'Trying to save American democracy': Trump
Former President Donald Trump returned to campaign mode with a vengeance, vowing at a rally in Ohio that Republicans would take back Congress, bemoaning his loss in last November's election and retaliating against a GOP congressman who voted to impeach him.
Calling the event "the very first rally of the 2022 election," Trump predicted next year's elections would result in "giant Republican majorities" in both chambers of Congress.
"We're going to take back the House, and we're going to take back the Senate," he promised the crowd at the Lorain County Fairgrounds in Wellington, about a half-hour southwest of Cleveland. "We have no choice," he added.
The event marked Trump's return to the kind of mass rallies that fueled his White House campaigns. Since he left office in January, Trump's public appearances have been limited to a handful of speeches before conservative and Republican groups.
Trump's political action committee, the Save America PAC, said the Ohio rally would be the first of many appearances in support of candidates and causes that further his agenda and the accomplishments of his administration. A second rally already is planned for July 3 in Sarasota, Florida.
Political analysts said the events are designed to give Trump a platform to reassert himself as the leader of the Republican Party, promote his conspiracy theories about last November's election - and just as important to Trump and his bruised ego - settle old scores.
"This is just the kickoff of the Donald Trump grievance tour," said David Cohen, a political science professor at the University of Akron.
Trump, however, insisted, "I'm trying to save American democracy."'Banned from Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms that he used to communicate with his supporters, Trump reveled in the enthusiasm of the boisterous crowd, which was estimated to be in the thousands.
"Are we having a good time?" Trump asked. The crowd roared back right on cue. Former President Donald Trump arrives for his campaign-style rally in Wellington, Ohio, on June 26, 2021.
In tone and style, the event was reminiscent of the rallies Trump held across the country during his two campaigns for the White House. He stepped onto the stage as a loudspeaker blared Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" - a favorite on his playlist during last year's campaign and tossed red "Make America Great Again" hats into the crowd.
In his 91-minute remarks, Trump lashed out at Democratic foes like Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi, ridiculed the "fake news" media and leveled unfounded accusations about his loss to Joe Biden in last November's presidential election. Trump said he was "ashamed" of the US Supreme Court for failing to back his unsupported claims of election fraud.
Though he made no announcement about his own plans, Trump hinted that he might make another run for the White House in 2024. Claiming falsely that he has already won the presidency twice, he proclaimed, "it's possible we'll have to win it a third time."
Though Trump lost the presidency to Biden last November, he carried Ohio by eight percentage points. But political scientist Justin Buchler saw no particular relevance to the fact that Trump chose Ohio - historically a swing state in presidential elections as the site of his first rally since leaving the White House.
What was more important, at least to Trump, was that he appeared in Lorain County, which he won by three percentage points last November and where was surrounded by people who are loyal to him.
"He is not campaigning outside of his comfort zone," said Buchler, an associate professor of political science at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. "He's not going to areas where he's going to be surrounded by a hostile crowd. He is going to go to places where he can be surrounded by people who are his devoted followers."
Supporters began arriving at the Lorain County Fairgrounds early Saturday afternoon, donning American flags and selling T-shirts that said, "Trump won."