Former President Donald Trump told a big South Carolina Republican Silver Elephant Gala that he was being prosecuted because he is kicking President Joe Biden’s “a**” in the polls.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and former Gov. Nikki Haley are also seeking the 2024 GOP nomination, but it was Trump who was the keynote speaker at the large South Carolina GOP fundraising dinner, his second major campaign appearance since his third arraignment just days ago.
Trump hit Haley for being “afraid to show up at this beautiful event,” saying “You’ve got to show up at these events, Nikki… Ooh, did I say that?”
Haley served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under Trump.
He also repeated his story about what he did to help Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) win his first term in 2018. “I don’t give a damn if he’s a Republican,” he said, mimicking conversations with unnamed advisers he said counseled him against hitting DeSantis particularly hard.
It was reminiscent of his sharp attacks on Jeb Bush and his brother, former President George W. Bush, in front of a partisan Republican audience in South Carolina. Then, the crowd mostly booed. But, on Saturday night, there was laughter even when he went after fellow Republicans.
It was the second night in a row Trump lashed out at the three indictments handed down against him — and a few of his opponents inside the GOP — as he rallied the troops at a Southern Republican dinner.
On Friday, Trump told Alabama Republicans the charges were “fake,” and a form of election interference by Biden’s Justice Department.
“If you punch President Trump, you better be ready,” former South Carolina Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer said before Trump spoke, “because you’re gonna get a double punch.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) prepared attendees to settle in for a long Trump speech.
“President Trump is speaking, have you heard that?” he said during his own speech. “Here’s some advice: Drink a lot of water and get a cushion. If you’ve got something to do tomorrow, I’m sorry.”
Gov. Henry McMaster (R-SC) cast Trump as the target of the “deep state” and unjustified impeachments. “I thought the first indictment took the cake for ridiculosity,” he said. “Then the next one. And then the next one.” The crowd laughed and cheered as he called the cases against Trump “losers.” McMaster hailed as a “powerful, experienced, strong leader with a clear vision of America and the greatness of our people”and introduced him as “the former and next president.”
Trump came out to cheers and stood politely for the entirety of musician Lee Greenwood’s “Proud to Be An American,” before speaking, clapping at the end.
South Carolina has been a pivotal state in the Republican presidential nomination, picking the eventual winner all but once between 1980 and 2016. This includes setting Trump on the path to defeating 16 other candidates.
Trump noted in his remarks that he won 44 of the state’s 46 counties, but hoped to win all 46 next year. In his praise of McMaster, he took veiled shots at Haley, noting he skipped over someone else in seeking an endorsement eight-years earlier, and DeSantis, saying McMaster kept his state open during the pandemic while others said no.
The former president also recalled the moment Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) shouted “You lie!” at former President Barack Obama, without mentioning his Democratic predecessor by name.
“Every poll, we’re kicking Biden’s a**, that’s the problem,” Trump said. “If I wasn’t, we wouldn’t be under investigation by deranged [special counsel] Jack Smith. He’s a deranged human being.”
Trump is down by less than a point in the RealClearPolitics polling average. He leads in the Republican primary by nearly 36 points.
The former president did mostly stick to the script Saturday night, contrasting his economic policies with what he described as the “disaster” called “Bidenomics.” He called the Democrats, “the party of disinformation.” Trump called for tax cuts at home and tariffs on companies abroad.
“We have to aggressively roll back Joe Biden’s socialist spending spree,” he said.
But Trump had his characteristic asides, beyond complaining about how long it takes to wash your hair under Democratic regulations. He suggested Senate Republicans, who are in the minority, aren’t doing as much oversight as the House GOP majority.
“I’m telling you Lindsey they have something on Mitch McConnell!” Trump said of the Senate Republican leader, who had been his partner in building a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court.
Trump said an unnamed former Republican senator who opposed him on trade policy might be the “dumbest son of a bi***” he had ever met. He called former Attorney General Bill Barr, a Trump appointee, a “coward” who feared being impeached by Democrats.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
But, Trump returned to his theme that he was a protector of the Republican base, and that was the real reason he was being prosecuted.
“If you put me back in the White House, their rein will be over and we will be a free nation again,” he said.
