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Donald Trump has called on supporters to deliver a red wave in Tuesday’s midterms, as he delivered an eve of election speech in the critical swing state of Ohio blasting Nancy Pelosi as an ‘animal.’
The former President arrived amid feverish speculation that he was about to announce a fresh run for the White House.
But although he spent time showing off polls that showed he would beat Joe Biden in a general election, he stopped short of announcing a run, only saying ‘we will take back our magnificent White House’ in 2024.
At the end of the speech he teased a ‘major announcement’ a week from tomorrow – on November 15 – at Mar-a-Lago after reeling off a series of Republican candidates he wants re-elected, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
‘We want nothing to detract from the importance of tomorrow’, he told the crowd, leaving his MAGA faithful waiting.
He still hit all his favorite targets, from radical Democrats intent on defunding the police to ‘animal’ Nancy Pelosi, and trumpeting his own border wall.
He railed against illegal immigrants and criminal gangs, and accused Democrats of being soft on crime.
‘Nancy Pelosi said please don’t call them animals, they’re human beings,’ he said, as he talked about crimes committed by the MS-13 gang. ‘I said no, they’re animals. Of course, I think she’s an animal, too, if you want to know the truth.’
Former President Donald Trump called on supporters to deliver a red wave in Tuesday midterms, as he delivered an eve of election speech in the critical swing state of Ohio blasting Nancy Pelosi as an ‘animal. He also teased a ‘very big announcement’ at Mar-a-Lago on November 15
He railed against illegal immigrants and criminal gangs, and accused Democrats of being soft on crime
Trump also targeted Biden and joked that he would disown sons Don Jr. Eric if they had a laptop like Hunter Biden’s
Just before he went on stage, the House Speaker was on CNN giving an interview about the attack on her husband Paul in their San Francisco home.
He called on voters to trigger a red wave on Tuesday, reclaiming the Senate and the House for Republicans. And he hit all his favorite targets, from radical Democrats intent on defunding the police, to Biden’s handling of the election.
He showed a video montage of Biden’s gaffes in speeches and a clip of him falling up the stairs of Air Force – and said he is ‘cognitively-impaired’.
Trump also joked he would disown sons Don Jr. and Eric if they had a laptop like Hunter Biden’s. America is turning into a ‘third-world country’ and Democrat-run cities are becoming more dangerous ‘than Afghanistan’, he added.
In his final plea to voters, he told the crowd to ‘crush the communists’ at the polls on Tuesday. He was in Ohio to stump for the likes of Republican Senate candidate J.D. Vance and a slate of congressional candidates.
But he was also there to put himself front and center of midterms that will decide who control Congress for the next two years, and to keep up speculation about whether he is preparing his own 2024 bid and when he will announce. Aides have previously teased a calendar that could see him launch on November 14.
He still hit all his favorite targets, from radical Democrats intent on defunding the police to ‘animal’ Nancy Pelosi, and trumpeting his own border wall
‘Nancy Pelosi said please don’t call them animals, they’re human beings,’ he said, as he talked about crimes committed by the MS-13 gang. ‘I said no, they’re animals. Of course, I think she’s an animal, too, if you want to know the truth.’
Supporters gathered before Trump spoke at a rally in support of the campaign of Ohio Senate candidate JD Vance at Wright Bros. Aero Inc. at Dayton International Airport
But other dates have come and gone during the year as his team tries to prepare an infrastructure that can fire into action as soon as Trump tells he is ready to go.
He used rallies on Saturday and Sunday to hint heavily that an announcement is coming. And aides said Monday that it could come sooner than expected.
Trump hit many of his favorite targets during his speech, attacking ‘radical Democrats,’ soaring inflation and record levels of immigration.
‘If you want to stop the destruction of our country and save the American dream, then tomorrow you must vote Republican in a giant red wave that we’ve all been hearing about.’
But for much of the audience there was only one thing they wanted to hear. Lowell Rhoades, who drove 57 miles to attend his first Trump rally, said another Trump presidency couldn’t come soon enough.
‘He’s the only one can do it. Everyone else is just stuck in the swamp, said the 71-year-old certified public accountant.
‘Ron DeSantis is the only other want, but I want him on the bench until 2028, and then I want him in power for eight years.’
Like many in the crowd he had his doubts about ‘turncoat’ Vance, a one-time outspoken Trump critic. For his part, Vance leaned into his story of growing up poor in Ohio to hammer Biden’s record on inflation.
