Former U.S. President Donald Trump at first rally since announcing his 2024 presidential campaign, at the Waco Regional Airport on March 25, 2023 in Waco, Texas.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump vowed to destroy the “deep state” during a campaign rally in this city Saturday, which is in the midst of the 30th anniversary of the federal siege of anti-government cult leader David Koresh’s compound.
“Either the deep state destroys America or we destroy the deep state,” Trump said of the stakes of his bid for a return to the Oval Office.
At the first major rally of his campaign, Trump spoke to thousands of boisterous supporters on the tarmac of a regional airport. Before his remarks, his red, white and blue jet circled the crowd before landing and pulling up behind his stage.
He referred to the administration of his successor, Joe Biden, as the “Biden regime,” accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of “prosecutorial misconduct” in investigating him and said “the Supreme Court didn’t have the courage to right the wrong” of his 2020 defeat.
“When this election is over, I will be the president of the United States,” Trump declared. “You will be vindicated and proud, and the thugs and criminals who are corrupting our justice system will be defeated, discredited and totally disgraced.”
“I am your warrior. I am your justice. And I took a lot of heat for this one, but I only mean it in the proper way — for those who have been wronged and betrayed … I am your retribution,” he added.
But Trump also took direct aim at his leading rival for the GOP nomination, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has not yet announced whether he will run.
Trump bristled at DeSantis flirting with a run — even though he helped him win the governorship in 2018. The former president ripped DeSantis his handling of the COVID pandemic and for past positions favoring cuts to Medicare and Social Security. He also said that the Florida governor’s narrative…
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