Former President Donald Trump held the first major rally of his campaign on Saturday in Waco, Texas, railing against the “deep state” on the 30th anniversary of the deadly standoff between federal agents and an anti-government cult leader in the same town.
“Either the deep state destroys America, or we destroy the deep state,” Trump told the crowd of supporters, per NBC News’ Jonathan Allen. (Trump allies also dismissed suggestions that the rally site was a reference to the standoff.)
Trump added that when he wins the election, “You will be vindicated and proud, and the thugs and criminals who are corrupting our justice system will be defeated, discredited and totally disgraced.”
His statements come as he awaits a possible indictment in a hush-money case, and as he faces other investigations. On Friday, a federal judge ruled that some of Trump’s former aides have to testify in the investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Also on Friday, Trump’s lawyer testified in a case about how the former president handled classified documents.
But Trump insisted he is not distracted by the possibility that he could be arrested, telling reporters on his plane, “I did nothing wrong. I have a lot of confidence. I did nothing wrong. We’ve proven our case. 100%. They can’t. There’s nothing they could do,” per NBC News’ Vaughn Hillyard.
In other campaign news…
Trump’s team: Trump also rolled out his “Texas leadership team” on Saturday. The list did not include Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott, but it did include other statewide officials, such as Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton. The list also included 11 House Republicans from Texas.
DeSantis’ team: Erin Perrine, who served as a top press aide for Trump’s 2020 campaign, has joined the pro-DeSantis super PAC, per CBS News.
Co-frontrunners: New polls from the GOP polling firm Public Opinion Strategies (the Republican half that co-conducts the NBC News poll) find DeSantis leading Trump in Iowa and tied with the former president in New Hampshire, per Axios.
Ro not running: Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., announced over the weekend that he will not run for Senate, instead endorsing Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee.
She’s running (for Senate): Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren announced Monday morning that she is seeking a third term in the Senate, saying in her launch video, “There’s a lot more we’ve got to do.”
Crabby about the Senate: Republicans are still trying to recruit former GOP Gov. Larry Hogan to run for Senate, per Politico, but he doesn’t seem interested. Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin is up for re-election next year, but Politico also reports that “political insiders” expect Cardin to retire.
Primary watch: Republican State Treasurer Dale Folwell announced over the weekend that he is running for governor of North Carolina, per the Associated Press. GOP Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson is also widely expected to run in the open seat race (incumbent Dem Gov. Roy Cooper cannot seek another term due to term limits).
Beshear says no: Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, who is running for re-election this year, vetoed on Friday a bill related to transgender youth, which sought to bar gender-affirming care and discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools, among other things.
Eight days out: Chicago’s mayoral race continues to heat up about a week before the runoff election. NBC News’ Natasha Korecki reports that race, in a contest between a Black progressive and a white moderate, has loomed large in the final weeks before the runoff. And former school chief Paul Vallas won the backing from former Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin over the weekend.
