Iowa National Democrats Criticize State Republicans For Supporting Trump After Jan 6 Riot
Iowa Democratic Party Chair Ross Wilburn criticized Iowa Republicans for supporting Trump after his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in January.
“Iowa Republicans have tied themselves to a man who attacked the foundations of our democracy throughout his time in office,” Wilburn said in a statement. “Just nine months ago, he incited a violent mob to attack his own Vice President and threaten the lives of lawmakers who were simply fulfilling their constitutional duty to certify our election.”
A slew of Iowa’s top Republican leaders warmed up the crowd ahead of Trump, including Reynolds, Grassley and U.S. Reps. Ashley Hinson and Mariannette Miller-Meeks.
Reynolds led the crowd in a chant of “U.S.A.” and criticized Biden on his immigration policies, mentioning that she visited the U.S.-Mexico border this week.
“I was just there this week,” she said. “You know whos never been there? Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. They dont care. They dont care whats happening at the border.”
Vice President Kamala Harris visited the U.S.-Mexico border in June.
Reynolds also mentioned Biden’s COVID-19 response, eliciting boos from the crowd.
“They dont respect you,” she said of Democrats. “They dont respect your faith, your values. They dont think youre capable of making your own decisions and they dont think you should. And this is what America looks like under Democratic leadership but Im here to tell you were fighting back.”
Virginia Thomas Agrees To Interview With Jan 6 Panel
The House select committee investigating last years Capitol riot will zero in Monday on former President Donald Trumps insistence that widespread voter fraud denied him a second term.
Bill Stepien, the 45th presidents 2020 campaign manager, had been expected to headline the witness list at the second of six public hearings held by the panel.
However, about an hour before the hearing was scheduled to begin, the committee announced that Stepien was unable to appear due to a family emergency and his attorney would give a statement on his behalf.
Stepien had been expected to face questions about discussions between Trump and his top campaign lieutenants regarding the election results.
The committee has alleged that Trump allies pushed the voter fraud narrative despite knowing full well that their candidate had lost the election fairly.
Stepien currently serves as an adviser to Harriet Hageman the Trump-endorsed Republican seeking to oust committee vice chair Liz Cheney in a primary later this year.
The panel will also hear from former Fox News digital politics editor Chris Stirewalt about his decision to call Arizona for Joe Biden during the cable networks election night coverage a decision that enraged Trump and his campaign team.
The second group of witnesses will include GOP election lawyer Benjamin Ginsberg, former Georgia US Attorney BJay Pak, and former Philadelphia Republican City Commissioner Al Schmidt.
Trump Hints At 2024 Ambitions
Although Trump talked briefly about electing Republicans to Congress next year, his speech also sounded like that of a candidate seeking another run at the presidency.
“We will quickly complete the border wall and we will end illegal immigration, once and for all,” he said, running through a list of promises. “We will have to start it all over again it would have been so much better if we had an honest election, but well be able to do it again.”
At one point, he speculated that Stacey Abrams, a former Georgia gubernatorial candidate, would run for president.
“Lets run against Stacey Abrams, Id like that,” he said.
Trump has left open the door to trying to reclaim the White House, though he hasn’t made any official declarations. According to the Washington Post, Trump was eager to announce his 2024 candidacy in August as the American withdrawal from Afghanistan turned chaotic. Advisers talked him out of it with how a formally declared candidacy introduces new rules about fundraising and media appearances, according to the Post.
Trump never left the political arena, even as he boarded Marine One to leave the White House shortly before Biden’s inauguration in January. He had already launched a political action committee, dubbed Save America, soon after it was clear Biden won the electoral college in November.
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Punching Back At The Department Of Justice
The former president is currently involved in a legal tussle with federal authorities over a cache of classified documents that the FBI seized last month.
Government authorities say Mr Trump improperly took and stored White House documents, including some marked “top secret” at his Florida home – the Mar-a-Lago resort.
