The new circus comes to town: fiery support for
Donald Trump at rain-soaked Florida rally
Fireworks, a Trump impersonator and undying belief in
the former president at his second rally after leaving office
David Smith
David Smith
in Sarasota, Florida
@smithinamerica
Sun 4 Jul
2021 05.42 BST
Their trust
in Trump remains unshaken.
Supporters
of Donald Trump, the former US president, gathered in their thousands at a
rain-soaked rally in Florida on Saturday unmoved by criminal charges against
his business.
Two days
earlier the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, Allen
Weisselberg, had pleaded not guilty to tax fraud charges brought by the
Manhattan district attorney (DA). The case in New York could be merely the tip
of a legal iceberg that threatens Trump himself.
But Joe
Walsh, a former Republican congressman turned Trump critic, tweeted in
response: “Trump’s supporters already know he’s a tax cheat, a liar, a
ruler-breaker, and a crook. They don’t care.”
Interviews
at the rally with some of the ex-president’s most ardent fans put this
hypothesis to the test. Some did indeed shrug and move on. Others echoed
Trump’s view that the charges were politically motivated. More than one prefaced
their answer with the words “it’s bullshit”.
From all it
was clear that the charges fitted neatly into an existing narrative in which
Democrats, the media and the “deep state” have been trying to tear Trump down
since he launched his candidacy with an escalator ride at Trump Tower in 2015.
Any new accusation is merely interpreted as another data point to strengthen
that case.
Anthony
Cabrera, 19, a student wearing a “Make America great again” [Maga] cap, spoke
for many when he said: “I have no opinion. You hear about it and you move on
with your day.”
But with
some prompting, he elaborated: “I think it’s a publicity thing. The Manhattan
DA’s been trying to get something for ages. It’s a trophy.”
And if
Trump eventually finds himself in the dock, will the Maga army rally in his
defence? Cabrera said: “I have no doubt. You see the crowd here. Trump’s got a
lot of very enthusiastic support. Escalating something like this for political
reasons is not going to be good for the country.”
Eddie
Gottsman, 67, a retired manager, was blunt. “I think it’s bullshit,” he said.
“It’s a witch hunt. The way they’ve treated Trump for the last four years, it’s
obvious they’re out to cancel him. He scares them. I know he’s going to run in
2024 and, if he does, he’ll win.”
There is
much speculation that Weisselberg, who was led into court wearing handcuffs,
might “flip” to save his own skin. But Gottsman opined: “I don’t think so
because Trump doesn’t have anything to hide. He’s always three steps ahead of
them, whatever they try to do. Russian collusion was all a hoax, all made-up
lies.”
Ashley
Ballinger, 38, a business owner, agreed. “I think the witch hunt is still
continuing,” she said. “They’ve been trying to get him for years and they still
haven’t got anything on him. This gentleman has worked for him for years. Trump
takes care of his people and they take care of him.”
Trump has
accused New York’s state attorney general, Letitia James, and the Manhattan DA,
Cyrus Vance, of partisanship because both are Democrats. But Ballinger said:
“It’s Republicans and Democrats: they’re all in this together, they’re all
politicians. He’s a threat to them and all of us are a threat to them and that
is what scares them.”
On the eve
of Independence Day. Trump’s second post-presidential “Save America!” rally was
held at fairgrounds in Sarasota, perhaps fitting for a man often described as a
carnival barker or clown. For more than 60 years Sarasota was the winter
quarters of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus. But John
Ringling, “king of the sawdust ring”, lost his fortune and fell on hard times.
The new
circus came to town with a man playing guitar and singing “You can stick your
poisoned vaccine up your ass”; a Trump impersonator in baggy suit, red tie,
blond wig and orange makeup prancing across the field; a 10ft-plus Trump statue
with giant hands outstretched; a man in a “Trump 2024” cap and Confederate
vest; an eight-year-old Black boy wearing a t-shirt that said: “Trump won.”
