Former US President Donald Trump claimed at his third “Save America” rally on Saturday night that Americans do not have freedom of expression anymore, describing a strong system “for media and online censorship” which only sets forth the political vision of the Democratic Party, including Trump attacking democracy over potential electoral fraud.
“We have a truly sick election system, it’s got to be changed,” said the 45th US president to thousands of his supporters gathered in Robarts Arena in Sarasota, Florida.
“Remember this, I am not the one trying to undermine American democracy,” he stated in response to inherited media and democratic demands.
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“I am the one trying to save American democracy.”
Both Democrats and Republicans have traded barbs since the chaotic 2020 elections, which Trump claims he’s not giving up, awaiting the outcome of a full audit of Maricopa County, Arizona, which was conducted independently of the Secretary of State’s office. It is anticipated that other audits will continue in other jurisdictions.
“We can’t let them take away our free speech so we can[‘t] talk about corrupt elections. Otherwise you’ll have … that’s communism. That’s what they do in these communist countries, you have no voice,” Trump warned.
Communist and socialist states like Cuba and Venezuela are still caught up in repeated rounds of contested elections, with their populations divided between the recognition of two leaders, and both sides of the political spectrum accusing one another of electoral fraud.
Democrats used COVID to cheat. They illegally changed the rules in key states. They stole the votes
Trump continued.
They abolished signature verification requirements, created a powerful system for media and the online censorship of their opponents, and did everything possible to facilitate fraud just like you would do in a third world country. That’s what happened with this election.
Trump singled out the Right Side Broadcasting Network (RSBN), which was suspended by YouTube from live-streaming on their channel for only a few hours before the rally. RSBN has been reporting on Trump’s public appearances since July 2015. As a result of the suspension, the company switched to the video platform Rumble to broadcast Trump’s speech.
He cited Facebook as a case in point, making reference to reports that Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, and his wife, Priscilla Chan, partly funded an NGO that randomly distributed $350 million to around 2,500 election officials in 48 states and the District of Columbia, which could have contributed to an increase in Democratic turnout.
Trump, faithful to the declared mission of his campaign office “Save America”, said he will continue working to help secure support for “Republicans or MAGA” in the upcoming 2022 elections, with the goal of retaking the House and the Senate.
But to do this, the 75-year-old stated that action is required to restore confidence and transparency for all Americans in the nation’s electoral systems.
“We got them by surprise in 2016. And then they work for four years to make sure it didn’t happen again,” Trump said.
He again questioned President Joe Biden’s vote, saying that he had a hard time believing that Biden obtained more black votes than former President Barack Obama.
Trump said, like many other things, including Wuhan’s virus laboratory leak theory and its border policies, he finds his claims about a “rigged election” will be proven to be true.
“I wonder what I will be proved right about next. Perhaps it will be the election, perhaps,” he said.
Trump further added that Republicans across the country are joining forces to secure future elections, by progressing legislation to demand voter ID, universal signature verification, citizenship confirmation, the chain of custody integrity controls, and updated voter rolls.
“That’s before the elections, not after the elections,” Trump added, amid his criticism of Democrat actions passed ahead of the 2020 election to expand voter access that he said in effect reduced voter security in the name of needing to allow people to vote from home during the pandemic.
He said that Republicans “will restore the right to free speech in America again, which we don’t have.”
Hundreds of Trump’s supporters had lined up for the event overnight, with a large crowd staying until past 8 p.m. for Trump’s speech despite a thunderstorm ahead of Tropical Storm Elsa.
Trump remarked that if American voters had faith in the integrity of the 2020 election, he wouldn’t have so many people still attending his rallies.
“If we lost the election … I wouldn’t have a crowd that goes beyond what the eye can see, that stays in a thunderstorm,” he said of the crowd.
He then joked that some of the women in attendance were “a mess” from the pouring rain, adding “but the truth is, you look more beautiful now than you did when you went to the beauty parlor … You’re real, it’s great.”
He also dismissed legal efforts launched by New York prosecutors to bring charges against his company, the Trump Organization, and its chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg over “fringe benefits.”
“It’s really called prosecutorial misconduct. It’s a terrible, terrible thing,” Trump said of the legal efforts, contrasting them against cases of murder and human trafficking that he said were not pursued to the full extent by prosecutors. Weisselberg has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis did not join Trump at the rally after both decided the state leader would remain in South Florida to oversee recovery efforts for the condominium collapse at Surfside and preparations for Elsa, according to state GOP Chairman Sen. Joe Gruters, local media reported.
Trump’s speech was followed by a fireworks display in celebration of Independence Day, when “56 brave patriots at Philadelphia proudly declared our independence and boldly proclaimed the eternal truth that we are all made equal by the almighty hand of our creator,” Trump said.
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“With the spirit of July 4, 1776 stirring in our souls … We will make our elections free and safe again, we will make America powerful again, we will make America wealthy again, we will make America strong again, we will make America proud again, we will make America safe again, and we will make America great again,” he said in his closing remarks.