Tried in New York, Trump will campaign in North Carolina

Irritated by his legal setbacks, former American president Donald Trump is holding a meeting in North Carolina on Saturday, his first major campaign event since the start of his trial New York.

It is in Wilmington, in this state which will be fiercely contested by Mr. Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden on November 5, that the Republican billionaire will speak.

The man who hopes to make a triumphant return to the White House is on trial in a case of hidden payments to buy the silence of a former porn star, Stormy Daniels, a few days before the 2016 election that he won narrowly against Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Denouncing a “witch hunt”, Mr. Trump repeatedly protested against the fact that the trial did not give him free rein.

“I should be in right now in Pennsylvania and Florida, in many other states, in North Carolina, in Georgia, campaigning,” he said this week.

Saturday morning, several hours before the meeting, his followers in Wilmington had already begun to gather, armed with coolers and hats under the scorching North Carolina sun.

For Stephen Prater, a 29-year-old trucker, it is obvious: the trial of his candidate is “largely due to the left which is trying to do everything to prevent him from becoming president again”.

Grace Miller, 58, thinks the same thing. It’s a “political” trial, she assures us.

– “Very busy” –

Former President of the United States Donald Trump during his trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on April 19, 2024 in New York © POOL – Curtis Means

Donald Trump attacked again on Saturday the judge of his New York trial, historic because it is the first criminal trial of a former American president.

The magistrate must be “dismissed”, he said. “I did not do anything wrong!” he stormed on his platform, Truth Social.

“If immunity is not granted to a president, every president leaving office will be immediately indicted by the opposing party,” he said.

Although no Democratic presidential candidate has won North Carolina since Barack Obama in 2008, Joe Biden wants to believe in his chances in the state.

Because even if Donald Trump won in North Carolina twice, in 2016 and in 2020, M . Biden narrowly lost to him in this state in the last election.

US President Joe Biden during a campaign rally in Scranton, April 16, 2024 in Pennsylvania © AFP – ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS

The Democrat tries to take advantage of the cases which beset his rival, stuck in court several days of the week, and plows the ground.

He was Tuesday in his hometown of Scranton, in the contested and crucial state of Pennsylvania for the November election.

While he has long kept himself to comment on Donald Trump's troubles, Mr. Biden shot an arrow at him this week, saying that the latter was “very busy at the moment”.

The White House assured that Joe Biden was not following the trial, adding: “he is focusing on the Americans”.

This trial coincides with Joe Biden's advance in the polls since his State of the Union address in March, with the two candidates now neck and neck.

But Donald Trump and his supporters also hope to take advantage media attention surrounding his criminal trial, banking on the fact that it offers him a ready-made platform for campaigning.

All rights of reproduction and representation reserved. © (2024) Agence France-Presse