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After a protracted and sometimes tense week in his felony trial in Manhattan, former President Donald J. Trump on Saturday took half in a time-honored ritual loved by numerous New Yorkers in want of a break: He went to the shore.
Sandwiched between the boardwalk and the Atlantic Ocean, Mr. Trump stood in entrance of tens of hundreds of individuals at a rally on the seaside in Wildwood, N.J., the place he largely repeated the identical criticisms of President Biden which have characterised his stump speech in current months.
Fresh from courtroom, Mr. Trump insisted that his case in Manhattan, on prices that he falsified enterprise information associated to a hush-money cost, was a “Biden present trial,” though there isn’t a proof to recommend that Mr. Biden has been concerned within the case.
Mr. Trump railed towards pro-Palestinian protests on school campuses, vowed to crack down on immigration and repeated his false claims that Democrats stole the 2020 election from him.
But if Mr. Trump’s speech largely consisted of what has turn out to be his normal fare, the setting stood out. Though New Jersey has voted for Democratic presidential candidates in each election since 1992, and Mr. Trump misplaced the state by double-digit margins in each 2016 and 2020, he insisted that he may win there in November.
“We’re increasing the electoral map, as a result of we’re going to formally play within the state of New Jersey,” Mr. Trump mentioned to a packed crowd on the seaside. “We’re going to win the state of New Jersey.”
Mr. Trump, who as soon as owned casinos in Atlantic City, N.J., and who usually spends summers at his golf membership in Bedminster, N.J., has been publicly bullish on his possibilities in New Jersey for months. Political specialists, and even a few of his advisers, are skeptical.
Still, components of the state are deeply conservative, together with the world round Wildwood, a boardwalk city on the southern finish of the Jersey Shore and a seaside vacation spot widespread with working-class households. Many guests come from Pennsylvania, a battleground state that backed Mr. Trump in 2016 however swung to Mr. Biden in 2020.
Mr. Trump’s rally, held shortly earlier than the beginning of the summer time season, introduced hordes of individuals to the boardwalk, the place lots of the distributors who normally hawk an array of novelty objects stuffed the entrance of their shops with Trump-related T-shirts and hats. Supporters stretched out on blankets and dabbed on sunscreen hours forward of Mr. Trump’s arrival.
Against the backdrop of traditional Americana, Mr. Trump repeated his typical criticism that Mr. Biden’s financial insurance policies had been hurting the center class. With an amusement park working rides within the background, he insisted that solely he may protect the summer time shore custom.
“The alternative for New Jersey and Pennsylvania is easy,” Mr. Trump mentioned, telling supporters to vote for him in the event that they wished “decrease prices, greater earnings and extra weekends down on the shore.” (The space’s locals normally say “down the shore,” however judging by the cheers of the group, the purpose was nicely obtained.)
The rally was a stark distinction to the scene on the Manhattan courthouse, the place proceedings are extra sober and Mr. Trump’s feedback are restricted to remarks to reporters earlier than he enters and leaves the courtroom.
At his rally, Mr. Trump largely constructed on statements he has made in these restricted appearances. He as soon as once more criticized Mr. Biden for warning Israel that he wouldn’t provide the nation with weapons if it launched a significant floor offensive, and he made his most express approval but of Israel’s army technique.
“I assist Israel’s proper to win its struggle on terror,” he advised the group. “Is that OK? I don’t know. I don’t know if that’s good or dangerous politically. I don’t care.”
The rally in New Jersey was solely Mr. Trump’s third since his trial started final month. Last week, he held back-to-back occasions in Wisconsin and Michigan, two battleground states anticipated to be extra important than New Jersey within the November election.
Mr. Trump, who’s certain by a gag order within the case that retains him from commenting on witnesses and jurors, restricted his criticism of the case on Saturday. The judge within the case has discovered him in contempt, fining him $10,000 for violating the order and warning of potential jail time.