‘The reason why we have inflation, the reason gas is expensive, the reason a dozen eggs has more than doubled in price, the reason why we have an economy that does not work for working families in our state is because Joe Biden has waged war on the American energy economy, he said.
‘And I happen to think, let’s open up the pipelines, let’s open up the drilling, and let’s get back to energy independence. Donald Trump did it.’
JD Vance spoke ahead of Trump’s arrival on Monday night. He demanded action to tackle inflation by increasing oil and gas production to bring down energy prices
Marjorie Taylor Greene also made an appearance during the Ohio rally
About 5000 people turned out at Dayton International Airport, Ohio, on Monday night
In many ways Vance – a former venture capitalist and author – is typical of the breed of GOP outsider and political newcomer that Trump is backing around the nation.
One of the best known is election denier Kari Lake, a former TV journalist. who has a small lead in the race to be the next governor of Arizona.
Add in former football star Herschel Walker in Georgia, venture capitalist Blake Masters in Arizona, retired special forces soldier Don Bolduc in New Hampshire and TV’s Dr. Oz in Pennsylvania and the result is that control of the Senate now lies in the hands of a bunch of political newcomers.
On Monday, organizers said Trump would deliver a speech highlighting his ‘unprecedented effort to advance the MAGA agenda by energizing voters and the slate of 16-0 Trump Endorsed America First candidates.’
It maps a path to 2024. If Trump can claim that his picks and his money were the deciding factor in taking back Congress, he can launch his 2024 run as a winner – not as the president who lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden.
‘It’s classic Trump,’ said a former staffer, speaking on condition of anonymity because he still works as a consultant on other races. ‘Every move is weighed in terms of how much it benefits him.’
Donald Trump will be hoping to seal the deal for Republican Ohio candidate J.D. Vance on Monday night, after stumping for TV’s Dr. Oz in Pennsylvania on Saturday
In New Hampshire, Don Bolduc has emerged as a stronger candidate than expected, while in Georgia, Herschel Walker’s personal troubles have not stopped him holding a slight edge
Insiders even hinted that the announcement could come sooner, before the results are even in.
Republicans are comfortably placed to take control of the House majority on Tuesday, and Democrats also fear the Senate is slipping away in a defeat that would see Biden’s foes in near total charge of legislation during his last two years in the White House.
If that happens it will be in no small way down to Trump’s impact on the midterm elections and an unlikely band of outside candidates who have turned longshot campaigns into toss-up races.
By his staff’s count he has hosted 43 tele-rallies, 52 fundraisers and appeared at 30 Save America rallies in 17 states.
And the Trump-backed super PAC, MAGA Inc, has spent more than $16 million in five U.S. Senate races. In all Save America says Trump has raised
At times the money has replaced that of more establishment-focused groups, such as those linked to Sen. Mitch McConnell, that pulled spending from campaigns in New Hampshire and Arizona that they thought were slipping away. ‘The only factors were: Is the race competitive and can this money make a difference,’ said a Trump aide.
Kari Lake, a former TV news anchor, has a lead in the race to be Arizona’s
It has also been a chance for Trump to flex his muscles and show that he remains a force in national politics. His team is already preparing to take credit if the party takes control of the Senate, via the likes of Bolduc, Masters or Oz. That could be the springboard for a November announcement.
‘I did much better the second time,’ Trump said at a rally Sunday in Miami, referencing how his vote total increased from 2016 to 2020, despite losing to Joe Biden.
‘And now, in order to make our country successful and glorious, I will probably have to do it again.’
Reports suggest he was even keen to announce his run during a Saturday rally in Pennsylvania, but was talked out of the plan by aides who pointed out it would overshadow Oz’s campaign.
Supporters packed in at the outdoor Miami-Dade County Fair & Exposition Center despite the rainy weather for a Trump rally on Sunday evening
Trump said as much. ‘I don’t want to do that right now because I’d like to do it … I want to have the focus tonight be on Dr. Oz, and Doug Mastriano. Because we have to win, alright?’
He also trolled his potential opponents for the Republican nomination – including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, whom he has nicknamed ‘Ron DeSanctimonious.’
‘We’re winning big, big, big in the Republican Party for the nomination like nobody’s ever seen before,’ he said. He asked for poll numbers to be put up on the screen above him.
‘There it is, Trump at 71, Ron DeSanctimonious at 10 percent,’ Trump said derisively. ‘Mike Pence at 7, oh, Mike is doing better than I thought. Liz Cheney there’s no way she’s at 4 percent. There’s no way. There’s no way. But we’re at 71 to 10 to 7 to 4.’
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