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The president reprised the line of attack during a campaign rally in the battleground state of Pennsylvania last month, suggesting that “maybe we’re just going to have to make them pay for it because they don’t listen to us.”
“I see again, the forest fires are starting. They’re starting again in California. I said, ‘You got to clean your floors. You got to clean your forests.’ They have many, many years of leaves and broken trees. And they’re, like, so flammable. You touch them and it goes up. I’ve been telling them this now for three years, but they don’t want to listen,” Trump said.
He repeated that message on Monday after arriving in California, telling officials they should “clean” the forest floors to safeguard forests from dry leaves and fallen, “explosive” trees that ignite “like a matchstick.”
As ABC News has reported, there is strong evidence wildfires have become larger and more destructive due to climate change. Warmer temperatures and heat waves have caused droughts and other conditions like bark beetles that kill millions of trees, creating more dry fuel for a fire to spread. Expanding development has also put buildings and neighborhoods closer to forests and areas prone to wildfires, making fires more destructive and putting more people in harm’s way.
Trump Rally In California Turns Violent
COSTA MESA, California Raucous protesters and supporters of Donald Trump violently confronted each other in California leading to some 20 arrests as the Republican presidential contender brought his campaign to conservative Orange County.
Dozens of protesters were mostly peaceful Thursday during the speech. Late in the evening, however, the demonstration grew rowdy and spilled into the streets.
Approximately 20 people were arrested by Costa Mesa police, according to a tweet from the Orange County Sheriffs Department. One Trump supporter had his face bloodied in a scuffle as he tried to drive out of the arena. One man jumped on a police car, leaving its front and rear windows smashed and the top dented in and other protests sprayed graffiti on a police car and the Pacific Amphitheatres marquee.
Dozens of cars including those of Trump supporters trying to leave were stuck in the street as several hundred demonstrators blocked the road, waved Mexican flags and posed for selfies.
Police in riot gear and on horseback pushed the crowd back and away from the venue. There were no major injuries and police did not use any force. The crowd began dispersing about three hours after the speech ended.
At one point, seven shirtless women wearing Bernie Sanders stickers over their breasts entered the square outside the amphitheater. They said they were protesting Trumps lack of engagement on issues of gender equality and womens rights.
GILLIAN FLACCUS
Former President Trump To Return To Wisconsin Ahead Of Primary
WAUKESHA, Wis. â Former President Donald Trump is set to make his return to the Badger Stage next month.
What You Need To Know
- Former President Donald Trump will hold a rally at 7 p.m., Aug. 5 in Waukesha, Wis.
- He will deliver remarks in support of Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels at the Waukesha County Fairgrounds
- The visit comes a few days before the primary election, which will be held Aug. 9
- Trump will also visit Milwaukee later in the month, as part of his “American Freedom Tour”
Trumpâs team on Tuesday announced he will hold a rally at 7 p.m., Aug. 5 in Waukesha, Wis. He will deliver remarks in support of Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels ahead of the Aug. 9 Wisconsin primary election.
Trump will also show his support for the entire Wisconsin Trump Ticket.
The rally is set to be held at the Waukesha County Fairgrounds. Parking and lines will open at 8 a.m., with doors opening at 2 p.m. Special guest speakers will begin delivering remarks at 4 p.m.
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Who Else Has Trump Endorsed In Michigan And Will They Be There
Trump has made a bunch of endorsements this year and last, some of which have been pretty confusing. For instance, he endorsed state Rep. Steve Carra, R-Three Rivers, to run against U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, who voted to impeach Trump for instigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Then, a couple of weeks ago, Trump dis-endorsed Carra and endorsed U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Holland Township, in that race. Trump has endorsed about 10 people running for state legislative seats, most if not all of whom have a tie to Maddock and her husband, as well as some other folks running for Congress. That includes businessman John James, who lost two races for U.S. Senate after being endorsed by Trump, who is running in a newly drawn Macomb County district.
Expect most of those locally who have been endorsed by Trump to be in attendance, though it’s only certain that two others are speaking U.S. Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Bruce Township, who represents the area where the rally is being held, and John Gibbs, a former Trump administration official who is running for the Republican nomination against U.S. Rep. Peter Meijer, R-Grand Rapids, who also voted to impeach Trump.
Also by the way: Trump’s endorsements in Michigan from his years as president did not pan out. Of the seven he made, according to the website Ballotpedia, only one McClain’s in 2020 was for a winning candidate.
