Trump fans gather on Southern Boulevard bridge after second indictment
After a second indictment of former President Donald Trump, his fans gathered on the Southern Boulevard Bridge to show support for him.
Andres Leiva, Palm Beach Post
DORAL — Donald Trump held a massive rally on the 10th hole of the manicured grounds of his golf resort west of Miami Tuesday — and challenged President Biden to contest on the links as well as a one-on-one debate.
Trump spoke on a sweltering evening and sounded 2024 presidential campaign themes ahead of next week’s Republican National Convention. The speech followed by a day after Republican National Committee officials released the party’s platform. Many of ideas in the document are ones Trump has talked up in rally speeches for three years, including a “drill baby drill” energy policy, more tax cuts and the “largest” deportation effort in U.S. history.
No less prominent in his Tuesday rally address was an attack on President Joe Biden’s competence — an issue that has surged to the forefront of political conversations since a June 27 debate in which Biden alternated between confused and incoherent.
Trump again reiterated his “offer” to another debate with the incumbent president. This time, however, he said it would be man-to-man” and “no holds barred” with no moderators.
Then Trump upped the ante by also challenging Biden to an 18-hole contest on the Trump’s Doral golf course, the famed “Blue Monster.”
“It will be among the most watched sporting events in history,” Trump said, adding that if Biden won Trump would write a $1 million check to the charity of the president’s choice.
But the 45th president said he doubted Biden would accept.
“I bet you you he doesn’t take the offer, because he is all talk,” he said.
As Biden’s attempts to dispel concerns about about his mental acumen, Trump addressed speculation that Vice President Kamala Harris might succeed the president as the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee.
When the crowd booed the thought, Trump sarcastically called Biden’s selection of Harris as his running mate four years ago “brilliant,” eliciting more catcalls.
“No, it was brilliant because it was an insurance policy, maybe the best insurance policy I have ever seen,” he said. “If Joe had picked someone even halfway competent they would have bounced him from office years ago.”
Trump excoriated Harris saying she had two jobs, securing the border and preventing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and “both times the result was a deadly failure.”
Trump accused Harris, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of concealing Biden’s cognitive decline from the U.S. public.
“They are co-conspirators in the sinister plot to defraud the American public about the cognitive abilities of the man in the Oval Office,” he said.
Trump again decried the flow of immigrants across the border, again stating he believes many are coming from insane asylums and prisons and alluding to the fictional serial murder Hannibal Lecter from the 1990s “Silence of the Lambs” movie.
He then said that the people who “most want” the “open border” sealed are Hispanics and Black workers and families who he said are at most risk of losing employment and housing.
“They don’t want their jobs taken. They don’t want their homes taken,” he said of Latinos, and then added: “And you know who it affects the most is Black people because these people are coming in and taking jobs at levels no one has seen before.”
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Trump is said to be considering Florida U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, who grew up in West Miami, just south of Trump National Doral, as his vice presidential running mate. He has also said U.S. Sens. J.D. Vance of Ohio and Tim Scott of South Carolina are on the list, along with North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
Trump did name drop Rubio various times, starting after he chided Vice President Harris.
“I don’t think Kamala Harris’ California socialism is going to go down well with the people of Doral, the people of Miami or the people of Florida,” he said. “Because in Florida we don’t want socialism, we want our freedom, right? And we have a lot of people, right Marco, from Cuba, from Venezuela, from all over and they don’t want to hear about socialism or communism.”
Then, in noting the large media presence covering the speech he quipped: “I think they probably think I’m going to be announcing that Marco’s going to be vice president because that’s a lot of press.”
Trump later teased Rubio’s veep possibility in noting that he would offer legislation to Congress to end the taxation of tips. He asked Rubio if he would vote for the measure but then corrected himself saying the Florida lawmaker “might not be there” to vote on the measure in Capitol Hill.
Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
