“People are constantly saying that I am a danger to democracy. […] Last week, I took a bullet for democracy!” Buoyed by his triumph at the Republican convention and the crisis shaking Joe Biden’s candidacy, Donald Trump was cheered by more than 12,000 people on Saturday, July 20, during his first campaign rally since he was the victim of an assassination attempt.
Appearing without the white bandage that covered his entire ear in the last days, but with a more discreet dressing, the Republican candidate held his rally in a packed sports hall in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a key state that he won in 2016 but that Joe Biden took from him in 2020.
He promised a “monumental landslide” for Republicans in the upcoming November election and mocked Democrats “who don’t know who their candidate is,” saying that Joe Biden would have an IQ of “50,” “60,” or “70.” He thus set aside the turn toward unity that he had set for himself and launched into the divisive rhetoric that has marked his political career.
“Campaign of Revenge”
He lashed out at Biden as “stupid” and a “weak old man” and Harris as “crazy.” A Biden-Harris campaign official blasted the speech as “peddling the same lies (and) waging the same campaign of revenge.”
Supported by his running mate JD Vance, originally from the neighboring state of Ohio, and who presents himself as a spokesperson for a downgraded America, Donald Trump seeks to cement his base in this northern region that has suffered from deindustrialization, like the city of Detroit. He has multiplied promises of tax cuts, the fight against inflation and import taxes to protect the “made in America” label.
In the middle of a speech of almost two hours, peppered as usual with anecdotes about his relations with heads of state, such as the “brilliant” Chinese Xi Jinping who “controls 1.4 billion people with an iron fist”, he also renewed his diatribe against migrants whom he accuses of the worst crimes, promising the “largest expulsion operation” in the history of our country.
While many questions remain about the failings at the rally where Donald Trump was shot, the rally was held in an enclosed space, an environment that is easier to secure than an open space.
The crowd waited for their champion, some wearing T-shirts with the image of the billionaire, bloodied ear and raised fist, immortalized by photographers a week earlier. “What we witnessed last Saturday was a miracle,” Edward Young, 64, who has attended 81 Donald Trump rallies, told AFP. “They turned him into a martyr and left him alive. Now he’s more powerful than ever,” he added.
Bolstered by this image of a miracle worker, the tempestuous septuagenarian also emerged strengthened from a nomination convention which saw him this week obtain the support of the entire Republican Party.
Nagging questions about Biden’s health
A stark contrast to his Democratic rival, incumbent President Joe Biden, who is currently playing for his political survival. Confined to his private residence in Delaware after contracting Covid, the 81-year-old Democrat is failing to silence the voices urging him to pass the torch, due to nagging questions about his mental acuity and physical fitness.
Joe Biden assured Friday that he would resume his campaign next week, but his combative tone failed to mask the growing revolt among Democratic officials. More than 30 elected officials have publicly called on him to make way for a younger candidate. And one of his main donors, businessman Michael Moritz, called on him to step down and announced that he would suspend his donations to the party.
Joe Biden “has a very important decision to make,” Senator Elizabeth Warren said on MSNBC on Saturday, raising the possibility of his replacement by his vice president, Kamala Harris, 59, a former attorney general of California.
“What gives me a lot of hope right now is that if President Biden decides to step down, we have Vice President Kamala Harris, who is ready to step up, unite the party, take on Donald Trump and win in November,” she said. “If you’re running against a convicted felon, a prosecutor like Kamala is a really good person to fight your case,” she added, referring to Trump’s criminal conviction, the first for a former president.