Donald Trump’s speeches are not typically distinguished by diplomacy and sensitivity. His Saturday rally in Jersey Beach before a crowd of up to 80,000 people, in a conservative part of an otherwise Democratic stronghold, was certainly no exception.
The presumptive GOP presidential candidate addressed many different topics – all with a common feature, that is his fight against external powers. In addition to lashing out at Biden (““He’s a fool, he’s not a smart man. He never was,” and “You could take the 10 worst presidents in the history of our country, and add them up .. and they haven’t done the damage to our country that this total moron has done”), Trump also attacked “fat” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg by citing “legal experts” who say he did nothing wrong in the ongoing hush money prosecution.
The former president then mumbled about everything from wind turbines that supposedly killed dozens of whales to migrants who are “like cannibals,” the 2017 tax cut that was supposed to increase federal revenue but instead widened the deficit, the pledge to repeal all of the Biden Administration’s environmental laws, and the announcement of “200 percent tariffs” on imports of every foreign car.
Joining Trump on stage were several supporters, including North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum and former NFL linebacker Lawrence Taylor (convicted of sexual abuse in 2011). Burgum’s name appears on the GOP guru’s list of vice presidential candidates.
On Monday, meanwhile, Trump is expected in court to attend the key testimony of Michael Cohen, his former fixer-turned-enemy. Testifying last week instead was Stormy Daniels, who described a sexual encounter with the former president in stark detail.
Trump faces as many as 34 charges for falsifying the Trump Organization’s internal business records: documents such as invoices and checks that were considered legal expenses in the company’s records would instead largely have been reimbursements to Cohen, Trump’s lawyer, who paid Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet.
