“More angry than ever,” former US President Donald Trump returned to a campaign rally on Saturday (28), hoping to cement his White House bid with a speech in New Hampshire before he travels to South Carolina.
Two and a half months after announcing his candidacy for the 2024 election, the former American president left the gilded halls of his Florida residence for far from the usual visits.
New Hampshire and South Carolina will be the first states to host Republican primaries in early 2024. A win there will give Trump a valuable and much-needed boost going forward.
“We need a leader who is ready to face the forces that are tearing our country apart,” the billionaire told hundreds of supporters in the small town of Salem.
– “Broken system” –
But after dominating the “Grand Old Party,” as the Republican Party is known for two years, the 76-year-old Trump is not necessarily treading favorable ground.
In New Hampshire, a border state with Canada, many local lawmakers blamed the former president for hurting the Republican Party’s chances in last November’s midterm elections by backing a candidate seen as radical.
“Personally, I believe he has lost a lot of his appeal and his aura,” local lawmaker Mike Bordes, who backed Trump in the 2020 election, told AFP of the Republican presidential bid.
Trump again said this Saturday (28) that he was robbed of the 2020 presidential election and did not use derogatory nicknames to refer to his opponents.
He also lauded his record in public safety and immigration, and vowed to save the country “from being crushed by a corrupt, radical and self-serving political system”.
“Today I am angrier and more determined than ever,” he said.
– setback –
In South Carolina, Trump may face resistance, because even though he is the only Republican to announce his candidacy so far, several people in the state are preparing to jump to the polls.
Starting with former governor Nikki Haley, who promised her supporters an announcement soon.
In addition, several of Trump’s top donors have announced publicly that they will not support his candidacy and will support Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a rising star of the Republican Party, who has yet to formally launch himself into the election either.
It is a political setback for Trump, who is already the target of several judicial investigations, which could be a major obstacle to his candidacy.
“These are radical left-wing prosecutors who are really terrible people,” Trump said.
Despite these setbacks, his supporters are wary of throwing away his political viability right away. His downfall has been announced thousands of times, but so far Trump has survived every scandal.
The former president could also benefit from the immediate cancellation of the suspension of his Facebook and Instagram accounts, finding these networks a pretty good sounding board.
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