10. He has also endorsed a challenger to Senator Lisa Murkowski, only one of seven Senate Republicans https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-impeachment-senators-factbo/factbox-seven -republican-vote-to-guilty-trump-in-impeachment-trial-idUSKBN2AD0AO Those who voted to convict him in January’s impeachment trial are up for re-election in 2022.
The Ohio event, in Wellington, about 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Cleveland, was the first of three public demonstrations, followed by a June 30 visit to the US-Mexico border with Texas Governor Greg Abbott and one in Sarasota, Florida. There was a rally. , on July 3.
Supporters said they hope Trump will use such events to help unite the party behind like-minded candidates for Congress.
“It is of the utmost importance to keep these rallies going,” said Jessica Dicken, a 30-year-old stay-at-home mom from southeast Ohio, adding that Trump “could be a voice for a more conservative movement in Ohio and across the country. “
‘We will lose our country’
Trump has continued to feud with other senior Republicans. He has criticized former Vice President Mike Pence, whom he falsely claims could have prevented Congress from attesting Biden’s victory on January 6, as well as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell calling Trump that day’s violence. Said to be “practically and morally responsible”. .
Pence defends his actions in Thursday’s speech https://www.reuters.com/world/us/pence-proud-his-jan-6-actions-despite-criticism-trump-2021-06-25 Ronald Reagan in library.
“There is more at stake at this time than our party and our political fortunes,” Pence said. “If we lose faith in the Constitution, we will not just lose the election – we will lose our country.”
Trump’s repeated false claims of electoral fraud have captured Republican voters. Some 53% of Republicans believe Trump won the 2020 election and blame his loss on illegal voting, and a quarter of the overall public agreed that Trump won, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
Republican strategist Matt Dooley said Trump and those vying to be close to him benefited from such public exposure. Some candidates now seeking his support have made derogatory remarks about Trump in the past.
“These are marriages of convenience,” said Dole, who is based in Ohio. “Donald Trump is using these opportunities to keep his name out there, to keep Aadhaar motivated.”