Former President Donald J. Trump, who has been eager for months to focus on a possible matchup between himself and President Biden in November, previewed a likely general election message on Saturday, endorsing Mr. Biden at an event in Nevada fiercely attacked, a critical battleground state.
Further evidence of Nevada’s importance was a mile away, where Vice President Kamala Harris described the fight against Mr. Trump, should he secure the nomination, as a fight for democracy.
Although Mr. Trump reportedly visited Las Vegas to encourage his supporters to attend the Nevada caucuses on Feb. 8, he devoted much of his speech to Mr. Biden’s handling of the spate of crossings at the southern border, which he described as “” . a weapon of mass destruction” that is destroying the United States internally.
And Mr. Trump, who is currently facing four criminal cases that he describes — without evidence — as attempts by Mr. Biden to take the election away from him, used the language of the justice system to serve his ends.
“What Joe Biden is doing is a crime against our nation,” Trump said. He later added: “With your vote, he will be condemned and condemned by the American people for this atrocity he has committed.”
Saturday’s speech was in many ways a return to form after a month in which Mr. Trump ratcheted up his attacks on his rivals in the Republican presidential primaries as he scored decisive victories in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Mr. Trump now appears to be heading toward the general election, but he is not yet the party’s nominee, and his only remaining rival for the nomination, Nikki Haley, is doing everything she can to remind him that she remains in the race.
Mr Trump’s supporters said on Saturday they had largely left the Republican contest behind, although Ms Haley is still running. “It’s like the Kenny Rogers song – you have to know when to get her off,” said Joe Sandoval, 74. “I don’t think she’s bothering him at all right now.”
Mr Trump and his team are preparing to campaign against Ms Haley on February 24 in her home state of South Carolina, the site of her next campaign. The former president took fleeting swipes at her on Saturday, mostly accusing her of betraying Republican ideals and her conservative roots.
“Nikki Haley made a corrupt deal to sell herself to the radical left and take money from donors to Democrats,” Trump said.
But Mr. Trump’s victory in the Nevada caucuses is a foregone conclusion. Ms. Haley is on the ballot for a Feb. 6 presidential primary that won’t count toward the GOP nomination, so she’s forgoing the state entirely. At the caucuses that will decide who gets the state’s delegate prize, Mr. Trump is appearing without a single major competitor.
“Nevada will certainly be a good opportunity for Trump to get his message out because he will win all the delegates here, unopposed,” said Jeremy Gelman, an associate professor of political science at the University of Nevada, Reno. “He’ll be able to say he swept Nevada.”
Still, those who attended Mr. Trump’s speech in Las Vegas at the Big League Dreams sports park admitted they were confused about the matchups, a topic Mr. Trump raised.
“Don’t worry about the primaries, just do the caucus,” Trump told his supporters.
He later delivered a more mixed message. “Don’t waste your time on elementary school,” he said. “Waste all your time on Caucus.”
His wording, whether unintentional or not, reflects the view of the primary that Mr. Trump, long the front-runner, has held for months: that it is a distraction that keeps him from running against Mr. Biden.
On Saturday, Mr. Trump attacked a bipartisan immigration deal backed by Biden, saying it was “not designed to stop illegal immigration.” Mr. Trump has urged Republican senators to oppose a deal, and he told them in his speech to “blame me” if the deal fell through.
He also signaled his intention to court Hispanic voters, a key constituency in Nevada and an important part of the Democratic coalition. Polls have shown Mr. Trump winning their support.
Mr. Trump accused Mr. Biden of “economically destroying the Latino community” and said Hispanics had “done better” financially under his administration.
He also noted that Black and Latino voters are the “people most affected by the events at our border,” but did not provide further details.
In a statement, Ammar Moussa, spokesman for Mr. Biden’s re-election campaign, said: “Donald Trump has shown tonight that he is opposed to solutions for the American people and is actively targeting America,” adding that Mr. Biden “is the… “The only candidate focused on governing and addressing the issues on which the American people are demanding action.”
Both parties are looking ahead to November: Before Mr. Trump’s event, the Democratic National Committee had a plane fly overhead with a banner reading “Donald Trump: Ban abortion, punish women.” The party is expected to make abortion a key issue in November.
A mile away, Vice President Harris’s event felt like an alternate universe: Some voters wore masks and expressed support for gun control while an Olivia Rodrigo song played and a local dance team performed.
Ms Harris roiled the crowd with a list of the administration’s achievements, suggesting they conflicted with Mr Trump’s priorities.
“In his comments today he made it clear, as always, that his fight is not for the people. His fight is for himself,” she said, as hundreds booed.
“Freedom is on the ballot and our democracy is on the ballot,” Ms. Harris said. “This is about standing up for the kind of country we want to live in.”
Sara Diss, 74, said she would vote to re-elect Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris. “I want someone who will protect democracy,” she said. “Trump, he’s out for revenge.”
But even at an event aimed at generating excitement among the Democratic faithful, some voters admitted they had doubts.
Daphne Silva, 25, said she has always voted for Democrats, including for Mr. Biden in 2020, and plans to vote for him again in November.
But she added: “I’m a little hesitant given what he’s doing around the war.” She said she wished he would be more critical of aid to Israel and that Democrats would have a larger slate of candidates to offer voters Selection made.
“I wish there were more options,” Ms. Silva said, “but I think it’s too late.”
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2024-01-28 06:35:58
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