[ad_1]
Donald Trump and other members of the Republican Party turned to general election mode Saturday night during the former president’s first rally since the FBI raided his Mar-a-Lago club.
He called the raid “one of the most egregious abuses of power by any administration in American history” and “a mockery of justice.”
“They’re trying to silence me, and more importantly, they’re trying to silence you. But we’re not going to be silent, right?” Mr. Trump said in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
Investigators found thousands of documents during a search of his Florida property, including more than 100 that were marked classified and top secret.
The picks backed by Mr. Trump won many Republican primaries this summer, but many of the candidates he supports are inexperienced and polarized figures who are now struggling in the November race.
That puts control of the Senate — once considered a Republican lock — in jeopardy.
Mr. Trump’s picks include TV personality and Republican Pennsylvania candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz, Ohio writer JD Vance, Arizona venture capitalist Blake Masters and Georgia’s former football star Herschel Walker.
“Republicans have now nominated some candidates who have never run for office before for very high-profile Senate races,” said veteran Republican pollster Whit Ayers.
While he hasn’t written about his party’s chances, he said: “It’s a lot harder than a candidate who has won a few tough political races before”.
Mr Trump’s stakes are especially high as he lays the groundwork for an expected 2024 presidential bid amid a series of escalating legal challenges.
Last week, President Joe Biden delivered a prime-time speech in Philadelphia, warning Trump and other “Mega” Republicans — an acronym for “Make America Great Again” — a threat to American democracy.
Mr. Trump has repeatedly attacked Mr. Biden — at one point calling the election “a referendum on corruption and extremism for Mr. Biden and Democrats above all else” — and briefly profiled Mr. Oz and the Republican nominee. Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano.
He noted that Mr. Mastriano had been with him from the start, trying to help Trump oust the 2020 election and stay in power, saying he was “fighting like a very small minority.”
While Republicans were once seen as likely to gain control of both chambers of Congress in November, helped by soaring inflation, high oil prices and a slide in Mr Biden’s approval ratings, since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark The Roe v Wade decision protects the right to abortion.
Some candidates, like Mr. Mastriano, are sticking to their main campaign tactics, hoping they can win over Mr. Trump’s loyal base even if they alienate or ignore more moderate voters.
But others have been trying to expand their appeal, removing anti-abortion messages from their sites that don’t align with the political mainstream.
Others have downplayed the support of the once-high-profile Mr. Trump.
[ad_2]
Source link
