Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Salon
Salon
Politics
Bob Brigham

Gaetz and Greene steal Trump's thunder

Supporters of former U.S. President Donald Trump wait for a rally at the Banks County Dragway on March 26, 2022 in Commerce, Georgia. This event is a part of Trump's "Save America Rally" around the United States where several current Republican candidates or politicians have been announced to speak at the event. Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images

Donald Trump traveled to Commerce, Georgia on Saturday to rally his MAGA base against the top incumbent Republican in the Peach State.

"I've covered more than two dozen Trump rallies around the nation. This is the smallest crowd I've seen at a rally of his in Georgia since he won the 2016 election -- significantly smaller than the crowd in Perry in September," Atlanta Journal-Constitution political reporter Greg Bluestein noted.

Trump is backing former Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) in his campaign against GOP Gov. Brian Kemp and Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA) in his campaign against Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

"This crowd is hardly applauding. Not the same sort of enthusiasm I've seen at other Trump rallies," Bluestein reported.

And Perdue's campaign has been struggling.

"Early polls have steadily shown Mr. Perdue, a former senator, trailing Mr. Kemp by about 10 percentage points. The governor has the backing of many of the state's big donors and remains far ahead of Mr. Perdue in fund-raising," The New York Times reported Saturday. "Mr. Perdue's sputtering start may hint at a deeper flaw in Mr. Trump's plan to punish the governor for refusing to work to overturn Georgia's 2020 election results: Mr. Trump's grievances may now largely be his alone. While polls show many G.O.P. voters believe lies about fraud and irregularities in the 2020 election, there is little evidence that Republicans remain as fixated on the election as Mr. Trump."

During his speech, Trump regurgitated the list of grievances he airs at all of his rallies, repeating his "big lie" of election fraud and complaining about Joe Biden.

And, as usual, the former leader of the free world threw a pity party over how mean people were to him.

While the biggest news of the evening was Trump threatening a MAGA boycott of the 2020 midterm elections, far-right members of Congress made headlines of their own at his rally.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who threw a tantrum about the Constitution's prohibition on insurrectionists running for Congress, suggested Republicans blow up Stacey Abrams like the Death Star in the fictional Star Wars universe.

And Greene went "full QAnon" when discussing Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Greene's antics appeared to earn her a kiss from the former reality TV star.

But it was Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) who excited the crowd with his call for Donald Trump to be Speaker of the House of Representatives if Republicans win control in the 2022 midterm elections.

Gaetz praised Greene and said Republicans' goal was to impeach President Joe Biden.

 

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.