1 year ago
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Former president appeared subdued in New York, only to return to his campaigning, inflammatory ways hours later in Florida. Plus, the campaigners using using dating apps to boost voter turnout
Good morning.
Simmering with anger and defiance, Donald Trump returned to the safe space of Mar-a-Lago and his loyal supporters last night, seeking to turn his status as an accused criminal into a political war cry. The former president ignored a plea from the judge in the case to refrain from inflammatory rhetoric, even launching a broadside at the judge’s daughter over her political connections.
What did he say in his speech? “I never thought anything like this could happen in America,” Trump said. “I never thought it could happen. The only crime that I have committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it.”
What was he charged with? He pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges of falsifying business records in what prosecutors alleged was a conspiracy to influence the 2016 presidential election by silencing claims of extramarital affairs. In a 13-page statement of facts, the district attorney accused Trump of having “orchestrated a scheme” with the intent “to influence the 2016 presidential election by identifying and purchasing negative information about him to suppress its publication and benefit the defendant’s electoral prospects”.
Trump arraignment at a glance: what we know so far
Why did Protasiewicz decide to run? In a March interview with the Guardian, she said the future of democracy in Wisconsin and at the national level motivated her to run. “I thought about our democracy, and our democracy being at stake. And that’s why I decided to do it. All the issues that we care about are going to come in front of this court. But primarily, primarily, our democracy is on the line.”
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