Federal prosecutors now say he may have obstructed the investigation into his possession of the documents.
Mr Trump has previously spun investigations and attacks against him as “witch hunts”, and it was no different on Saturday.
He came out swinging, calling the FBI’s search “the shameful raid and break-in on my home in Mar-a-Lago” a “travesty”.
The former president has long built his appeal by casting himself and his supporters as political outsiders and persecuted figures.
Mr Trump linked his personal legal troubles to his supporters’ political frustrations, claiming: “We are being assaulted⦠by the FBI and DOJ.”
“It was not just my home that was raided⦠it was the hopes and dreams of every citizen who I’ve been fighting for since the moment I came down the golden escalator in 2015, wanting to represent the people,” he added, drawing boos from the crowd.
Former President Donald Trump Is Back In Michigan For Rally
When then-President Donald Trump last visited Michigan in the wee hours of Election Day 2020, he told a crowd in Grand Rapids, in what would be his last speech of the campaign, that they’d better get out and vote for him or, “I’ll be so angry, I’ll never come back.”
He apparently got over it.
Bringing with him 17 months’ worth of unproven claims of vote rigging, lies about a stolen election and recriminations for Republican supporters he has deemed insufficiently loyal for refusing to overturn the election results, Trump is back in Michigan on Saturday evening. He will be headlining a rally that itself could serve to further split the state GOP and advance candidates who, while loyal to him, may not be best poised to sway voters in November.
For as much as he divides the public, however, Trump remains the Republicans’ most visible figure and, for now at least, the person most likely to capture their nomination for president in 2024, a mantle he has suggested he may be willing to take up again. And with President Joe Biden’s approval numbers hurt by high inflation and gas prices, a surge in migrant crossings at the southern border and ongoing uncertainty about the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, Trump’s visit comes at an opportune time.
Or maybe they will be front and center as well. With Trump, it’s hard to know in advance what he may end up talking about.
Here’s what else to know about Saturday’s rally:
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Am: Vendors At The Venue
More than 10 hours before former president Donald Trump was set to take the stage at Wilmingtons Aero Center, a line more than 50 people deep had formed to get into the venue.
Meanwhile, vendors walked up and down the strip of road that served as the events main staging area.
Jonas Williams had traveled to Wilmington from his home in Greensboro to sell hats of all kinds embroidered with Trumps name. Williams said hes been selling Trump merchandise since he came down that elevator to announce his first presidential bid.
He said he follows Trump across the country, selling merchandise at his rallies.
Elsewhere on the grounds, a man dressed as Uncle Sam rode a motorized hoverboard in the staging area while waving a large flag adorned with Trumps face and the words Trumps front row Joes.
Trump is scheduled to appear to campaign for U.S. Senate candidate Ted Budd. Alongside Trump and Budd, other Republicans are scheduled to speak.
Doors are scheduled to open at 2 p.m. as entertainment begins at the Aero Center. At 4, guest speakers will deliver remarks, such as local U.S. Representative David Rouzer and Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson.
Trump is then set to speak at 7.
StarNews will cover the event live throughout the day and have updates here.
Ohio Republicans Get Shout Outs
Trump thanked a slate of Republicans for their work in Ohio, including Secretary of State Frank LaRose and auditor Keith Faber. He applauded LaRose specifically for his role in the state’s redistricting process.
He didn’t acknowledge the candidates running for governor this year, but he made a reference to “this terrible governor that you had” when talking about former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who ran against Trump in the 2016 GOP primary. Trump also praised Ohio Republican Party chair Bob Paduchik.
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Excitement Anxiety In Trump World
With Trump’s first term nearing an end, supporters who repeatedly broke into chants of “four more years” told Bridge they could hardly imagine a future in which the president did not win a second term.
I think there will be chaos” if he loses, said Abigail Wall of Spring Lake. I dont ever want to know what socialism really looks like. I can imagine it, but I dont ever want to be a part of it.
