He opened the rally with “Justice for All,” sung by a choir of men jailed for participating in the Jan. 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol riots, followed by the national anthem, as Trump takes the oath of allegiance. Donald Trump stood solemnly on the podium with his hand on his heart, footage of the Capitol riots played on large screens and American flags fluttered in the wind, reports the Guardian. “This song says a lot because it’s number one in every category,” he said in front of thousands of people. “Number two was Taylor Swift, number three was Miley Cyrus.” Behind him, supporters held signs reading “Witch Hunt”, “I stand with Trump” and “Trump 2024”.
The choice of venue for the rally was also unusual. Trump decided to hold his first campaign in Waco, the Texas city where exactly 30 years ago a 51-day standoff between law enforcement and the extremist Branch Davidian sect ended that killed more than 80 members of the religious community and four federal agents.
All of these events take place as Trump faces the prospect of becoming the first president in US history to face criminal charges. A grand jury in New York is investigating the payment of silence money to adult film star Stormy Daniels for alleged sexual contact with Trump, which he denies.
On Tuesday, the former White House chief called for protests, without adding that they must be peaceful. On his Truth Social platform, he warned of “potential death and destruction” if charges were ultimately brought against him. Trump also used more racist rhetoric as he launched more personal attacks on Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan District Attorney whose appointment was sponsored by prominent “architect of chaos” and Trump nemesis George Soros. Trump even shared an image of himself holding a baseball bat next to a photo of Bragg. On Friday, a powdered substance was found in Bragg’s post office along with a threatening letter. Authorities later determined that the substance was harmless. Yet at the Waco airport rally on Saturday, there was no indication that Trump had heeded the warnings and calmed down.
Trump also launched his most vocal attack on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is considered his biggest contender for the Republican presidential nomination. “He’s falling like a rock and I wonder why,” Trump said of DeSantis’ recent drop in the opinion polls. He repeated his claim that DeSantis begged Trump to approve with “tears in his eyes” when he ran for governor. Trump said Florida had been successful for “decades” before DeSantis took office and accused him of being disloyal.
Trump’s critics called the rally anti-democratic and anti-American. The anti-Trump group said in a statement: “Trump has redoubled his usual violent rhetoric and threats against his political enemies. After spending this week threatening New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg and calling for ‘demonstrations “, he spoke about the “, “arming” the office and how it will “justice” for its supporters”.
The grand jury investigating Trump’s alleged silence money is set to meet again Monday in New York.
