Die-hard fans of
Donald Trump have flocked to the ex-president’s election rally in
Waco, Texas state, brimming with defiance as their
favoured candidate faced overlapping threats of criminal
indictment.
Several thousand Trump supporters lined up outside the Waco
Regional Airport waiting to go through security and enter the
event, with the first speaker scheduled for 2 pm CDT (1900
GMT).
The crowd, many wearing Trump T-shirts and hats, broke
into applause when Republican lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene,
one of Trump’s most vocal supporters in Congress, walked into
the venue.
Fifty-seven-year-old Laurie Hansen said Trump was “the best
president ever.”
“He’s the only one who can bring our country back,” she
said. “We are at a precipice. It’s time to put our foot down and
say, ‘No more.'”
Like others at the rally, Hansen dismissed talk that Trump
might be prosecuted over allegations he violated campaign
finance laws for paying hush money to an adult film actress, or
hoarded top-secret documents, or masterminded a plot seeking to
overturn the 2020 election.
“They’re all political witch hunts,” said Hansen, a sales
coordinator who drove three hours from Sherman, Texas. “We all
know that.”
First major rally of 2024 race
The rally is happening in Waco as the city marks the 30th
anniversary of a raid by federal agents on the Branch Davidians
religious sect there that resulted in 86 deaths, including four
law-enforcement officers.
Many right-wing extremists see the
raid as a seminal moment of government overreach, and critics
saw the rally’s timing as a nod to Trump’s far-right supporters.
In an email, a Trump campaign spokesperson said Waco was
chosen for what the former president has billed as his first
major rally of the 2024 presidential race because it is situated
between several major population centers and has the
infrastructure to host a large event.
Trump, who is seeking to solidify support for the Republican
nomination in 2024, faces growing legal peril from a series of
ongoing criminal investigations, including the hush money case,
which is being weighed by prosecutors in Manhattan.
The former president has sought to paint the New York case
as politically motivated, raised money off it and used it to
rally supporters to his side. On Friday, he issued an
apocalyptic warning, saying the country faced potential “death &
destruction” if he was charged with a crime.
“Trump is walking on a high wire without a net, telegraphing
that he has nothing to lose and is willing to risk dangerous
outcomes to rally support,” said Ron Bonjean, a Republican
strategist in Washington.
In addition to prosecutors, Trump is likely to target Ron
DeSantis for criticism. The Florida governor has yet to declare
his candidacy for the Republican nomination but has drawn
Trump’s ire nonetheless.
Trump rallies typically draw thousands of enthusiastic
supporters keen to see him in person. Trump continued to hold
rallies even after he left office, delivering his trademark
rambling and inflammatory oratory that draws rapturous applause
from rallygoers.
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