Saying former President Donald Trump, 76, spread more lies in Salem, New Hampshire at his first campaign event, the press continues to spread falsehoods about the former president, a cottage industry in the Democrat-controlled press. Trump talked about the dubious outcome of the 2020 election, something Democrats call the “big lie.” House Democrats blamed Trump for fomenting an insurrection Jan. 6, 2021 at the U.S. Capitol, first saying he whipped up a angry mob at the Washington, D.C.’s Ellipse, encouraging his audience to ransack the Capitol. What’s a bigger lie, saying he didn’t like the outcome of the 2020 presidential election or saying Trump incited mob violence on Jan. 6, 2021? Trump was impeached for “incitement of insurrection” by House Democrats only to watch Trump acquitted in the U.S. Senate Feb. 13, 2021, with the FBI admitting the riots were planned for months.
If you listened to lead impeachment manager Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) at Trump’s impeachment trial you’d think he told his audience to go to the Capitol and crack heads. Trump, in fact, told his audience to protest peacefully, let their voice be heard. But the “big lie” found in the Senate Impeachment trial was that Trump told his followers to break in and ransack the Capitol. Trump told a Salem, New Hampshire audience that he was more committed than ever to win the 2024 nomination, to get the country back on the right track with the economy, immigration and most importantly the Ukraine War. Trump opposes the Ukraine War, thinking it’s only making the U .S. look weak. Trump sees no benefit to funding Ukraine and the war without any outcome in sight. Funneling more cash-and-weapons to Ukraine hasn’t led to the breakthrough beating the Russian Federation promised by Biden.
Trump told the Salem Audience that everyday is April Fool’s Day in America. “I think of the United States. Every days is April Fool’s Day,” Trump said. “We have open borders when they should be closed. It’s April Fool’s Day . . . We have prisons—people from mental institutions and terrorists—being dumped into our country when they should not be accepted. April Fool’s Day, right? Who would do that?” Trump asked to loud applause. New Hampshire’s big donors and GOP party officials aren’t willing to commit to anyone candidate this far out. Trump was the first declared candidate Nov. 15, 2022, with others looming but not declared. Like in 2016 and 2020, there’s a substantial body of Republicans that oppose Trump running again for president. Whether the party can field another viable candidate is anyone’s guess. Most New Hampshire voters haven’t decided who they’ll back.
University of New Hampshire poll showed 44-year-old Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis leading Trump by 12% with New Hampshire voters. Whether that holds up or not is anyone’s guess. Most New Hampshire voters like Trump’s policies but don’t like his baggage and drama that he brings to the race. Trump plans to refine his message heading into South Carolina where he’s expected to announce his opposition to the Ukraine War. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) emphatically backs Biden’s Ukraine proxy war against the Russian Federation, promising more sparks to fly. Graham pushed recently to add U.S.-made Abram M1 tanks to Ukraine, thinking it would help Kiev beat back Russia from its sovereign territory. Trump’s in the GOP minority, calling Ukraine a “crazy war,” another costly boondoggle to the U.S. How Trump’s views on Ukraine play out is anyone’s guess.
Trump doesn’t have any competition now because he’s the only GOP candidate to announce for 2024. Whether his “first mover” strategy helps his cause or not can’t be determined this early in the race. Most prospective voters still haven’t gotten over voter fatigue from the 2020 race, with all the shenanigans on Jan. 6. Democrats hoped at this stage Trump would be charged by the Justice Department with more felonies related to his role in the Jan. 6 riots and classified docs found at his Mar-a-Lago resort. Partisan Democrats like Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) still make up stories about Trump’s alleged ties to Moscow, something disproved by the Mueller Investigation that concluded March 23, 2019 that Trump or his 2016 campaign had no ties to the Kremlin. Yet that doesn’t stop Schiff and other House Democrats from hurling unproven accusations against Trump even now.
Once Trump refines his 2024 message to include President Joe Biden’s dangerous Ukraine proxy war, Trump could win back skeptics. There’s enough growing concern about the U.S. throwing taxpayer cash down a rat hole in Ukraine. Trump expressed confidence that he could reclaim New Hampshire’s independent voters, looking for a change in 2024. “I don’t think we have competition this time, to be honest,” Trump said. “We are so far ahead in the polls,” Trump said, not knowing how things would change once other candidates declare for 2024. For whatever reason, DeSantis has strong appeal for GOP voters looking for a fresh face in 2024. Growing numbers of GOP voters want to try something different in 2024, boding well for other candidates. Whether they can compete with Trump can only be decided by GOP primary voters. Only time will tell whether Trump still has the same magic.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
