Two days before his first criminal trial was set to begin in Manhattan, former President Donald J. Trump on Saturday again described the charges against him as a sweeping attempt by Democrats to keep him out of the White House and criticized a gag order placed on him by the judge in the New York case.
“In two days, the whole world will witness the start of the first-ever Biden trial,” Trump said at a rally in eastern Pennsylvania, alluding to his frequent and false claim that President Biden orchestrated the New York case.
The case, which Mr. Trump also called a “communist show trial,” was filed by the Manhattan district attorney’s office and has nothing to do with Mr. Biden.
As so often happens, Mr. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, portrays himself as a victim of political persecution protecting his supporters from a similar fate.
“I’m proud to do this for you,” he said of the trial, addressing a large crowd of his supporters who had waited for hours before gathering in a windswept field in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania. “Have fun watching. ”
There will be no television cameras in the courtroom. But Mr. Trump has sometimes held news conferences after his court appearances, using them as an extension of his campaign, and he is expected to continue holding rallies on weekends, as he has done for months.
Mr. Trump’s rally on Saturday began as Iran launched an airstrike on Israel in retaliation for a deadly Israeli airstrike two weeks ago.
The former president, who often portrays himself as Israel’s staunchest ally, offered prayers and support for the country. Then, as he often does, Mr. Trump effectively blamed Mr. Biden for the conflict in Gaza, insisting that it would not have happened if he had won in 2020.
“They’re under attack right now,” Trump said of Israel. “That’s because we show major weaknesses.”
A few minutes later, the crowd began chanting “Genocide Joe,” a phrase more commonly associated with progressives protesting Biden’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza.
Mr. Trump has repeatedly said he supports Israel’s right to defend itself after a Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7. But when the chants died down, he seemed to agree with them. “You’re not wrong,” he said.
Mr. Trump repeated several times his false claims that he won the 2020 election and that Democrats cheated him out of a victory. Mr Biden won Pennsylvania in 2020 by more than 80,000 votes.
“They cheat like hell,” Trump said of his political opponents, an accusation of election fraud that was not supported by evidence. He continued by sowing doubt about the integrity of November’s election, telling his supporters: “When you see them cheating, you go out and start screaming. Start screaming.”
Mr. Trump also criticized a gag order against him in the Manhattan case in which he was accused of covering up a sex scandal related to the 2016 election campaign.
That order prevents Mr. Trump from publicly attacking witnesses, jurors, court staff and prosecutors, but not the judge or Manhattan district attorney.
“I will be forced to sit completely gagged. I’m not allowed to talk,” Mr. Trump said. “Can you believe this? You want to take away my constitutional right to speak.”
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2024-04-14 04:02:29
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