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Joe Lamberti/Associated Press
Former President Donald Trump greets supporters at a campaign rally in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, on April 13, 2024.
CNN
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Former President Donald Trump on Saturday endorsed Pennsylvania Republican Dave McCormick after initially being reluctant to endorse the former hedge fund executive who is challenging Democrat Bob Casey in a key Senate battleground. supported his Senate campaign.
“Tonight, I am officially endorsing Mr. David McCormick. He is a good man. He wants to run a good ship. He is a smart man, a very successful man. “I’ve given up a lot to do this,” Trump told supporters at a rally in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, his last official campaign event before jury selection in his hush-money criminal trial begins Monday in New York. Ta.
McCormick announced his candidacy for the Senate in September, and is running unopposed in the Republican primary on April 23.
“I’m telling you, he’s the Republican nominee, David McCormick. Casey hasn’t done anything terrible, so go out and vote for him,” Trump said.
As CNN previously reported, a source close to the former president said it was not at all surprising that Trump resisted participating in the early races for Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate seat. Mr. McCormick will face off against Mehmet Oz, a prominent heart surgeon who has a rocky history dating back to Mr. McCormick’s failed 2022 run in the state’s other Senate primary.
Mr. McCormick was not at Saturday’s rally. Trump’s campaign told CNN that the candidate has had family-friendly events planned for some time and promised them long before Trump announced his rally plans.
McCormick thanked Trump for his support. in a social media post “Together, we will deliver great victories for Pennsylvania and America in November,” he said after the rally.
The former president currently supports all candidates supported by the National Republican Senatorial Committee in key battleground states except Nevada. (And while he has yet to officially endorse a candidate in Nevada’s Senate race, Republican candidate Sam Brown and the former president himself tweeted on social media Friday that he is “the clear choice of Republican voters and donors in Nevada.”) (I posted that there is.)
President Trump’s visit to Pennsylvania on Saturday comes as his team seeks to repeat its stunning victory in the Keystone State in 2016 on its way to winning the White House. That result, combined with victories in Michigan and Wisconsin, caused a seismic shift in the so-called blue state wall that Democrats had relied on in every election since 1992.
In 2020, Joe Biden flipped all three states. Trump and Biden remain in a close race for president, with registered voters nationwide split between 46% for Trump and 45% for Biden, according to the latest poll from The New York Times and Siena College. .
At the beginning of Saturday’s rally, President Trump acknowledged that Iran had launched a wave of attacks against Israel in retaliation for Israel’s deadly attack on an Iranian embassy compound in Syria last week.
“God bless the people of Israel. They are under attack right now… because we are showing great weakness,” Trump said. “It’s unbelievable. If we were in power, this wouldn’t have happened.”
Immediately afterward, chants of “Genocide Joe” erupted among rallygoers positioned behind Mr. Trump.
The former president stopped his speech, turned around, looked at them, and said: they are not wrong. he did everything wrong. ”
The slogan “Genocide Joe” has been used by some Biden critics in recent months to criticize his handling of the Israeli-Hamas war. As of Saturday, it was unclear whether Trump’s rally attendees were using the slogan to convey the same message.
Biden has faced intense criticism and condemnation from pro-Palestinian activists over his handling of the Gaza conflict, including protests and suspension of public events over the past few months.
Saturday’s rally was President Trump’s last scheduled campaign event before jury selection begins in his hush money trial in New York on Monday. After the rally, Trump will fly directly to New York City, where court protocol and messages will be prepared by members of his legal team on Sunday, a person familiar with his plans told CNN.
Trump spent a lot of time Saturday slamming the incident, telling his supporters: “I’m proud to do that for you.” He also reiterated that the incident amounted to election interference and had no merit.
“It’s a joke all over the world, but when I step into a courtroom, the love of 200 million Americans will support me,” Trump said. “And I will fight for the freedom of 325 million Americans.”
As the trial begins, the former president will have to juggle his time between court and campaigning at a critical time in the run-up to his candidacy in the general election. He must attend court all weekdays except Wednesday, according to the schedule set by the court. Trump’s team is working to circumvent the restrictions so he can continue to interact with voters and donors.
His next scheduled campaign event after jury selection begins is April 20, when he plans to travel to North Carolina for campaigning and fundraising.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Kristen Holmes and Shania Shelton contributed to this report.
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