Trump attacks Biden, criminal charges at loud rally in New Jersey

WILDWOOD, NJ – Former President Donald Trump, angered by his criminal allegations, declared during a campaign rally Saturday that “the gloves are off” and vowed a brutal election against President Joe Biden that would focus on defeating the “enemies “Eradicate America from within,” as he called it.

It was another sign that the election is headed down a bleak path, even as Trump was often lighthearted during his nearly 90-minute speech to a raucous crowd of tens of thousands in Wildwood, New Jersey.

Trump boasted of drawing larger crowds than Bruce Springsteen, a popular son of the state, claimed he would win New Jersey despite a 16-point lead over Biden in 2020, and joked about eating a hot dog, because this is one of the foods that is least affected by inflation.

The large, boisterous rally was a show of force in a blue state and at a time when Trump is on trial just hours away in New York City over hush-money payments to an adult film actress.

Trump fans from across New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York packed the beach in the popular Jersey Shore town, crowding onto a sandy beach lined with amusement rides on two sides, the ocean on one side and a promenade lined with shops on the other and carnival games.

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Trump spoke in front of a giant Ferris wheel, a roller coaster, a water slide and other rides. The former president brought his mix of increasingly apocalyptic rhetoric to the festival atmosphere.

He decried what he called the “looting, rape, slaughter and destruction” of American communities and said: “Our country is in trouble, it is in big trouble.”

Trump’s 2024 campaign has drawn attention for some of his harsh language reminiscent of authoritarian leaders, calling his opponents “vermin” and saying immigrants are “poisoning the blood of the country.”

On Saturday, he said America was threatened less by outside forces than by “enemies from within.”

“We have enemies from outside and we have enemies from within,” he said. “For me, the enemies from within are more dangerous than the enemies from outside. We can deal with Russia and China, but we have to stop these lunatics in our government who will and probably want to destroy our country.”

Trump said Biden was “surrounded by fascists,” using a term that the former president’s critics have used to describe him after he tried to overturn the 2020 election and after crowds of his supporters rioted on March 6. January 2021 stormed the US Capitol in an attempt to prevent the election from being certified.

Trump’s efforts to overturn the final race for the White House led to two criminal charges. He is also accused of allegedly misusing confidential documents.

Trump said Saturday he was taking tougher action against Biden because he blamed the president for his accusations without evidence.

“I talk about him differently now because the gloves are off now. “He’s a bad guy, he should never have done this because it’s so bad for our country,” Trump said, blaming Biden for his criminal proceedings.

Biden spokesman James Singer called Trump “a danger to the Constitution and a threat to our democracy” in a statement. his own revenge and retaliation before what is best for America.

New Jersey is a deep blue state that hasn’t elected a Republican president since 1988, raising questions about the wisdom of a Trump rally in the region. Trump maintained the state was in play, although he is widely expected to favor Biden again this year.

Wildwood is a Republican enclave in New Jersey, near where Trump is on trial in New York and near the former president’s Bedminster estate.

It is also close to Philadelphia, a major source of voters in the swing state of Pennsylvania. The rally received attention in the Philadelphia media market and among participants from the city and surrounding suburbs.

Trump repeatedly mentioned Pennsylvania in his speech.

“Who’s from Pennsylvania?” He asked. “I went to school in Pennsylvania.”

John Llewellyn, 57, traveled from the Philadelphia area with his wife and daughter to attend the rally. The postal worker, wearing a Philadelphia Eagles jacket, said he voted for Trump in the last two elections and plans to do so again.

Supporting Trump means being “part of a movement.” It’s part of a family,” Llewellyn said.

The South Jersey Shore includes Atlantic City, where Trump operated casinos, and Llewellyn said he considers it “his home turf, so to speak.”

Llewellyn called Trump’s criminal case “trumped-up allegations … just to throw him off” and said he believed in baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

Homebuilder Mark Bass, 64, also traveled from the Philadelphia area to the rally to “first and foremost support America and support probably the best president we’ve had in several decades.”

If Trump goes to prison, Bass predicted, “he will gain more popularity and win more votes.”

Many rally participants wore T-shirts with Trump’s mugshot from his indictment in Georgia and the words “Never Surrender.” Others wore T-shirts in support of those arrested for rioting at the Capitol.

Attendees cheered as Trump’s plane – dubbed “Trump Force One” – flew more than two hours before the rally began.

Planes trolling Trump — and one praising him — also cruised the sky with banners.

One read: “Scotland’s judiciary can’t wait,” while another read: “Jack Ciat said don’t vote for Trump, he’s an embarrassment,” an apparent reference to the Republican candidate for governor of New Jersey native Jack Ciattarelli, who criticized Trump during his first campaign before endorsing him in 2020.

Another banner flying behind a plane read “God Bless D. Trump.”

North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum warmed up the crowd. Burgum is on Trump’s short list of potential candidates to run, and the former president has hinted at a possible Trump/Burgum ticket.

“You won’t find anyone better than this gentleman in terms of knowledge…so be prepared, OK. Just get ready,” Trump said.

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