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A little more During a speech last night in Waterloo, Iowa, former President Donald Trump returned to one of his favorite lines.
“They are destroying the lifeblood of our country,” Trump complained, adding, “Immigrants are arriving from Africa, Asia, South America, and all over the world.” He said he didn't like it when unnamed people (presumably his advisors) used this kind of language. During his speech, the crowd inside the Waterloo Convention Center was quiet. He suddenly assured everyone that he had never read anything. my fight. “They said, ‘Oh, Hitler said that,’” he explained, adding, “in a very different way.” Then he came right back to it: “They could bring a disease that would spread to our country,” Trump said. “They are destroying the blood of our country. They are destroying the fabric of our country,” he warned.
Trump has enjoyed a double-digit lead in opinion polls for months. “If you want to know the truth, you can put this to rest after Iowa,” he said of the Republican primary. With less than four weeks to go from now, his top spot in the convention seems all but certain. He continues to criticize Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. His campaign is like a balloon expelling air, fluttering chaotically as it descends. Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley continues to rise in the polls, but she still has a slim margin of victory in Iowa and only a slightly lower margin of victory in New Hampshire. Congressional Republicans are rallying around their leader. Over the weekend, Reps. Lee Zeldin of New York, Wesley Hunt of Texas and Matt Gaetz of Florida all endorsed Trump in Iowa. The former president smells it. Last night, they were full of energy as if they had achieved first victory.
As Trump's standing in the primary improved, his rhetoric became more extreme. Addressing an overwhelmingly white crowd in Waterloo, he spent much more time than usual demonizing non-white people. Trump said immigrants are being dumped at the border, pouring into our country and causing crime. He said they were coming from prisons and mental hospitals in other countries and were “emptying mental hospitals.” Later he ran after the children. “We have kids going to school speaking a language that no one even knows what that language is,” Trump said. “There’s no room for that.” Our Students in the classroom”—emphasis on “we.” He promised again that, if re-elected, he would carry out the largest deportation operation in American history.
Two weeks ago, Trump said he would be a dictator “on day one.” Last night he praised Hungary's 'ambassador' Viktor Orban. “He’s the leader, he’s the boss, he’s everything you want to call him,” Trump said of dictator Orban. He warned that the Earth was on the brink of World War III and that the only person who could stop it was Donald Trump. (He boasted about how he had ensured our nuclear stockpile was “top-notch.”) Trump scoffed at his prosecution, especially the classified documents case against him. “I was completely protected. I can do it.” He vowed to “take control of a horribly run Washington, D.C.,” and compensate every police officer who “got in trouble” for pursuing criminals. I have watched President Trump speak live in many different settings over the past few months. I haven't seen him more extreme this year than he did last night. He sounded like an unmoored dictator.
Trump's Dark Beauty Pageant It unfolded against the backdrop of Christmas cheer. The former president was flanked by two Christmas trees, each topped with a red MAGA hat. Prop gifts in Trump-branded wrapping paper were placed throughout the stage. Red, green and white lights were shining from the ceiling. Trump opened with a lengthy monologue in his early days. We're all saying “Merry Christmas” again. (His campaign volunteers handed out signs with the phrase.) Even the press laminate was decorated with a series of cartoon Christmas lights.
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Byrd, one of Trump's warm-up speakers, asked the audience, “What do you give for Christmas to the person who has everything?” It was a slightly confusing set up with jokes about how Christmas would come. late Trump won the Iowa caucus in mid-January this year. People kind of understood.
Before Trump took the stage, I spotted Santa Claus leaning against a brick wall outside the Capitol and asked for an interview. He wavered and then reluctantly agreed. On the back of his red suit was written: Close yourself In gold block letters. It turned out that Santa was a man in his mid-20s named Alex. He said he lives in Northern Virginia and works for the U.S. Public Advocate, a conservative nonprofit. He said he plays all kinds of characters, including Cupid and an evil doctor/mad scientist who forces people to get the coronavirus vaccine. He said he showed up to a Loudoun County school protest dressed as Uncle Sam. Two of his organization's signs hung outside the stadium entrance. Make your family great again! and There are only two genders: male and female. Merry Christmas.
At a nearby table sat Susan Holland, 81, and her husband, Buzz. They both nodded and welcomed me as I pulled up a chair next to them. Holland, who wore a dazzling Trump hat and an American flag sweater with American flag earrings, said she had seen Trump in person about 10 times over the years. “We can hardly wait until he is sworn in again,” she said. I asked her where she gets her news. “We watch Fox News,” she said. “We also watch the news regularly.”
Over the past few months, I've asked dozens of Trump supporters whether they made that claim. nothing The former president could have made him withdraw his support, or he could have said so. Mike Benson, 62, a retired carpenter from Waterloo, was posted up in red at the Broken Record Bar, a few blocks from the event, earlier this afternoon. trump 2024 Hat, Bud Nursing. He said he doesn't fit in with his union colleagues, who all vote solidly Democratic. (He said he cast his first presidential vote for Ronald Reagan and has supported the Republican Party ever since.) I noted that Trump has praised people like Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-un, and Orbán, and asked if he thought Trump himself would ever come to an end. . dictator.
“There is no chance.” Benson said. “People are confused about Trump’s praise. He is not praising them. He recognizes that they are smart people. “They are smart enough to manipulate the population, and even President Trump admits it,” he said. “The devil is smart,” he added.
I asked him if he thought Trump was manipulating our population.
“no.” He said. “He stands true for what he believes, and if you believe that too, all you have to do is follow him. He's not one to strong-arm those around him. He doesn't manipulate facts. He does not militarize government departments to hunt down opponents. “He’s not doing any of that.”
less than 1 hour Before Trump took the stage last night, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that the former president was ineligible to vote in the state under the 14th Amendment due to his actions leading up to the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. His campaign has already said it will appeal the decision, and the case is expected to end up in the Supreme Court.
In Waterloo, Trump did not mention the Colorado ruling. Instead, he focused on Biden, the swamp, and the “deep state.” “We will bring our country back from hell. “Our country is in hell,” Trump said. He countered that the economy would bounce back and energy prices would plummet by Christmas 2024. He claimed responsibility for the current high stock market and claimed returns were higher because people believed he would stay in office.
President Trump said “Crooked Joe Biden” is a “low IQ individual” and “the most incompetent and most corrupt president in the history of our country.” “Other than that, I think about him quite a bit.” Trump later mocked Biden's slow speech at a recent news conference.
Throughout the night, Trump pandered to Iowa voters, attacking electric cars, talking about persecution of Christians and praising those who “still till the land.” He fired off a few strange ad-libs. “Does everyone in this room love their children? Is there anyone in this room? ~ no Do you love your children? Raise your hands. Oh, the guy in the blue jacket raised his hand!”
But his bizarre anti-immigrant rhetoric kept coming back. It was a messier, messier version of “building the wall.”
As attendees entered the convention center, a 69-year-old man stood outside in the bitter cold and wind holding a handwritten sign. The contents are as follows: Say thank you to immigrants every time you eat pork chops or ribeye steak. The man, named Paul, had driven his car from his home in Manchester, about 50 miles east. He said he used to work with many immigrants in a corn seed factory. He said he was disappointed by all the slurs he had heard about foreigners. “I decided to come and hold a sign.” And the message was “at least half positive.” I haven't seen anyone in the Trump crowd stop to consider that.