CHESAPEAKE, Va. (AP) — Former president Donald Trump rejoiced at the president on Friday Joe BidenThe president’s often faltering performance during the first debate before the November election. He said Democrats had no better choice and called the incumbent Democratic president “the most incompetent president” in US history.
Trump spoke to thousands of supporters at a rally in Chesapeake, Virginia, on Friday, a day after Biden’s disappointing performance raised concerns among his allies and other Democrats hoping for a stronger candidate to secure and boost his re-election chances. Biden repeatedly stumbled, paused and could not finish sentences, leading some to wonder whether he could be replaced before November.
“The question every voter should be asking themselves today is not whether Joe Biden can survive a 90-minute debate performance, but whether America can survive four more years of crooked Joe Biden in the White House,” Trump said.
Trump repeated several of the false claims he made on Thursday, including about late-term abortions, and again referred to rioters charged in the storming of the Capitol to overturn his 2020 loss as “hostages.” He applauded a U.S. Supreme Court ruling earlier on Friday that limited a federal obstruction law that has been used to charge Trump and hundreds of Capitol riot suspects. And he called for their release.
‘Free the J6 hostages now. They must release them now for what they went through,” he said, adding that the ruling was “a great thing for people who have been treated so terribly.”
Trump has long claimed that those charged in the riots were wrongly prosecuted, and he continues to spread lies and unproven theories about election fraud.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin appeared alongside Trump on Friday and said he would work to secure a Trump victory in a state that Biden won in 2020. The Republican governor, once a favorite potential presidential candidate for anti-Trump Republicans, notably waited during this year’s primaries and only endorsed Trump in March.
“This is about strength versus weakness,” Youngkin told Trump supporters. “We have seen the weak America that Joe Biden created, and we have all experienced the strong America that Donald Trump built.”
Trump said he didn’t think Biden could drop out of the race, citing demands from some Democrats and opinion writers calling on Biden to step aside. He then criticized other high-profile Democrats, such as California Governor Gavin Newsom, Vice President Kamala Harris and former first lady Michelle Obama.
Trump said he would love to run against Harris, Biden’s running mate.
Harris cannot default to the top of the ticket if Biden decides to step aside. Individual state delegations would have to be lobbied to replace Biden ahead of a virtual roll call in which the party wants to nominate Biden. The exact date for the roll call has not yet been determined.
There is no evidence that Biden is willing to end his campaign. And it would be nearly impossible for Democrats to replace him unless he decides to step aside.
Christopher James Caton, 49, of Virginia Beach, left his home at 4:30 a.m. Friday to attend Trump’s speech.
“Trump was unbelievable,” Caton, wearing a Second Amendment hat, said of Thursday night’s debate. “He was on fire. He was steadfast. He didn’t stutter.”
Even Democrats have to admit that Biden underperformed, Caton said.
