Donald Trump lashed out at the Biden administration and hinted at a potential comeback in 2024 at his first campaign rally ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. Video / Save America
Donald Trump mocked "woke" military generals and critical race theory as he warned US President Joe Biden was "destroying the nation" in his first campaign rally ahead of the 2022 US midterm elections.
The former president said the country's military brass had "become weak and ineffective leaders" who were more concerned with pursuing a "woke" agenda than they were "their enemies".
Trump, 75, lashed out at the Biden administration and hinted at a potential comeback in 2024 as he said Republicans must win Congress and the White House over the next four years to "take back America".
"After just five months the Biden administration is already a complete and total catastrophe. Crime is surging, murders are soaring, police departments are being gutted, illegal aliens are overrunning our borders. Joe Biden is destroying our nation right before our very own eyes," he said.
Tens of thousands of supporters waited for hours in the heat, decked out in red pro-Trump apparel and American flags. Photo / AP
The comments were greeted with roars of approval from the tens of thousands of supporters who had gathered in Wellington, Ohio, for Trump's first rally since leaving the White House.
Most had waited for hours in the heat, decked out in red pro-Trump apparel and American flags, to make it through mile-long queues into the fairground where the rally was being held.
The event kicked off what has been dubbed Trump's "revenge tour", a multi-state effort to campaign against elected Republicans who have publicly broken with him.
Next week, Trump will visit the US-Mexico border to attack Democrats' handling of immigration and hold another rally in Florida on July 3, the eve of the country's Independence Day.
Saturday night's rally in Wellington was to support Max Miller, a former Trump aide who is challenging Republican incumbent Anthony Gonzalez in Ohio's 16th district.
Gonzalez was one of 10 Republican congressmen to vote to impeach Trump for his actions during the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
Trump branded Gonzalez "a grandstanding Rino", which means Republican in name only, as he told the crowd the congressman had once asked for a ride on Air Force One.
"The next thing I heard, he's impeaching me," he said.
The former president has vowed to work to unseat every Republican in Congress who voted to impeach him in an effort to keep a firm grip over the future direction of his party.
Supporters cheer as former president Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Wellington, Ohio on June 26. Photo / AP
But much of Trump's more than hour-long speech was focused on repeating false claims the 2020 presidential election was "rigged" and attacking the Biden administration.
He also teased a potential second run for the presidency. "We won the election twice. And it's possible we'll have to win it a third time," he told the crowd, who chanted "Trump won", and "Trump 2024".
Among the supporters there were many who said they believed Trump remains the Republican Party's best hope of winning back the White House.
"I don't think we'd be here if he wasn't running in 2024," said 22-year-old Haley, who had taken a three-hour bus from Pittsburgh to attend.
"It's pretty clear America needs him back. The country is just tanking, our economy is hurting [with] inflation, they're paying people more money to stay at home than they are to actually go out and get a job, it's ridiculous."
Mile-long queues from each direction to get to the former president’s first major MAGA-style rally since leaving the White House #TrumpRallyOhiopic.twitter.com/ue0ob1Mucv
Steve, a 61-year-old truck driver, said Trump was the only potential Republican candidate who had not "sold the white American middle class out".
"They don't want us no more, they're throwing us away. Basically, Trump and the people who support him are the Republican Party now," he said.
But others said they were keeping an open mind about the field of potential candidates.
"I think I'd have to see who the other candidates are," said Betsy, a 54-year-old manager of a manufacturing company, who said she had been impressed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
The rally was used as a launch event for Trump's return to social media, with the event streamed on Rumble, a Canadian video platform he joined earlier on Saturday.
During his speech, Trump hammered away at his successor's policies over the last five months and railed against the nation's top military chiefs.
"The Biden administration issued new rules pushing twisted critical race theory into classrooms across the nation, and also into our military," he said, referring to an academic theory which holds that racism is systemic in society, not merely isolated to individuals.
"Our generals and our admirals are now focused more on this nonsense than they are on our enemies," Trump went on.
"See these generals lately on television? They are woke."
Trump appeared to be referring to General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who recently rebuffed a Republican congressman's criticism of critical race theory.
"Our enemies are watching and they're laughing ... We need a Republican Congress to ban Critical Race Theory," Trump said.
