Trump locks down the city in a show of strength with the first rally since he was indicted in a documents case

If anyone thought Donald Trump’s legal woes would erode his public support in the red state of America, no one thought to tell the people of Pickens, South Carolina.

The crowd of 3,300 was fanned by thousands more who poured onto the main street to watch the former president hold his first rally since he was accused of mishandling classified documents.

Supporters behind him waved ‘witch hunt’ signs as he described how he had been charged under the Espionage Act.

‘Me? the espionage law?’ he said, describing how it was an “act for crimes so heinous” that the death penalty was necessary.

“It’s one of the most vicious legal theories ever put forth in a court of law. there’s never been anything like it before,” he added.

Insiders said the words weren’t the most important thing. The size of the audience was the most important thing of the day, making it a huge show of support.

And it brought the former president to one of the early state’s most pro-Trump counties, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The small town of Pickens closed its streets to the former president, with supporters traveling from North Carolina and Georgia, as well as South Carolina.

They were on Main Street, between the county courthouse and Biven’s hardware store.

They heard Trump describe how, as president, he had an “absolute right” to release documents. And he said he was changing his language because of the way he had to appear in court earlier this month.

“Now the gloves are off from that standpoint, what they’ve done is so awful,” he said.

“So I will speak differently than I did three weeks ago, because you have never heard me use this kind of language. I would show no respect for our country and for the office.

“But we really don’t have a choice. These people are sick. They are sick people.’

And he called Special Counsel Jack Smith a “felon” because of the way he had been pursued.

Supporters cheered. They had endured a 90°F wait on Trump, and hundreds left early in the inclement weather.

But those who stayed enjoyed it.

“It’s all BS,” Rick Fisher, a retired general contractor, said when asked if the charges would undermine Trump’s support. “They can’t beat him any other way. They must be cheating.’

He added that he had only come to hear and see Trump.

“He just makes you feel better,” he said. “To know what he can do for the economy.”

It showed that the allegations had made little difference to Trump’s base of support in rural America, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said as she commuted between TV cameras before the former president’s arrival.

“It shows that Trump is going to win,” she said.

Trump touched on his favorite themes, calling “crooked Hillary,” accusing the Biden family of corruption, promising to prevent World War III in Ukraine, promising to “drain the swamp,” and reiterating his claims that the 2020 election had been stolen.

He ridiculed Biden’s verbal gaffe this week when he confused Iraq and Ukraine.

“If you look at the leaders of the world, these people are at the top of their game. President Xi and Kim Jong-un and I could name almost any country, but we have someone who isn’t at all…” he said. ‘

For example, said twice this week that Russia is losing the war with Iraq.’

The rally also gave Trump a chance to show off his support in a state that calls home two of its rivals for the Republican nominations — former governor Nikki Haley and Senator Tim Scott.

Campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said the festival setting would give Trump a chance to meet people up close. “Retail politics on steroids,” he called it.

“We’ll still have meetings,” he said.

“We try to do a lot of different things, and a lot of non-traditional things. This is one of them.’

Trump’s event is part of the city’s “Independence Day Spectacular,” which includes a fireworks display at dusk. Roads in the city center are closed to stop the crowds.

The City of Pickens had been planning the event for eight months. Then Senator Lindsey Graham called a few weeks ago to ask if Trump could speak, according to Bryan Owens, the city’s director of marketing.

“The reason they chose Pickens is because it’s quaint, historic, and beautiful,” he said WSPAthe local CBS affiliate.

“We want to be able to show that to the world. Like everyone else, we welcome anyone who wants to come to Pickens to see the beauty we have to offer.”

But the VIP guest caused a headache and forced officials to figure out how to fit in the expected crowds in the city center.

Trump invited the Rushingbrook Children’s Choir from nearby Greenville to perform.

The choir went viral with a video showing them singing the national anthem at the Capitol before being stopped by police.

Officers initially said they were preventing a ‘demonstration’, then came back claiming there had been miscommunication.

Trump was on friendly territory. The county voted 74 percent in its favor in the 2020 election, and attendees are expected to come from close neighbors North Carolina and Georgia.

Trump’s last rally was scheduled for Des Moines, Iowa, in May, but had to be called off due to tornado warnings.

Trump is the clear front-runner for the GOP nomination, regularly polling about 50 percent among Republicans when asked about their primary choice.

On Friday night, he addressed the Moms for Liberty Summit in Philadelphia.

He welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to end President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan.

“Today the Supreme Court also ruled that President Biden is not allowed to wipe out trillions of dollars in student loan debt, which would have been grossly unfair to the millions of people who paid their debt through hard work and diligence,” he said . .