Matt Bush, FISM News
During a rally in Waco, Texas on Saturday, Donald Trump mocked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis while also brushing off a potential indictment and blasting the ongoing investigations against him.
“This is really prosecutorial misconduct. That’s what it’s called. The innocence of people makes no difference whatsoever to these radical left maniacs,” Trump told the large and enthusiastic Texas crowd.
Trump was referring to a potential indictment being pursued by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg over payments made to the porn actress known as Stormy Daniels in 2016. Trump and other GOP leaders have maintained his innocence, calling the indictment “politically motivated” and an “abuse of power.”
After predicting that he would be arrested last Tuesday, Trump has now changed his tune, going as far as saying that he thinks that Bragg is no longer pursuing the case.
“I think they’ve already dropped the case,” Trump told reporters aboard his plane after the Waco rally. “It’s a fake case. Some fake cases, they have absolutely nothing.”
His rhetoric on the pending charges and other investigations was probably quite familiar to the huge crowd of thousands who came to hear Trump speak. Trump’s style of bashing political opponents and using harsh rhetoric to appeal to and excite his base is what brings people to his rallies, and he did exactly that on Saturday night.
Some of the people Trump went after, other than those pursuing legal charges against him, include Hillary Clinton, Stormy Daniels, Mitch McConnell, and Michael Cohen. Each time Trump went after one of these people, the crowd predictably cheered and applauded.
TRUMP LOSES CROWD WITH DESANTIS MOCKERY
At one point during the rally, Trump turned his attention to Ron DeSantis, and the mood of the crowd seemed to change. While DeSantis has yet to formally announce his 2024 presidential bid, many people, including Trump himself, believe DeSantis will be his strongest competition.
At one point, Trump recounted his version of DeSantis asking him for his support during the 2018 Florida gubernatorial race. He even broke into an impersonation of the Florida Governor.
“So, he came, and he really wanted [my endorsement]. I said, ‘You can’t win, can you? How do you – can [you] win?'” Trump said. He continued mocking DeSantis in a crying, begging voice, “‘Sir, if you endorse me, I’ll win. Please, please, sir, endorse me.’”
It was at this point that the crowd’s enthusiasm lessened, even to the point that there was a perceived silence amongst the huge crowd.
While Trump continued on saying that he is “not a big fan” of DeSantis, referred to him as a “Paul Ryan disciple,” and repeated his claims that Florida was doing great long before DeSantis got there, the conservative crowd reacted differently to DeSantis than anyone else about whom Trump spoke.
The bottom line is that Trump’s campaign is heating up and he has Ron DeSantis in his crosshairs. DeSantis will now have to show that he can continue to take punches from the former president as it becomes clear that this could be one of the ugliest GOP primaries in recent history.
It is also important to note that the crowd at the Texas rally was made up of thousands of people. One local news station reported that the Waco police estimated 18,000 people came to the rally. The police department has asked the station to retract that number, but it seems likely that there were at least 15,000 present.