WASHINGTON – After sitting in court for more than two weeks in a hush-money trial in New York, former President Donald Trump returned to the campaign trail Wednesday with two rallies and two very different approaches.
In an afternoon speech in Wisconsin, Trump spoke at length about issues including inflation, immigration and protests on college campuses over the Israel-Hamas war, while also calling himself a convicted felon with a prison sentence. He said little about a possible ongoing trial. .
Hours later, at an evening rally in Michigan, President Trump turned to sweeping charges, attacking the judges, prosecutors and lawyers involved in all criminal and civil cases against him, and even naming President Joe Biden. also added.
“He wants to put his political opponents in jail,” Trump said in Freeland, Michigan, near Saginaw, but there is no evidence that Biden himself is involved in many of the lawsuits against his predecessor.
These were Trump’s first campaign rallies since jury selection in his New York trial began on April 15. (He had been scheduled to hold a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, on April 20, but due to inclement weather had to be canceled due to this).
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As President Trump’s court and campaign schedules collide this week, here are USA TODAY’s top takeaways.
President Trump tries to change the topic from prosecution to the economy
Before the former president’s trial on charges of falsifying business records began, Trump spent much of his time at rallies denouncing the wide-ranging indictment against him. But at his first trial rally in Waukesha, Wisconsin, Trump spent less time on criminal charges and more time on issues such as the economy.
Mr. Trump devoted much of his speech in Wisconsin to raising the cost of living and vowed to end what he called Mr. Biden’s “inflationary death spiral.”
Last month’s major inflation report showed an unexpected rise in consumer prices, but forecasters still expect inflation to trend toward gradual moderation this year and into 2025.
Nevertheless, President Trump’s focus on the economy on Wednesday is a strategy Republicans hope to rely on for up or down the 2024 vote count: hitting their Democratic rivals on the economy and high prices. This may indicate a continued focus on
“This is an inflation tax,” President Trump told the crowd Wednesday.
Trump also discussed Michigan’s economy, with a particular focus on the auto industry, but returned to attacking legal action against him.
Engage in campus protests
Trump also turned to the day’s biggest issue, the protests roiling college campuses across the country over the Israel-Hamas war, and claimed that Biden was “nowhere to be found.”
In Wisconsin, President Trump called on university presidents to “immediately remove encampments, subdue extremists, and take back our campuses.”
More recently, protesters occupied a building at Columbia University in New York City and brawled at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Biden and his aides have condemned the violence and are planning a major presidential address on the riots.
decide to terminate
In early April, President Trump expressed the belief that each state should decide its own laws regarding abortion and suggested he would oppose any federal ban. Democrats have said they hope abortion rights will improve Biden’s re-election chances.
President Trump has largely avoided mentioning abortion regulations in the weeks since, saying in both Wisconsin and Michigan that each state has the right to approach the issue differently. defended the position.
President Trump also told supporters that abortion is a dangerous issue for Republican candidates and that they “have to win” to get anything done. The former president has criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other prominent Republicans in recent weeks for going too far in supporting a six-week stay-at-home order.
“I thought it would be a good thing to have a conversation,” Trump told supporters in Wisconsin at one point.
Democrats attack President Trump on abortion rights
Democrats responded to Trump’s campaign by pointing to his comments on abortion, a crucial issue in battleground states, and saying that Trump, who can veto federal bans, cannot actually be trusted. Stated.
They also noted that Trump has boasted about appointing the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade and expressed support for state plans to prevent people from getting abortions.
A Biden campaign memo pointed to Trump’s appearance in suburban Waukesha County, saying, “We cannot win Wisconsin without improving our margins in this important county, but we are not able to win Wisconsin without improving our margins in this important county, but we are not able to win Wisconsin without improving our margins in this important county, but we are not able to win Wisconsin without improving our margins in this important county, but we are not able to win Wisconsin without improving our margins in this important county, but we do not want to win Wisconsin without improving our margins in this important county. continues to tolerate attacks on the state and threats to the state’s economy.” It alienates these voters. ”
Responding to criminal trials
President Trump did not ignore the four trials he faces, but he saved most of his remarks about his criminal charges and civil trials for his speech in Michigan. He again claimed, without providing evidence, that it was a form of election interference.
President Trump is accused of unfairly influencing the 2016 election by paying hush money to women to keep them quiet about their affairs, a move he calls the “weaponization” of law enforcement. I didn’t spend any more time than usual blaming them.
“There was no crime,” he said, citing three other charges against him, including allegations of mishandling classified documents and an attempt to overturn Biden’s loss in the 2020 election.
Trump is expected to continue campaigning around the trial date, focusing on battleground states such as Wisconsin and Michigan.
The secret trial is scheduled to resume Thursday in New York and could last at least another month.
“You can’t take me off stage,” Trump said in a fundraising message sent out shortly after his appearance in Wisconsin.
