US Election - A ball for democracy captured
At his first rally appearance since the assassination attempt, US Presidential candidate Donald Trump voiced concerns about being a threat to democracy. "Last week, I took a bullet for democracy", Trump told supporters in the US state of Michigan on Saturday. "I am absolutely not an extremist", the former president added. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden had to continue postponing campaign appearances due to his Corona infection.
Trump dismissed connections to "Project 2025" during the events, a radical program by the ultraconservative Heritage Foundation for a complete overhaul of the government apparatus and a drastic conservative shift.
Trump mocks uncertainty of opponents
Moreover, the Republican Party's Presidential candidate made fun of his Democratic opponents, who are currently discussing a possible withdrawal of President Biden from another candidacy. "You have no idea who your candidate is", Trump told a crowd of around 12,000 supporters. Biden had won the primaries "and now they want to take it away from him", argued Trump. For the Republicans, Trump predicted a "monumental landslide victory" in the November election.
In his fiery, but as always filled with many digressions, speech, the Presidential candidate laid out his uncompromising views on immigration, spread falsehoods about the criminality of Migrants, and repeated the widely debunked claim that the Democrats had "manipulated" the 2020 Presidential election against him. He also expressed his admiration for foreign autocrats, including the "brilliant" Chinese President Xi Jinping, whom he praised for "controlling 1.4 billion people with an iron fist".
It was Trump's first rally appearance after the assassination attempt on the previous Saturday and the first since his official nomination as the Republican Party's Presidential candidate at the convention this week. Trump had survived the assassination attempt at a campaign event in Butler in the state of Pennsylvania by a narrow margin. The 78-year-old was wearing a small, band-aid-sized patch on his right ear.
"I am here only through the grace of the almighty God", Trump told the crowd. "I shouldn't be here, but something very special has happened."
Trump disregarded the self-imposed restraint and his call for unity following the assassination attempt and instead fell back into divisive rhetoric. He hurled insults and slurs, calling Biden "stupid" and an "old weak man", and labeling Vice President Harris as "crazy" and "nutty".
Biden's campaign team responds to Trump's speech
Biden's campaign team responded to Trump's speech with the words that he "goes around with the same lies" and "runs the same campaign of revenge and retribution".
It was also Trump's first rally appearance with his Vice Presidential candidate J. D. Vance. The US Senator from Ohio warmed up the crowd before Trump's speech and took aim at his Democratic opponent Harris. "I have served in the Marine Corps of the United States and built a business. What have you done, except cash a check?", Vance asked Harris.
While the pressure on Biden to drop out of his presidential campaign continued to mount. The incumbent has faced intense scrutiny since his chaotic and disjointed debate performance against Trump at the end of June. By now, over 30 members of the House of Representatives and four Senators from the Democrats have publicly called on Biden to withdraw.
Demands for Biden to exit the race for the White House were once again rejected by him on Friday. Biden announced that after his Corona infection, he would resume his campaign events in the coming week.
- At the rally, Trump condemned the notion of being a threat to democracy, saying, "Last week, I took a bullet for democracy."
- Despite the ongoing political tensions, Trump's Republican Party opponents were discussing the possibility of President Biden withdrawing from another candidacy.
- During the rally, Trump questioned Joe Biden's Democratic opponents, stating, "You have no idea who your candidate is."
- In Michigan, Trump expressed confidence in a "monumental landslide victory" for the Republicans in the November election.
- Trump, despite calling for unity following the assassination attempt, returned to his divisive rhetoric, labeling Biden as "stupid" and an "old weak man."
- Reacting to Trump's speech, Biden's campaign team accused him of continuing with his campaign of "revenge and retribution," stating, "He goes around with the same lies."
