Donald Trump returns to campaign rallies, draws thousands in South Carolina

PICKENS: Former President Donald Trump returned to the massive rallies of his previous presidential campaigns on Saturday, speaking to thousands gathered in the streets of a small South Carolina town ahead of the July 4 holiday. “There’s no better place to start the Fourth of July weekend than right here on Main St., where thousands of hardworking South Carolina patriots believe in God, family, and country,” Trump told the standing crowd. Asphalt as temperatures climb into the 90s.

It was not immediately clear how many people had gathered in the streets of downtown Pickens, a small town of about 3,400 residents in the conservative upstate of South Carolina. Law enforcement officials told some media outlets that about 15,000 people had gathered by 11 a.m., two hours before Trump’s remarks. The heavily Republican area is a popular area for GOP candidates as they aim to attract support for South Carolina’s first-in-the-South presidential primary.

In recent months, other candidates including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy have held events in the upstate, as well as two South Carolinians in the race: former Governor Nikki Haley and Sen. Tim Scott. But none drew crowds like Trump, whose presence effectively shut down the quintessential Southern town of Pickens.

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Unlike his 2016 and 2020 campaigns, which attracted thousands to rallies in states across the country, Trump’s 2024 effort is markedly different. Earlier this year, instead of addressing voters in a gymnasium or airplane hangar, Trump held his first South Carolina campaign event inside the Statehouse in Columbia, and met his state leadership team in an ornate lobby between the House and the Senate. Attended the meeting by invitation only. room.

In other states, the former president has focused his efforts on smaller events, including a series of speeches before state party organizations, as he works to consolidate his position with delegates and local officials. It was only the second major rally of Trump’s 2024 campaign. In March, he rallied in Waco, Texas, defying prosecutors investigating him on charges of secret money laundering—to which he was later convicted—and predicted his conviction. A planned outdoor rally in Iowa was canceled in May due to tornado warnings.

Rallies are also expensive to hold, although Trump continues to raise millions in funding despite a New York indictment and federal charges related to his possession of classified documents after leaving the White House. Last month, senior Trump aide Chris LaCivita told the conservative Ruthless Podcast that the rallies cost “five million dollars a pop.” Trump’s campaign has also leaned on unannounced stops at restaurants — such as Friday at the famed Philadelphia cheesesteak restaurant or Versailles, a famous Cuban eatery in Miami — to show his strong appeal among supporters despite numerous legal challenges.

In a broad GOP field that continues to grow, Trump’s campaign has shown him with a considerable lead over his rivals in polls, despite a campaign program that is far less robust than many of his rivals. She has also given frequent media interviews and appeared at several multi-candidate events so far in the primary season, including last week’s Moms for Liberty gathering in Philadelphia. Still, a chance to see the former president in person drew thousands from across the Southeast for Saturday’s rally, with participants starting to line up the night before and traveling from as far away as Florida. were also coming from Greg Pressley and his wife, Robin, said they traveled more than three hours from their home in East Tennessee to see the candidate they have supported since first running for office in 2016.

Greg Pressley said, “Donald Trump is the best president in history.” “I like his policies. I love that man. I’m here to help him get back to where he should have been in the beginning.” Shelley Fox of Spartanburg, who said she has supported Trump since entering the 2016 race, said she would It did not even seem necessary to think of any other candidate for the year’s election. When asked what she would do if forced to consider another candidate, she said, “I will write to him.”