Democrats and anti-Trump forces attempting to block him from the 2024 presidential ballot exposes the "fake news" narrative that they want to run against former President Donald Trump, he told his Cedar Rapids, Iowa, rally Saturday.
"You know, they've been working on that very hard," Trump told his rally, which aired live and in its entirety on Newsmax. "You know, they always say disinformation and misinformation, almost the same, but not quite. But disinformation and misinformation, they always say we want to really run against Trump.
"If they want to run against me, they wouldn't have indicted me four times and fought like hell to keep me off the ballot.
"But the fake news, and the stupid people at The Wall Street Journal editorial board, they said the other day, 'well, they really want to run against Trump.'"
Trump was speaking in the first-in-the-nation caucus state, hailing his efforts to keep Iowa at the front of the Republican primary cycle.
"As you know, we're just 44 days away from Iowa's first in the nation caucuses," he said. "You know, I kept you as first of the day. Don't let other people take their credit. We kept you there.
"On Monday, Jan. 15, we're going to win the Iowa caucuses and then we're going to crush Crooked Joe Biden next November. And we are going to very simply make America great again.
"Crooked Joe Biden's banana republic ends on Nov. 5, 2024."
Trump mentioned "Ron DeSanctimonious" and "birdbrain" Nikki Haley as his chief GOP primary rivals, but he saved his most pointed rebuke for President Joe Biden and his administration.
"Biden and his radical left allies like to pose as defenders of democracy," Trump said. "You see, he was standing up there not so long ago with the pink and red background – that looked a little bit sinister. I don't know if he knew what the hell he was doing up there, but he was up there spewing the words that somebody wrote for him.
"But Joe Biden is not the defender of American democracy. Joe Biden is the destroyer of American democracy, and it's him and his people.
"They're wreckers of the American dream. The American dream is dead with them in office. It's sad. We had such a dream."
Trump vowed to "bring back the American dream bigger and better than ever."
"For decades you watched as a corrupt political class in our nation's capital looted your money, trampled on your dignity, and push their radical agenda into every aspect of your lives," Trump continued. "You know it very well.
"But in 2016 you voted to stand up to those liars, losers, crooks, and creeps and you elected an outsider as your president, and it was about America first. We want to put our country first. They haven't done that in a long time. But we did it for four years, and that's why we did so well. That's why it was one of the great presidencies, they say."
At his first event in the Des Moines area, Trump spent several minutes criticizing Iowa GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds for endorsing DeSantis after initially staying neutral in caucuses, as most Iowa governors have done for the past several decades. He once more contended Reynolds was disloyal — a charge he has leveled against DeSantis.
"I think we're in good shape with DeSanctimonious," Trump said.
"If Ron DeSantis can't even keep up with Ryan Binkley in Iowa, how can he expect to be competitive with Nikki 'Birdbrain' Haley for distant second place?" Trump's campaign said in a statement earlier this week.
About NEWSMAX TV:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
- Find Newsmax channel in your home via cable and satellite systems – More Info Here
- Watch Newsmax+ on your home TV app or smartphone and watch it anywhere! Try it for FREE – See More Here: NewsmaxPlus.com
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.