“I came to see him, to hear him, but also to support him as he faces so much injustice. »
On Saturday afternoon, Rosa, from the Fort Hood area and that military base she worked on before her retirement, had put on her best t-shirt bearing the name ” [son] president”, Donald Trump, to attend the first political rally of the populist campaign for the presidency of 2024. It was in Waco, Texas.
“The New York District Attorney [Alvin Bragg, actuellement aux trousses du milliardaire pour une histoire de pot-de-vin] done mostly in harassment, she added. He knows that Trump has done his job well, that he wants to start doing his job well again, and he only wants one thing: to stop him. »
Thus, 28 months after the departure in anger and frustration of Donald Trump from the White House, defeated by the Democrats after barely a first term, the image and stature of the populist remain unchanged among his most loyal supporters. . And this, despite the two impeachment trials, despite the attack on the Capitol by his supporters on January 6, 2021 to invalidate the results of the vote, despite the numerous cases of corruption, attempt to manipulate the results of the 2020 election , theft and illegal storage of classified documents that could compromise state security at his private residence in Mar-a-Lago.
Even after having called last December to put an end to the Constitution of the United States, having praised the genius of Vladimir Putin in his war against Ukraine, or having invited a strong figure of the white supremacist movement to dinner at his house…
Worse, Trump’s popularity even seems to be getting better, as a new political duel approaches with Joe Biden’s Democrats.
“All these attacks against him, which are based on lies and fabricated evidence, claims with conviction and assurance Ronald Solomon, met near the political rally of the former reality TV star, it leads nowhere, and it is what enrages the other side. In fact, the more they attack him, the more Donald Trump’s popularity rises to the ceiling. Because people see very well what is happening: if justice can launch itself, like that, after a candidate for the presidency, afterwards, it is perhaps them that it will attack. »
Standing in front of two carts filled with promotional clothing stamped with the name or face of the populist, the man says he has a front row seat to follow the barometer of support granted to the ex-president who aspires to regain his seat in the White House. ” For a week [et le cri d’alarme lancé par Trump qui affirmait que son arrestation allait être imminente dans l’affaire d’un versement d’argent à une actrice porno pour acheter son silence], sales keep growing,” says Solomon. Around him, supporters waiting for Trump to arrive on the tarmac at Waco Regional Airport line up to get a cap, t-shirt or cowboy hat praising the politician. “A few years ago, people were a little afraid or a little ashamed to wear these clothes. But today it is different. They do it with pride. »
Allegations found to be credible
Last week, a Reuters-Ipsos poll found that 70% of Americans consider credible the allegations of document falsification and fraud under election laws at the heart of the New York prosecutor’s investigation. , which could hit Trump with an impeachment. An opinion which, however, follows the partisan fault lines in the United States: 89% of Democrats are convinced of the credibility of the cause, against 50% of Republicans.
A division that, moreover, the campaign team of the ex-president, like other elected Republicans, seeks to exploit by multiplying for a week the calls for donations to deal with what he qualifies of “instrumentalization of justice” by the Democrats for political ends.
“If the leaks in the media are correct, wrote Donald Trump to his members, after having himself launched the rumor of his imminent arrest on his social network Truth, this is the last time I write to you before my update. charge. I would therefore like to take a moment to thank you for all the support you give to our movement. The targeted email was accompanied by a link to transform this support into a financial contribution, suggesting amounts of $500, $1,000 or even $3,300.
Three days after the inflammatory declaration of the ex-president, and his call to protest against his possible indictment by the justice of Manhattan, his team had entered no less than 1.5 million dollars in the coffers of the electoral campaign of the populist.
For every person seeking to hold Trump accountable for his actions, there seems to be another person willing to overturn existing legal norms to protect him.
“All these attacks by the Democratic regime do not scare its supporters, it galvanizes them,” said Lacey Riley, political organizer for the Republican Party in Denton County, north of Dallas, met in Waco. I’ve spoken to several people here who are coming to a Donald Trump rally for the first time. It is significant. And I can promise you that if he were to be charged, for anything, that day is going to be the biggest fundraising day for his campaign since he entered politics. »
sympathy movement
For political communication specialist Brendon Bankey, professor at the University of Texas in Austin, all this movement of sympathy, despite the excesses, slippages and crimes possibly committed by the populist, is largely explained by the nature of his political coalition, which is motivated “by reactance”, he said in an interview with Duty. “Trump has to keep fueling the fire to keep people alert and interested and that’s what he’s doing,” to get back in the saddle as the next presidential election approaches.
“What’s more, for every person seeking to hold Trump accountable for his actions, there seems to be another person willing to subvert existing legal norms to protect him. And in the end, whatever the outcome, it only adds fuel to the fire. »
A fire that on Saturday guided to the small town of Waco Sherry Cox, from northeast Texas, and her friend Julie Camp, who came to support the populist with “our heart and our spirit”, said one of they. “All of Trump’s court cases are lies and fake news. We don’t believe any of that,” the other said. “We mostly believe in Trump and, by coming here, we are doing what he told us to do to defend our country and protect our freedoms. »
Around them, supporters of the ex-president began to enter the compound of the political rally, waving American flags and other calls for Trump’s re-election in 2024 or proudly wearing clothes, many of which displayed aggressive and vulgar slogans targeting Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, or demonizing Democrats.
Owen Smith, 19, an accounting student in the Dallas area, was holding back with his sober jacket, under the circumstances, “Make America Great Again”, the name given to Trump’s populist movement.
“I am here to support the president who represents the only values that will bring the country back to the right path,” he said. In 2024, this is the first time that I will vote. And I’m going to vote for him no matter what happens and what happens next. Because it can’t be worse than what I see right now. »
This report was financed thanks to the support of the Transat International Journalism Fund.The duty.