Wall and her wife wore matching lesbians for Trump sweatshirts to the rally. The president “isnt necessarily proactively helping us, but hes not hurting us either, she said of gay Michiganders. I have to look at the greater good of the country, not just our community, and I think people forget that.
Wall credited Trump with building an amazing economy before COVID-19, which she said led to pandemic-related layoffs for both her and her wife.
Its the first time Ive been on unemployment in my life, but Trump has made it easy for us to be on it and easy for us to get the extra money when weve needed it, she said. To be honest, I think he is the only man that would have got us through it.
If Trump is ousted, Im worried about trade with other countries and politics going back to the way it was before selling out the American people, said Tony Vitale of Riverview.
He and his wife drove three-plus hours from Downriver Detroit for their first Trump rally. Parking lot license plates suggested some supporters drove from neighboring states like Ohio and Illinois.
Pm: ‘the Talk Has Changed Since He Left’
Shortly after 6 p.m., most event goers had filed into the rally, with a few hanging back waiting for Trump to take the podium.
Perusing the Trump related merchandise on offer all along the road leading to the rally, friends Cathy Amour and Isabelle Myers lamented the country’s trajectory post-Trump presidency.
“The talk has changed since he left,” Amour, 66, said. “The discourse has just gotten a lot meaner.”
While economic issues were their main concerns politically, more importantly, they both felt that the country better united and more God-centered under Trump.
— John Orona, Jamey Cross
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Pm Trump Takes The Stage
Former President Donald Trump has taken the stage in Wilmington to speak before a crowd of thousands of supporters. Trump came to Wilmington Friday to share his support for US Senate candidate Ted Budd.
The 45th President of the United States was greeted with cheers and a standing ovation as he took the stage. Some began chanting We want Trump! USA! and Lets go Brandon!
Its good to be back in the beautiful state of North Carolina, Trump told the crowd.
He immediately went into his hope that the midterm election unseats many radical left politicians, particularly Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
If you want the decline and fall of America, then you should vote for the crazy, radical left Democrats, he said, saying Republicans will save the American dream.
We’ll have full coverage of Trump’s remarks once he concludes.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people began steadily streaming out of the rally, just 15 minutes after Trump took the stage.
Trump was 45 minutes late — his typical fashion, according to Ryan Cooper, frequent rally participant and vendor. Cooper said the exodus is also typical, as many attendees have been at the rally for hours.
After getting a glimpse of the former president, many in the crowd were satisfied, ready to beat the impending traffic and watch the rest of his speech from home. Cooper rushed back to his vending booth, hoping to get rid of the rest of my stuff.
— Sydney Hoover, John Orona, Jamey Cross
Russia Investigation Triggered By Trump Campaign Aide
Claim:I tell this story on occasion, very seldom, because its too sad to tell, but I tell this story because its very important. Russia, Russia, Russia was a hoax. It was developed by Hillary Clinton and a group of people, small group around a kitchen table, as a way of explaining why she lost an election that a lot of people thought she would win.
Facts: This is revisionist history. The hoax that Trump colluded with the Russians was not developed by Hillary Clinton and a group of people.
Here are the facts: In July 2016, the FBI began investigating the Russian governments attempt to influence the 2016 presidential election, including whether Trumps campaign associates were involved in those efforts. As explained in the DOJ inspector generals report in December 2019, the investigation of Trumps campaign was triggered when a Friendly Foreign Government, an Australian diplomat, learned from George Papadopoulos, a Trump campaign foreign policy adviser, that the Russians had damaging information on Clinton.
The investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller resulted in 37 indictments or guilty pleas including against 26 Russians and three Russian companies, as summarized by Vox. A redacted report written by Muellers office detailed how the Russians carried out an extensive social media campaign and targeted cyberattacks against Clinton and the Democratic Party committees to damage Clinton and help Trump.
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Pm: Gates Open For Trump’s Visit To Wilmington
Hundreds of rallygoers began shuffling into the Aero Center shortly after 3 p.m.
