Litats, Pennsylvania — RITATS, Pa. (AP) — Donald Trump gave a profane, conspiracy-filled speech Tuesday just two days before the presidential election, referencing reporters being shot and saying he “never should have left” the White House after losing to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020. suggested. Biden.
In remarks Sunday that bore little resemblance to speeches he has given at recent campaign rallies, the former president repeatedly questioned the integrity of the vote and revived old grievances after trying to overturn his 2020 election loss. Trump has stepped up his verbal attacks on the American media and the Democratic Party, which he has described as “evil” Democrats, and at one point led a rally in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to the topic of violence against journalists.
He noted the ballistic glass used to protect himself at an outdoor event following an assassination attempt by a gunman last July and pointed out gaps between the panels.
“Here’s this piece of glass.” he said “But all we have here is fake news. And someone would have to comb through the fake news to catch me. And I don’t really care.”
It was the second time in recent days that Trump has spoken about pointing guns at people he views as enemies. He suggested that former Rep. Liz Cheney, a prominent Republican commentator, “wouldn’t be willing to support a foreign war if nine barrels were shooting at her.”
The Trump campaign, faced with criticism for implying violence against the media, later downplayed his comments.
“The president’s comments about the deployment of protective glass had nothing to do with the media being harmed,” Trump campaign spokesman Stephen Cheng said in a statement. Instead, he claimed Trump suggested that reporters themselves were at great risk and that there should have been glass shields. There can be no other interpretation of what was said. In fact, he cared for their welfare much more than his own!”
Trump also revived lies about the election and claimed he could be fooled and lose to Democrat Kamala Harris, even though polls predict a very close race.
“It’s a crooked country,” Trump said to the crowd on the chilly airport tarmac, revisiting complaints he made early in his campaign. “They will want to put you in jail because they want you to make things right. Think about it. “They cheated in the election, and you want to blame them and throw you in jail.”
Trump has been accused of trying to overturn the 2020 election in Washington and Georgia.
Some of his allies, most notably former chief strategist Steve Bannon, encouraged Trump to declare early victory Tuesday night after polls closed, even if the election was premature. That’s exactly what Trump did four years ago. This began months of denials and lies that culminated in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
For most of this year, Trump has run a relatively restrained campaign, emphasizing issues that aides believe could give him a victory, even as he clings to false theories about voter fraud and stirs controversy with his frequent deviations. But that discipline is gradually breaking down.
In recent weeks, Trump has joked about golfer Arnold Palmer’s penis, continued to use gendered and sexist language to dissuade women, and made headlines by hurling crude and racist insults during a speech at New York’s Madison Square Garden. A decoration gathering was held.
The darker, more profane tone of his campaign came as the former president, who has long been a fan of WWE’s male pageantry, took part in rallies to the sound of ominous bells once used by wrestlers. undertaker.”
Nonetheless, Trump has been delivering fairly consistent stump speeches on most days, aided by a series of videos that maintain the script while veering from topic to topic in a discursive style he has dubbed “weaving.” But outside Lancaster Airport he abandoned his planned remarks altogether, skipping his usual talking points on the economy, immigration and rote criticism of Harris.
Trump’s remarks in Pennsylvania were not planned, according to a person familiar with the matter, who said the president is known for ad-libbing. It’s unclear exactly what upset Trump, but his campaign released a memo earlier in the day criticizing a new New York Times poll that again showed very close races in seven key battleground states.
Before Trump took the stage, he spoke on the phone with two reporters who commented on the polls, one of whom asked whether he thought he had a chance of losing.
Trump was frustrated that the campaign was a close race until the end. He thinks Harris is a worthless opponent and cannot understand why he is not ahead, said one Republican, who, like others, was granted anonymity.
Another Republican criticized last-minute unrest and Trump’s need to trust a system he believes is rigged against him.
Trump allies applauded his speech and said they were glad he was highlighting concerns about fraud in the final stretch of the race.
Harris disputed Trump’s characterization of the U.S. election on Sunday, telling reporters that Trump’s comments were “intended to distract from the fact that we have and support free and fair elections in our country.” Those “good systems” were in place in 2020, but “he lost,” Harris said.
The vice president said he had confidence in the upcoming vote tally and urged voters, “especially people who haven’t voted yet, not to fall for this tactic. I think that includes suggesting to people that if they vote, their vote won’t matter.”
Trump acknowledged that he was sidestepping his usual approach with his conspiratorial speech. He ignored the advice of his aides, repeated their feedback in a mocking tone, and insisted that he talk about election fraud despite their opposition.
Appearing at Kinston Airport in North Carolina a few hours later, Trump reverted to much of his usual script, alternating between prepared remarks and familiar stories.
At one point, he disparaged the Senate Republican leader for endorsing Trump earlier this year despite blaming him for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, saying, “We want to get rid of Mitch McConnell soon.”
“Can you believe that person supported me?” Trump added a minute later, laughing. “That must have been a painful day in that person’s life.”
He was scheduled to take the stage for the third time Sunday night in Macon, Georgia. One of his warm-up speakers was Herschel Walker, a 2022 Republican Georgia Senate candidate who has faced numerous damaging allegations, including allegations that he paid for the abortions of two ex-girlfriends despite supporting a national ban on the procedure. Herschel Walker).
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Cooper reported from Phoenix. Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro in Washington, Darlene Superville in Detroit, Jeff Amy in Macon, Georgia, and Michelle L. Price and Bill Barrow in Washington contributed to this report.
