Trump is also under investigation in the state over whether he broke the law when he asked Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to «find» more than 11,000 votes he needed to win the state in 2020, in a phone call that was recorded.
The crowd booed Raffensperger when Trump mentioned his name.
Several of the attendees wore stickers with a red line over the words «voting machines,» indicating they thought the 2020 election had been stolen.
Kemp and most of the Georgia state elected officials did not attend the event. Raffensperger told Fox News on Saturday afternoon that his absence was by design. He said the state office holders had not been invited.
Republican Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones was there, and he had to answer frequently asked questions about why. (He joked that it was because the people there really liked him).
Another person in attendance was Trump’s conservative ally, Rep. Marjorie Taylor, R-Georg., whom the former president brought onstage to make brief remarks.
Trump also relied on many of the standard topics of his rallies, on immigration, crime and even how the country needs him, and him alone, to avoid World War III.
«I will prevent World War III… Without me, it will happen,» he said. «And this will not be a conventional war with Army tanks coming and going, shooting at each other. It will be a nuclear war. It will be destruction, perhaps the destruction of the entire world. I will prevent it. No one else can say that.»
Some speakers avoided Trump’s impeachment entirely, focusing their comments on more traditional Republican favorites, such as criticizing federal spending, Biden and the government’s response to Covid, but there were still many fierce defenses of Trump, days before his scheduled appearance. for Tuesday in Miami.
“If you want to get to President Trump, you’re going to have to go through me and 75 million Americans like me,” former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake told Georgia Republicans Friday night. “And most of us are card-carrying members of the [National Rifle Association]. That’s not a threat, that’s a public service announcement.»
The script has been flipped, at least for now, for most of Trump’s political enemies within his own party. To conservatives across the country, Trump’s impeachment does not represent the administration of justice, but rather an armed Justice Department headed by President Joe Biden, who is using him to target his political opponents.
“The militarization of federal law enforcement represents a deadly threat to a free society,» Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Trump’s main rival, tweeted Friday. “For years we have witnessed uneven application of the law based on political affiliation.”
“Why so zealous in going after Trump but so passive with Hillary and Hunter?” he added.
The Pro-DeSantis Never Back Down super PAC had people outside the arena handing out flyers focusing on DeSantis’ record, the only presence the Florida governor had at an event packed with people wearing Trump merchandise and carrying Trump signs. I support the former president.
Trump has drawn criticism from a handful of Republicans since the impeachment, most notably Chris Christie. The former New Jersey governor is framing his own presidential bid as a mission to bring down Trump. He said the details of Trump’s impeachment were «devastating.”
But for the most part, Republicans have either openly endorsed Trump, or have tried to walk a tightrope by expressing concern about what’s in the impeachment but maintaining their belief that the Justice Department has been «weaponized.»
“It is unacceptable that confidential information, which could undermine our national strategy, has been treated so carelessly by current and former members of the executive branch,” said Sen. Mike Rounds, RS.D, who has been a Trump critic in the past. . . «I am concerned about the Justice Department’s decision to pursue this case against the former president at a time when our current president also admitted to possession of documents while he was out of office.»
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who has had a falling out with Trump since he refused to halt the certification of the 2020 election results, said he was «deeply concerned to see this impeachment move forward,» calling it a «sad day for USA». in remarks at the North Carolina Republican Convention on Saturday.
Amid the firestorm, the Trump campaign is moving ahead in anticipation of getting a hit in the polls, as it did briefly in September after federal agents searched his Mar-a-Lago home as part of the document investigation. classifieds, and again in March when Trump was indicted in New York on allegations that he falsified business records related to hush money he paid to allegedly cover up affairs before the 2016 presidential election.
Hours before the start of the event in Georgia, the Trump campaign launched a survey showing him leading DeSantis 44-21 in Iowa and declaring Trump the «clear favorite» in the state considered key for DeSantis if he wants to build early momentum to defeat Trump.
Trump also spoke at the North Carolina Republican Party’s annual convention on Saturday night, where he was endorsed by Rep. Richard Hudson, RN.C., who chairs the Republican National Congressional Committee. Trump now has the endorsement of the House and Senate campaign committee chairs.
Trump also spoke about his legal confusion during his speech, saying he sometimes tells people, «In a sick way, I enjoy it.»
«Because it exposes them,» he said, adding, «Have you seen this? The polls are through the roof and small dollar fundraising is setting records.»