Although nearly two dozen Democratic presidential candidates are currently vying to thwart his reelection bid, President Trump seemed to be more concerned with past grievances about the 2016 election and his former opponent Hillary Clinton during the official kickoff of his 2020 campaign.
Claiming that the “system” was “rigged” against him, the president on Tuesday night accused federal investigators of giving Clinton and her aides a “free pass” in the probe into her use of a private email service to conduct official communications during her tenure as secretary of state.
Mr. Trump suggested, however, that Attorney General William Barr, who has been accused by Democrats of acting like the president’s personal lawyer, could take another look at the matter. “We now have a great attorney general,” the president told his ardent supporters. “Let’s see what happens.”
In another revisit of the tumultuous 2016 campaign, the president repeatedly praised former Republican primary rivals Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina — who were both in attendance Tuesday. Although the two senators were prominent GOP critics of the president, they’ve both embraced him in recent months and are now some of his staunchest allies in Congress.
The rally in Central Florida follows the abrupt ouster of several pollsters in Mr. Trump’s campaign after poll numbers showing him trailing former Vice President Joe Biden, the early Democratic front-runner, in several key states were leaked to the press.
Sarah Sanders: “You’ve made America great”
Mr. Trump invited outgoing press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders to join him on stage, calling her “so good, so talented, so wonderful.”
Sanders announced last week she would be leaving the White House at the end of this month. Although she has not said if she will be running for office, Mr. Trump said “he had a feeling” she would be running for a “certain gubernatorial position.”
“This has been truly the honor of a lifetime and one of the most incredible experiences anyone can imagine,” Sanders said. “And that’s because I’ve had the chance to be on the front row of history and watch you drastically change our country for the better. You’ve made America great, you’re going to continue to make America great. I couldn’t be prouder to be part of your team.”
Sanders said she is “going to spend a little more time with my kids,” but noted that “no one will be a stronger voice or advocate for this president.”
Mr. Trump then said “we’re going to miss her” and called her a “warrior.”
Revisiting 2016 election, Trump slams Clinton email controversy
Although nearly two dozen Democratic presidential candidates are currently vying to thwart his re-election bid in 2020, Mr. Trump seemed to be more concerned with past grievances about the 2016 election and his former opponent Hillary Clinton — whom he mentioned several times.
Claiming that the “system” was “rigged” against him, the president accused federal investigators of giving Clinton and her aides a “free pass” in the probe into her use of a private email service to conduct official communications during her tenure as secretary of state.
Mr. Trump suggested, however, that Attorney General William Barr, who has been accused by Democrats of acting like the president’s personal lawyer, could take another look at the matter.
“We now have a great attorney general,” the president said. “Let’s see what happens.”
Trump says only George Washington appointed more judges than him
Mr. Trump said the only president who has appointed more judges than him was America’s first commander-in-chief, George Washington.
“One person has a higher percentage than your favorite president, Donald Trump. Do you know who that president is? He’s got a higher percentage than me and it’s devastating. His name is George Washington,” the president told his ardent supporters.
“George is at 100% and there’s no way I will get there no matter what I tell you,” he added.
Trump pledges to deport “millions”
Before departing for the rally — where he is also likely to tout his hard-line immigration agenda — the president vowed to deport “millions” of undocumented immigrants.
On Twitter, he suggested that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would conduct a massive operation next week to round up “millions” of people and remove them from the country.
“They will be removed as fast as they come in,” the president wrote.
One senior administration official told CBS News the operation — which is likely to spark outrage among immigrant rights groups and Democrats — would target more than a million immigrants with pending removal orders.