Aubrey Huff Insists Trump Will Win California Despite Polls Showing Biden With 26 Point Lead
Former MLB star Aubrey Huff believes the polls aren’t painting an accurate picture ahead of next week’s presidential election and expects President Donald Trump to comfortably win in California.
The Republican incumbent has regularly trailed Democratic Party nominee Joe Biden by a significant margin in most recent national polls.
The average compiled by FiveThirtyEight has Biden ahead by just over nine percentage points, with about 52 percent backing the Democratic nominee and 43 percent supporting the president.
The trend is mirrored by the RealClearPolitics average, which gives Biden 51 percent of votes to Trump’s 43 percent.
In California, the picture is even gloomier for the president. According to FiveThirtyEight’s average of presidential election polls, Biden is on track to secure 62 percent of votes in California, with Trump currently polling 26 points behind at 36 percent.
Huff, however, believes the president should pay little attention to polls and projections.
“If it’s a fair election no way loses California,” the two-time World Series champion tweeted on Sunday night.
“The amount of boat parades, rallies, & pro Trump signs I’ve seen is off the charts. “Mark my words California is flipping red this year! #Trump2020”
Trump himself launched a last-minute plea to swing voters in the Golden State last week, tweeting that: “California is going to hell. Vote Trump”
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Pm: Gubernatorial Candidate Captures Hearts In Crowd
Kari Lake took to the stage with a canned soundtrack of applause booming out of the speakers but she didnt need it.
The crowd embraced the former TV New anchor turned gubernatorial candidate. Her message of cracking down on undocumented immigrants, canceling mask mandates and anti-abortion legislation resonated strongly.
I love her, said Evelyn Harless of Mesa. Everything she said needs to happen Shes going to get something done for Arizona.
Harless, who turned 70 last year, had never attended a political rally before coming to Florence Saturday. And while Trump was the headliner, Lake stole her heart.
She is just true to her word, she said.
Harless said she thought Lakes stance on border security was tough and direct. I like people coming into this country. I just want it done legally, she said.
John LeTourneau of Mesa used the same words to describe his adulation for Lake: I love her, he said.
LeTourneau said he will have no trouble voting for her for governor.
Shes honest, sincere and wants to fix things that are wrong with Arizona, he said.
He praised her stance on the border and keeping elections secure. And he said her criticisms of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical adviser to the president on COVID-19, were welcome.
Absolutely, he said. Fauci is crooked as hell.
Pray said Lake represents Arizona, she represents us.
Robert Anglen
Am: What’s On Trump’s List Of Talking Points
Trump gave a preview of the Saturday rally that suggests he will continue pushing baseless claims of election fraud.
“Look forward to seeing everyone in Arizona tomorrow! Many topics will be discussed including the Rigged Presidential Election of 2020, the fake Big Lie, the corrupt LameStream Media, the Afghanistan disaster, Inflation, the sudden lack of respect for our Nation and its leaders, and much more,” Trump said in a written statement Friday. “Big crowds, will also be covered on TV. See you Saturday evening!”
Ronald J. Hansen
DEMOCRACY IN DOUBT: Read the series that gets inside the Arizona election review
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How To Watch Trump Nebraska Rally: Time Live Stream For Gop Campaign Event
Former President Donald Trump will hold a rally in Greenwood, Nebraska, on Sunday in his first visit to the state since 2020, when he appeared at Eppley Airfield just before Election Day.
The rally was initially scheduled to take place Friday, but Trump said in a statement that it was rescheduled due to the threat of severe weather. He added that “weather permitting” he will be in Nebraska on Sunday night. The statement did not mention any changes to the time, location or any other rally details.
For the original rally, Trump was slated to speak at 8 p.m. from the I-80 Speedway, between Omaha and Lincoln. GOP gubernatorial candidate Charles Herbster, whom Trump endorsed in October, will also deliver remarks as the event’s special guest speaker.
“I look forward to joining President Trump on stage to discuss how he fought for Nebraskans as president and how I plan on continuing that fight as governor of Nebraska,” Herbster said in a statement last week.
Parking will open at 8 a.m., with doors opening and entertainment set to start at 3 p.m. Speakers will begin taking the stage at 5 p.m.
Other speakers expected to join Trump and Herbster include former counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, longtime Trump ally David Bossie and CPAC Chairman Matt Schlapp.
Tickets are available on Trump’s official website, but only two tickets per mobile phone number.
Public Hearings See Public Turn Against Trump
Cipollone’s testimony adds to a growing number of witnesses who have testified before the committee. Public hearings that began in June have seen witnesses provide damaging testimony, and polls have found a drop in Trump’s popularity in recent weeks.
