- Title: Breaking into song as supporters await Trump in Ohio
- Date: 26th June 2021
- Summary: WELLINGTON, OHIO, UNITED STATES (JUNE 26, 2021) (REUTERS) PAN OF SUPPORTERS OF FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP SINGING STAR SPANGLED BANNER HOURS AHEAD OF RALLY
- Embargoed: 10th July 2021 17:50
- Keywords: Biden Star Spangled Banner Trump rally revenge tour supporters
- Location: WELLINGTON, OHIO, UNITED STATES
- City: WELLINGTON, OHIO, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Government/Politics,United States,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA001EJ1FVWN
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Scores of supporters of former U.S. President Donald Trump broke into singing the Star-Spangled Banner Saturday (June 26) , the national anthem of the United States, as they awaited Trump's first rally since his supporters' deadly attack on the Capitol January 6, 2021.
Trump is expected to to bolster allies, berate his enemies and cement his influence over the Republican Party at a gathering in Wellington, Ohio.
While Trump has made speeches at Republican events since his election defeat by Democratic President Joe Biden, the rally in a state he carried in the 2020 election marks a return to the kind of freewheeling mass gatherings that have been critical to retaining the support of his base.
It also marks the start of his public events lashing out at elected Republicans who he views as having crossed him. He will campaign for former White House aide Max Miller, who has launched a primary challenge against Representative Anthony Gonzalez, one of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump on a charge of inciting the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol that left five dead including a Capitol Police officer.
Trump has vowed to campaign against all 10. He has also endorsed a challenger to Senator Lisa Murkowski, the only one of the seven Senate Republicans who voted to convict him in his January impeachment trial who is up for re-election in 2022.
Democrats' razor-thin majorities in both chambers of Congress will be on the line in the 2022 midterm elections and history favors Republicans' chances of gaining seats in those contests.
The Ohio event, at a fairground in Wellington, about 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Cleveland, will be the first of three public appearances, followed by a trip to the U.S.-Mexico border with Texas Governor Greg Abbott on June 30 and a rally in Sarasota, Florida, on July 3.
Trump is expected to criticize Biden for his handling of immigration, the economy and other key policy issues, while also repeating false claims that he lost the election due to widespread fraud. Those assertions have been resoundingly rejected by multiple courts, state election officials and members of Trump's own administration.
(Production: Shannon Stapleton; Production: Deborah Lutterbeck) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
