Washington
USA
Donald
Trump likes a fight and he likes a show and Wednesday -- with impeachment voted
right at the moment he was addressing a campaign rally hundreds of miles away
in Michigan -- he got both things on steroids.
By a twist of fate, a long
planned Trump rally in the small city of Battle Creek, Michigan, not only
coincided with the day of his impeachment back in Washington.
The historic vote in the House
of Representatives actually took place as the US president spoke to around
7,000 of his most diehard supporters -- blue collar voters dressed in work
boots and camouflage hunting gear.
"We want Trump, we want
Trump," they chanted before he even came out.
For a president itching to
vent his anger against rival Democrats, against the media and every other of
the many forces he claims are conspiring against him, what could have been
better?
Trump did not resemble a
politician on the ropes.
He resembled typical
high-energy, angry, joking, conspiracy-minded Trump -- only angrier.
"The Democrats are
declaring their deep hatred and disdain for the American voter," Trump
said to boos and cheers.
"They've been trying to
impeach me from day one. They've been trying to impeach me from before I
ran," he said.
 |
| Speaker of the United States House of Representatives |
After a marathon 10-hour
debate, lawmakers voted to impeach him for abuse of power, by pressuring
Ukraine's president to investigate his potential White House challenger Joe
Biden, and for obstructing the congressional probe into his dealings with Kiev.
But far from the political
pain in Washington, Trump was in his happy place.
The crowd laughed at his
jokes. They booed when he told them to boo. They cheered at his every boast.
"I'd rather be here.
These rallies are great," he told the crowd. "You are
inspiring."
"Four more years, four more years," they chanted.
"Four more years, four more years," they chanted.
Trump reckons that impeachment
will help him to a second term next year, creating a wave of outrage on the
right capable of sweeping away those hated opponents on the left.
Although national polls show
consistently that well over half the country disapproves of him, he's counting
on his core base to win the key states in the Electoral College system -- like
Michigan.
On Wednesday he showed how
that message is being honed post-impeachment.
He touted the strong economy and
flag-waving themes about military spending.
But more than anything he
whipped up the crowd with his dark vision of conspirators and shadowy forces
seeking to put down ordinary Americans.
That ever-lengthening list of
enemies now runs through every speech. And on Wednesday, he ticked them all
off.
There was "shifty
Schiff," the Democratic impeachment pointman in the House of
Representatives, Adam Schiff.
There was "crooked
Hillary," or Hillary Clinton whom he beat in the 2016 presidential
election and has kept attacking ever since.
There were the
"fakers," meaning the journalists covering his event.
There were the Democratic
candidates seeking to take him on in 2020 -- "those characters."
There was even a "real
slob," referring to a woman who unfurled a protest sign in the arena
telling Trump "you're fired."
"Get her out," he
intoned threateningly. The crowd jeered the woman and chanted "USA,
USA."
On and on, Trump told
anecdotes and rambled through his grievances. Over and over he insisted that
impeachment didn't matter.
"I'm not worried,"
he said to the crowd. "I don't know about you but I'm having a good
time." - AFP
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