Former US President Donald Trump slammed the immigration policy of the Biden administration on Saturday in Wellington, Ohio, where he held his first rally since his forced departure from the White House. He also called on his supporters to help Republicans regain their majority in Congress.
The former president left office in the shadow of a deadly attack on the legislative building by his supporters, immediately after he repeated false claims at a rally in Washington that he had lost the election due to fraud. He survived the second impeachment proceedings initiated against him because of this and retained his considerable influence in the Republican party, not least by leaving open the question of whether he would run for the presidency again in 2024.
On Saturday, in front of thousands of supporters celebrating him, he repeated some of his grievances, criticizing, among other things, the American electoral system, but above all he emphasized the increase in the number of illegal immigrants entering the southern border of the United States.
„We're going to take back the House, the Senate, and America, and soon”
- He told.
The stakes in the 2022 US midterm elections will be whether or not to retain or lose the now razor-thin Democratic majorities in both houses of the legislature, and historical experience shows that Republicans have a chance to win seats in this race.
Although Trump has spoken at his party's events since his election loss to Democratic rival Joe Biden, this event in the southern state he won in 2020 signals a return to the self-styled rallies that have always been key to maintaining his base. His appearance in Ohio also marks the beginning of a series of public events where he can lash out at Republicans elected last year who have turned against him on his views.
On Saturday, for example, he campaigned alongside his former White House adviser, Max Miller, who is trying to win the representative seat of Anthony Gonzalez. Gonzalez is one of ten Republican members of the House of Representatives who voted to impeach Trump on charges of inciting the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Trump has already announced that he will campaign against all ten of them. He also endorsed his challenger to Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who is the only 2022 candidate among the seven Republican senators who voted to impeach him during the impeachment trial in January.
Trump will visit the US-Mexico border on Wednesday accompanied by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, and then hold another rally in Sarasota, Florida on July 3. And his supporters expressed their hope that with these events, Trump will succeed in lining up the party behind the congressional candidates who will follow him.
At Saturday's event, Trump continued his battle with other top Republican lawmakers. He again lashed out at his former vice president, Mike Pence, who, according to his setup, could have prevented Congress from ratifying Biden's election victory on January 6, and at Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, for calling Trump practically and morally responsible for the violence that occurred that day. .
MTI
Photo: REUTERS/Gaelen Morse