Some, like Mike Reed and Amber Blue, had already waited for hours but were happy to stay to show their support.
The engaged couple traveled from the Fayetteville area to see former President Trump and N.C. Lt. Governor Mark Robinson.
Reed, 46, said he supports Trump for his policies like lowering taxes, but more than anything else trusts him to “not take anything from anyone.”
Blue, 45, said the couple weren’t politically active before Trump came to power, and aren’t particularly interested in the candidates he’s endorsing.
“We like to think for ourselves,” Reed said. “He’s endorsed people before and gone back.”
— John Orona, Jamey Cross
Trump Goes After Biden
Trump kicked off his speech early and took hits at the Biden administration for inflation and foreign policy, among other issues. He incorrectly claimed he may have won the 2020 election in Ohio by more than 8 percentage points, which was the result certified by state election officials.
Trump also told the crowd they need to send Vance to the U.S. Senate and kept directing comments to “J.D.” throughout his remarks.
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How Big A Crowd Is Expected
This is an often tricky issue with Trump, who has a habit of inflating his crowd sizes. In this case, township officials say they expect somewhere between 8,000 and 10,000 people.
It’s anyone’s guess if that number will be low or high. But it does have some fire officials in Washington Township concerned. For one thing, they say the rally is outside the approved use of the Michigan Stars Sports Center space, and it’s possible the number of attendees could be well above the site’s safe occupancy limit. There also are questions about whether there is enough parking and what the effect of traffic will be on local roads.
Trump To Hold April Rally In Michigan
Former President Trump is set to hold a rally in Michigan next month, traveling to a state that is at the center of his unfounded claims of election fraud in the 2020 election.
Trump’s leadership PAC announced Friday that he’ll hold the rally in Washington Township on April 2. He’ll give remarks in support of Matthew DePerno and Kristina Karamo, his endorsed candidates for Michigan attorney general and secretary of state, respectively.
Michigan has emerged as a top swing state in recent cycles, handing Trump a narrow victory in 2016 and a loss by about 3 percentage points in 2020.
Trump has repeatedly said that voter fraud robbed him of a victory in the Wolverine State two years ago and has called for further examination into the results despite his loss being confirmed by an audit.
Both DePerno and Karamo are trying to flip offices held by Democrats and have spread conspiracy theories about the 2020 race.
Michigan is hosting a competitive gubernatorial race this year, as well as several other contests down the ballot.
Trump has not yet issued an endorsement in the gubernatorial race but has been a vocal critic of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer , who is running for reelection.
The rally next month will mark the latest in a spree of appearances for Trump, who is set to hold a rally in Georgia next week and recently appeared in South Carolina.
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Pm: Trump Uses Rally To Bash Biden Ducey
Former President Donald Trump used his 93-minute remarks at his rally in Florence to give a fresh blistering to his usual foils President Joe Biden, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and the media to the resounding support of the thousands of diehard supporters at Canyon Moon Ranch.
Trump also renewed his grievances and cast his four years in office as a period of unprecedented prosperity and security.
Early in his remarks, which ended at 8:51 p.m., Trump cast Bidens administration as an unfolding disaster and continued his baseless claims of widespread election fraud in 2020.
Biden has utterly humiliated our nation, Trump said, saying that Russia and Chinas leaders no longer respect or fear America.
Trump said the past year under Biden has been a disaster but said there would be a good political end to the catastrophe at the outset of the new year.
The speech was an updated version of Trumps usual America-first rhetoric, long on personal boasts and lacking in subtlety.
The country is being destroyed, he said, after citing rising inflation and the nations disastrous retreat from Afghanistan. Our country is being totally destroyed.
Trump called the COVID-19 response under Biden a disaster, from vaccine mandates to testing shortages.
Im proud I was the anti-mandate president, Trump said. We gave Biden every tool he could want. Hes incapable.
Ronald J. Hansen
