Former President Donald Trump teased a future run for the White House during a visit to Southaven, Mississippi, on Saturday and continued to call the Jan. 6 Committee hearings a “witch hunt.”
The former president, speaking during a stop on the for-profit American Freedom Tour, spent time lingering on his electoral defeat in 2020, disputing the results and repeating false claims of voter fraud.
“In 2024, we are going to take back our magnificent White House,” Trump said. The crowd of several thousand at the Landers Center rose in applause and chanted “USA, USA.”
Trump meandered from topic to topic during his hourlong speech. He criticized President Joe Biden for rampant inflation and spent time dwelling on the design of Air Force One and U.S. aircraft carriers.
He repeated his frequent attacks on Democratic leaders and criticized the few Republicans who have dared oppose him publicly, including U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney — one of two Republican members of the Jan. 6 committee.
Throughout his speech, Trump, like the speakers who came before him, predicted a Republican landslide in the midterm elections this fall.
More:Trump disparages Pence for lack of ‘courage’ as Jan. 6 hearings continue
“We need a landslide so big that they can’t rip it or steal it,” Trump said. “Get ready to work. Get ready to fight, and get ready to win. We’re going to win like never before.”
The event included a cadre of conservative and far-right figures who invoked the usual culture war touchstones — conservative talking points about Critical Race Theory, parental rights and comments about transgender people playing sports.
The Landers Center, which seats about 8,400, appeared to be about 80% capacity, with significant floor seating. Event organizers for American Freedom Tour did not provide a head count. The crowd was relatively calm throughout the afternoon. Occasional chants of “Let’s Go Brandon,” a phrase that is code for an epithet about Biden, broke out.
Reeves critiques Biden
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves gave a short speech that differed little from the typical Republican attacks on Biden, blaming the president for inflation, the retreat from Afghanistan and the shortage of baby formula on store shelves.
Reeves was effusive in his praise of the former president, describing the difference between Trump and Biden’s presidency as two different nations.
“We sure could use him in the Oval Office,” Reeves said. The Mississippi governor did not overtly mention the Jan. 6 hearings underway this week but said his state remained loyal to the former president.
“We have the back of President Donald J. Trump,” Reeves said.
