Washington: Donald trump and his former wingman Mike pencewho went from white House Allies of bitter rivals held duel rallies on Friday in Arizona, where an upcoming Republican primary election provides an early test of their potential 2024 showdown.
The convergence of campaign events came a day after a congressional hearing on the US Capitol attack, in which a White House security official said members of Pence’s Secret Service feared they would die as rioters stormed the building.
Trump, who, like Pence, is considering running for president in 2024, has described his former vice president as a failure to block authentication of 2020 election results and send the process back to US states.
Such a plan was devised by Trump aides who supported his discredited theory that the election had been stolen, but Pence ultimately decided the action would be illegal.
During the January 6, 2021 uprising, Trump attacked Pence, tweeting, “He didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to defend our country.”
Administration officials testified at Thursday’s hearing that social media posts ignited and turned rioters against the vice president.
In extraordinary revelations at the hearing, the White House national security official testified under anonymity, “At this time the members of the VP details began to fear for their own lives.”
Trump’s gathering on Friday in the central Arizona city of Prescott Valley was part of a series of “Save America” rallies he organized to promote his favorite candidates ahead of the Republican primary elections.
Earlier in July, he held an event in Alaska to endorse Kelly Shibaka, a challenger to the state’s current senator, Lisa Murkowski, who voted to impeach Trump after the January 6, 2021 uprising. was one of the few Republicans.
– ‘Tomorrow’s complaints’ – In Arizona, a state he lost in 2020, Trump campaigned for Kari Lake, a far-right gubernatorial candidate who backs up his false claim that the election was stolen .
Lake, a former TV news presenter, previously took the stage in a crowded stadium and declared that in Arizona, “we will no longer accept corruption, and I know we will no longer accept rigged elections.”
After the former president left the crowd to wait for more than two hours, he began his speech by focusing on immigration – a major campaign topic in the state that shares a large border with Mexico.
But it didn’t take long for the 2020 election to gain his attention.
“Elections were rigged and stolen and now our country is being systematically destroyed because of it!” He shouted, in response to which the crowd was roaring.
Pence made stops in Phoenix and southern Arizona for governor-optimist Karin Taylor Robson, a more traditional Republican than Lake, who also has the backing of the state’s now-limited governor.
With his rivalry with Trump intensifying, Pence has established himself as a doctrinal, religious conservative. But he has denied attacking Trump directly.
In a 20-minute speech in front of a warehouse crowd on Friday, he lauded policy achievements during the “four years of the Trump-Pence administration” and criticized his past support and initial opposition from Democrats, only a brief swipe at the lake. took. Trump.
“Arizona Republicans don’t need a governor supporting Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton!” They said.
Although later, he indirectly condemned Trump and Lake’s determination in the 2020 election.
“Republicans would love nothing more than to take our eyes off our eyes and focus on the bygone days,” he tweeted.
“If the Republican Party allows itself to be consumed by tomorrow’s grievances, we will lose,” he said.
Pence dismissed talk of a possible 2024 run, saying that his focus is now on the mid-term elections in November 2022.
“Then in 2023 we’ll look around,” he told the National Review last year. “We will go where we are called.”
The convergence of campaign events came a day after a congressional hearing on the US Capitol attack, in which a White House security official said members of Pence’s Secret Service feared they would die as rioters stormed the building.
Trump, who, like Pence, is considering running for president in 2024, has described his former vice president as a failure to block authentication of 2020 election results and send the process back to US states.
Such a plan was devised by Trump aides who supported his discredited theory that the election had been stolen, but Pence ultimately decided the action would be illegal.
During the January 6, 2021 uprising, Trump attacked Pence, tweeting, “He didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to defend our country.”
Administration officials testified at Thursday’s hearing that social media posts ignited and turned rioters against the vice president.
In extraordinary revelations at the hearing, the White House national security official testified under anonymity, “At this time the members of the VP details began to fear for their own lives.”
Trump’s gathering on Friday in the central Arizona city of Prescott Valley was part of a series of “Save America” rallies he organized to promote his favorite candidates ahead of the Republican primary elections.
Earlier in July, he held an event in Alaska to endorse Kelly Shibaka, a challenger to the state’s current senator, Lisa Murkowski, who voted to impeach Trump after the January 6, 2021 uprising. was one of the few Republicans.
– ‘Tomorrow’s complaints’ – In Arizona, a state he lost in 2020, Trump campaigned for Kari Lake, a far-right gubernatorial candidate who backs up his false claim that the election was stolen .
Lake, a former TV news presenter, previously took the stage in a crowded stadium and declared that in Arizona, “we will no longer accept corruption, and I know we will no longer accept rigged elections.”
After the former president left the crowd to wait for more than two hours, he began his speech by focusing on immigration – a major campaign topic in the state that shares a large border with Mexico.
But it didn’t take long for the 2020 election to gain his attention.
“Elections were rigged and stolen and now our country is being systematically destroyed because of it!” He shouted, in response to which the crowd was roaring.
Pence made stops in Phoenix and southern Arizona for governor-optimist Karin Taylor Robson, a more traditional Republican than Lake, who also has the backing of the state’s now-limited governor.
With his rivalry with Trump intensifying, Pence has established himself as a doctrinal, religious conservative. But he has denied attacking Trump directly.
In a 20-minute speech in front of a warehouse crowd on Friday, he lauded policy achievements during the “four years of the Trump-Pence administration” and criticized his past support and initial opposition from Democrats, only a brief swipe at the lake. took. Trump.
“Arizona Republicans don’t need a governor supporting Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton!” They said.
Although later, he indirectly condemned Trump and Lake’s determination in the 2020 election.
“Republicans would love nothing more than to take our eyes off our eyes and focus on the bygone days,” he tweeted.
“If the Republican Party allows itself to be consumed by tomorrow’s grievances, we will lose,” he said.
Pence dismissed talk of a possible 2024 run, saying that his focus is now on the mid-term elections in November 2022.
“Then in 2023 we’ll look around,” he told the National Review last year. “We will go where we are called.”