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Donald Trump leads his first campaign event for the US presidential elections this Saturday in the Texas town of Waco, the scene 30 years ago of a deadly attack against a sect that clashed with federal authorities. The billionaire insists on evoking a “fraud” never proven in the 2020 elections.
The ex-governor’s supporters with trailers, trucks and flags with the phrases “Trump 2024” and his already famous motto “Make America Great Again” await him around the regional airport in Waco, a city of 130,000 inhabitants south of Dallas, where he will give his speech. Local authorities expect some 15,000 people at the event.
Waco is the “epicenter of the patriot movement,” said Peter Christian, 55, a member of the Branch Davidians religious group, now called “The Lord Our Righteousness.”
In 1993, the world watched for 51 days between late February and mid-April of the FBI siege of a Branch Davidians ranch in Waco where armed followers of their leader David Koresh had entrenched themselves. Seventy-six members of the cult, including Koresh and 20 children, were found dead after the ranch fire. Four police officers were also killed during clashes with their supporters weeks earlier.
The former president, also under threat of investigations into the electoral pressure he exerted in Georgia (southeast) in 2020 and the management of classified White House files, often claims to be the victim of a mysterious “deep state” (Deep State or State in the shadows), a claim considered a conspiracy theory.
His visit to Waco is a reconnection with an audience that celebrates his dance steps and expects him to toss caps to the crowd. His followers await him in a party atmosphere and do not believe the accusations made against him. This meeting of Trump with Waco offers the Republican the opportunity to give a new impetus to his campaign, when not all of his party supports him, although several polls show him as the winner in the primaries.
The billionaire insists on evoking a “fraud” never proven in the 2020 elections, where he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. Trump has also seen part of the right – and in particular his wealthy donors – turn their attention to a new file, Ron DeSantis, 44 years old. The governor of Florida has not yet officially launched into the race, but he is shaping up to be one of the biggest rivals for the Republican nomination in 2024.
Trump warned DeSantis last year not to run, saying that if he does he will reveal things about him that are “unflattering.”
with AFP