Hutchinson, who served as a top aide to Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows, alleged that the ex-president wanted armed supporters to bypass security at his speech the morning of the riot, and that he allegedly got into a physical altercation with his security detail when he was not allowed to go to the Capitol.
Trump is also reportedly considering writing a letter waiving his claim of executive privilege against Steve Bannon, opening the door for the former Trump strategist to testify, as experts have doubted the claim applies to Bannon, who left his White House role years before the riot.
Some members of the public have turned against Trump amid the hearings. A Fox News poll conducted after the first hearing saw his approval rating flounder. Meanwhile, a poll from ABC News/Ipsos conducted from June 17 to June 18 found that 58 percent of Americans believe Trump should face criminal charges. This represents an increase from in April, when an ABC News/Washington Post poll found that 52 percent believed he should face charges.
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Trump To Hold Rally In Wisconsin County Facing Record
President Donald Trumps campaign rally in Wisconsin on Thursday will not only kick off a precarious string of large, in-person campaign events for the president across crucial swing states, but itll also be held in a state and county thats seeing a spike in coronavirus cases as the country nears 200,000 deaths from the pandemic.
The rally, taking place at an airport hangar in Mosinee, Wisconsin, comes as the county hosting the event, Marathon County, saw 925 positive coronavirus cases as of Sept. 16 and as the president publicly clashed with the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over a timeline for a vaccine.
After a brief pause in packed rallies over the summer, the president has returned to full-steam ahead with less than 50 days to go until Election Day. He has begun holding multiple packed rallies each week that often break local guidelines and ignore the recommendations his own administration is promoting, though in Wisconsin and nationally, Trump continues to trail Democratic nominee Joe Biden in the polls.
This week, the COVID-19 activity level for Marathon County is: HIGH, reads the countys coronavirus online dashboard. High is defined as a significant increase in cases in the past two weeks.
Fourteen people have died between July 15 and Sept. 7.
Cases across Wisconsin have skyrocketed in the past couple weeks, with the state reporting a record of 2,034 cases on Thursday.
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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Start Your Day With Laist
More than a year after leaving office, former President Donald Trump still looms large over the Republican Party across the country. Seeking to maintain the fierce devotion of GOP voters as he eyes another presidential run in 2024, Trump continues to hold regular campaign rallies that draw thousands of attendees, while his endorsements are scrambling races from Pennsylvania to Ohio to Georgia as he attempts to play kingmaker in crucial primaries.
Not so much in California.
Even as Republican hopefuls in other states compete to prove which of them is most closely aligned to Trump and his agenda, his name is all but absent from campaigns for governor and other statewide offices in California, where he won less than a third of the vote in 2016 and only slightly more in 2020. False claims that he was robbed of a second term through election fraud no longer abound here.
In a handful of potentially competitive races, perhaps the GOPs best opportunities to snap a losing streak for statewide office that stretches back to 2006, some major candidates are even distancing themselves from Trump and refusing to say whether they voted for the former president.
Jim Brulte, a former chairperson for the state party, said GOP candidates have no need to cling to Trump because they have a better message to sell to voters this year about the failures of Democratic President Joe Biden.
Delicate Gop Dance For Trump Youngkin In Virginia Gov Race
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RICHMOND, Va. When Donald Trump rallied Republicans this past week to vote for Glenn Youngkin for governor in Virginia, the former president called in to a gathering of die-hard supporters. That may be the closest he gets to campaigning in the most closely watched election of 2021.
While schedules could change in the final weeks of the race, the two are not expected to turn out together in person before the Nov. 2 election against Democrat Terry McAuliffe.
Is Trump going to come to Virginia? Yes. But it will be after the election for a victory rally, said conservative talk show host John Fredericks, who served as Trumps campaign chairman in the state and also organized Wednesdays event. Youngkins campaign confirmed Friday it does not have any plans for surrogates to join him before Election Day.
The dynamic reflects the complex balancing act between Trump and Youngkin and could emerge as a model for other Republicans who face competitive campaigns in 2022.
Trump is the most popular figure in GOP politics and is eager to remain engaged. Youngkin needs Trumps supporters to come out and cannot risk giving Trump a reason to turn on him in the races final weeks. But Youngkin must avoid being tied too closely to someone who is unpopular in crucial swaths of the state, particularly the suburbs that surround Washington, D.C., and Richmond.
Trump has little to gain by spending much more political capital on the race.
Fredericks said it was a winning strategy.
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