But it only
became the greatest show on earth when a small plane, presumably belonging to a
Biden voter, circled overhead with the words “Loser-Palooza’ scrolling in
lights underneath its wings.
There was
food, fireworks and flags that snarled: “Fuck Biden and fuck you for voting for
him!” Warm-up acts including Matt Gaetz, a Florida congressman under
investigation over alleged sex trafficking, and Trump’s son Don Jr who said of
the Manhattan DA’s case: “The political persecution will continue because we
are no different from Russia, we are no different from the mullahs in Iran.”
Trump
himself launched a tirade against the charges, insisting that they were part of
a five-year campaign against him that included the Russia investigation which,
he claimed, cleared him of collusion. He accused Democratic prosecutors of
“corrupting and weaponising the law” against opponents while allowing violent
crime to skyrocket.
“This is
the kind of persecution they’re doing, as an example in New York, that you
would see in Third World nations,” he said. “It’s reminiscent of a communist
dictatorship targeting its political opponents... There’s no depth to which the
radical left will not sink to stop our Make America Great Again movement.”
Trump
complained that New York prosecutors did not go after a single financial firm
after the 2007-08 financial crisis and did not target Democrat Hillary Clinton
or Biden’s son Hunter. “They leave Democrats alone, no matter how bad they are,
but they mobilise every power of government to come after me, my family, my
wonderful employees and my company solely because of politics... The harder I
fight for you, the harder they come after me.”
He went on
to suggest that charges against Weisselberg related to not paying taxes on a
company car and an apartment that eased his commute were trivial. He also
claimed ignorance as to whether Weisselberg did anything wrong with regard to
taxes on his grandchildren’s private education, asking the crowd: “Does anybody
know the answer to that?”
Such
sentiments resonated with his diehard followers. Garry Petty, 44, manager of a
pest control and fertiliser company, said: “I think it’s bullshit. They’ve been
going after him since the day he ran for president and they came up with
nothing. Washington hates Trump because he’s not a politician. He’s a
businessman who doesn’t need their support or money and that scares the shit
out of them.
“If he’d
done something wrong, they’d have dug it up by now. If they did find something
on him we could handle it – oh, we were wrong – but I don’t think that’s going
to happen. They’re going to have to keep trying and I’m sure they will. They’re
scared shitless of him running again; that’s why they turned up on the heat.”
But if
Trump goes to court, Perry – wearing a “Hillary Clinton killed my friend”
t-shirt – does not foresee violent protests. “I think the right is the
reasonable half of the country. Take a look at who has been doing the looting
and rioting over the past year: it’s not been us.” In fact far-right white
nationalists have been linked to a surge in racist and antisemitic violence.
The views
were shared across age, gender and race. Liz Ulibarri, 57, who works in a metal
shop, said: “I think the charges are trumped up and the Democrats are desperate
to pin something on him. They’ve decided to try and bring him down but
everything they’ve tried has failed. Over five years, how many things has he
been accused of and how many have turned out to be trumped up?”
Could
Weisselberg, accused of accepting fringe benefits “off the books”, turn against
his boss of nearly half a century and reveal dark secrets? Ulibarri said: “I
don’t think Allen Weisselberg has dark secrets to tell. They’re trying to
charge him for taking gifts. How petty is that?”
Dolly
Schacht, 67, a business owner, was also staying loyal. “It’s a set up,” she
said. “I didn’t get with politics until Trump. I listened to him and it was
everything I wanted. He exposed corruption in government and it was scary. I
also think we want a businessman to run country rather than a politician who
doesn’t know what they’re doing.”
Asked if
she was troubled by potential corruption in the Trump Organization, Schacht
replied: “It will be less than the politicians. I think government forces
businesses to be a little bit corrupt.”
And if
Trump ends up in handcuffs? “The people will support him without question,” she
said, gesturing to the crowd. “We are there. We’ve seen him go through so much.
I think the Democrats have hurt themselves more than they’ve helped themselves.
Trump might be a talker and antagonist but he loves the American people.”
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