Former President Donald Trump returned to campaign mode with a vengeance on Saturday night, swearing at a rally in Ohio that Republicans would back Congress, retaliating for his defeat in last November's election and a GOP congressman. who voted for his impeachment.
Calling the event "the first rally of the 2022 election", Trump predicted next year's elections would result in a "vast Republican majority" in both houses of Congress.
"We're going to take back the House, and we're going to take back the Senate," he promised the crowd at the Lorraine County Fairgrounds in Wellington, about half an hour southwest of Cleveland.
"We don't have a choice," he said.
The incident marked Trump's return to the kind of mass rallies that fueled his White House campaigns. Since leaving office in January, Trump's public appearances have been limited to a handful of speeches in front of conservative and Republican groups.
Trump's political action committee, Save America PAC, said the Ohio rally would be the first of many appearances in support of the candidates and advance their agenda and achievements of his administration. A second rally is planned for July 3 in Sarasota, Florida.
Political analysts said the events are designed to give Trump a platform to reassert himself as leader of the Republican Party, fueling his conspiracy theories about last November's election. - and crucial to Trump and his broken ego - settle the old score.
"This is the start of the Donald Trump complaint tour," said David Cohen, a professor of political science at the University of Akron.
Trump, however, insisted he was not trying to undermine democracy. "I am the one who is trying to save American democracy," he said.
Banned from Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms that he used to communicate with his supporters, Trump rejoiced in the excitement of the cheering crowd, which was estimated to be in the thousands.
"Have we had a good time?" Trump asked.
The crowd roared right back on cue.
Ohio recalls events of rally campaign
In tone and style, the event was reminiscent of the rallies held across the country during his two campaigns for the White House. He took to the stage as loudspeakers sang Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA"—a favorite on his playlist during last year's campaign—and threw a red "Make America Great Again" hat into the crowd.
In his 91-minute remarks, Trump attacked Democratic foes like Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi, ridiculed the "fake news" media and made baseless allegations about his defeat to Joe Biden in November's presidential election. Trump said he was "ashamed" of the US Supreme Court for failing to back up his unsupported claims of election fraud.
Although he did not make any announcements about his plans, Trump indicated that he may run another run for the White House in 2024. Falsely claiming that he had already won the presidency twice, he declared, "It is possible that we will have to win it a third of the time."
Although Trump lost the presidency to Biden, he led Ohio by 8 percentage points. But political scientist Justin Buchler saw no particular relevance to the fact that Trump chose Ohio -- historically a swing state in presidential elections -- as the site of his first rally since leaving the White House.
What was more important, at least for Trump, was that he appeared in Lorraine County, which he won by 3 percentage points last November and where he was surrounded by people loyal to him.
"He's not campaigning outside his comfort zone," said Buchler, an associate professor of political science at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. "He is not going to areas where he will be surrounded by a hostile mob. He is going to be surrounded by people who are devoted followers of him."
Trump supporters arrived early, praised the former president
Supporters began arriving at the Lorraine County Fairgrounds early Saturday afternoon, carrying American flags and selling T-shirts that read, "Trump has won." A cover band blazed through the field as people lined up on food trucks and sipped water to escape the heat.
Leslie Dodd moved from Cannesburg, Pennsylvania to Wellington, to part with her son. She said she expected to hear good news from Trump and believes the GOP should follow his lead as candidates prepare for the 2022 and 2024 elections.
"As far as I'm concerned, he's still my president," Dodd said.
Edward X Young of Brick Township, New Jersey, a 61-year-old horror film actor, director and makeup artist, left his home Friday night and arrived at the Lorraine County site 11 hours later.
"This is my 51st Trump rally," Young said. The last time he said he attended a January 6 rally in Washington, where people rallied around the U.S. Broke in the Capitol. Young said he didn't go to the Capitol.
"I'm really excited about it. It's a comeback," said Young, who compared the atmosphere to a rock 'n' roll concert.
Sandra Price, 57, of Walled Lake, Michigan, was hoping Trump would say he did not give up in the 2020 election.
"I want to re-elect the president," said Price, who was attending his 19th Trump rally.
Price said he is upset with GOP members who are not true to conservative principles. "The Democrats stabbed me in the chest," she said. "The Republicans stabbed me in the back."
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Trump rebukes Anthony Gonzalez, who voted to impeach him
Trump not only used his remarks to attack Democrats, he also targeted members of his own party, including Northeast Ohio Congressman Anthony Gonzalez, one of 10 Republicans who voted Jan. Voted for impeachment for inciting the attack of the Capitol in which five people were killed.
The governing board of the Ohio Republican Party voted to condemn Gonzalez in May and asked him to resign. Weeks ago, Trump hit back at Gonzalez by extending his support to Max Miller, who is running against Gonzalez in next year's GOP primary. Miller worked for Trump on the campaign trail and in the White House, and Saturday's rally was organized to promote Miller's candidacy.
Miller, who joined Trump on stage, branded Gonzalez as "a sold-out, RINO infantryman" and said his vote to impeach Trump was "a betrayal that he can never return." And they must answer, day after day after day."
Trump called Gonzalez "a grand RINO" and "a sell-out, a fake Republican and a disgrace to your state." He praised Miller as "a trusted ally of mine" and said he had played a role in the Trump administration's talks with North Korea.
Trump insisted that Gonzalez's impeachment vote "is not my reason to do so." But, he continued, "I thought it was a character trait that wasn't so good."
Gonzalez, who represents Ohio's 16th congressional district, is "in big trouble" politically, Cohen said.
Cohen said, "His vote for impeachment - even if it was extremely courageous and which was done without taking politics into account - has hurt him from his political base." "And that could cost him his seat."
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Trump to visit Texas-Mexico border
Trump's Ohio rally took place just four days before he was scheduled to visit the US-Mexico border with Texas Governor Greg Abbott on June 30.
As he has done in the past, Trump repeatedly attacked Biden's border policies during his remarks, arguing that his successor had "deliberately and systematically" eroded border security and illegally accessed the country. The influx of immigrants was allowed in. He claimed Vice President Kamala Harris visited the US-Mexico border on Friday "for one simple reason: because I announced I was leaving."
Although he is no longer in office and is not a candidate for public office -- at least not officially -- Trump's rally was part of an overall strategy to keep him in the public eye, Cohen said.
"It's not going away," he said. "He is not leaving the political stage."
Trump's rally showed that he has no intention of leaving politics.
"Our movement is not over," he said. "Indeed, our fight has just begun."
Michael Collins covers the White House. Follow him on Twitter @mcollinsNEWS.
Contributions: Haley Bemiller of the Columbus Dispatch and James McKinnon of the Akron Beacon Journal.
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