Trump back to Washington for first time since 2020 defeat to testify

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
26 Jul 2022 08:09

The former US president visits Washington for the first time after the 2020 defeat and is to speak at the America First Policy Institute.

Trump returns to Washington for first time since 2020 defeat.

Donald Trump returns to Washington on Tuesday for the first time since leaving the White House following a failed bid to overturn his election loss to Joe Biden.

Trump is slated to speak at the America First Policy Institute, a think tank operated by loyalists, as he continues to hint at candidacy for re-election in 2024.

He'll be testifying in a city gripped by weeks of hearings by a Democratic-led House committee on the January 6, 2021 violence in which Trump supporters stormed Congress, attempting to prevent the election outcome from being certified, resulting in a number of deaths and injuries.

The Republican continues to push his claim in speeches that he was denied victory in 2020, but America First Policy Institute Spokesperson Marc Lotter said Trump will be looking forward, not back. "This is a policy speech he will be giving," he told CNN.

Capitol hearings

The Capitol riot hearings, which exposed frightening details of the assault on Congress, as well as Trump political supporters' attempt to overturn the election by manipulating the convoluted US electoral system, are seen to have harmed Trump.

Biden, who avoided using Trump's name at the start of his presidency, delivered a stinging tirade on the Republican's failure to rein in his horde of fans on Monday.

"Brave law enforcement officers were subject to the medieval hell for three hours, dripping in blood, surrounded by carnage, face to face with the crazed mob that believed the lies of the defeated president," Biden told the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives Conference.

"For three hours, the defeated former president of the United States watched it all happen as he sat in the comfort of the private dining room next to the Oval Office," he said.

Trump in pole position

Trump is by far the most well-known name in Republican politics. He is thought to have a devoted following, putting him in the first place if he decides to run for the party's candidacy. Potential competitors are gaining ground as negative publicity mounts.

All eyes are on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has not declared a presidential bid but is gaining clout on the right.

In addition, according to a recent New York Times/Siena College poll, nearly half of Republican primary voters would vote for any Republican other than Trump.

Last week, the right-wing editorial boards of the Murdoch family's two newspapers, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post, delivered strong criticisms of Trump's behavior during the January 6 disaster.

Trump demonstrated that he is "unworthy" of being elected president again, according to the usually sympathetic Post.

However, both Trump and his picture of a leftist-attacked America continue to be bolstered by hugely popular Fox News commentators.

"Across American history, our era is easily among the most fraught -- and the most alarming," wrote the leaders of the pro-Trump think tank, including his former economy advisor Larry Kudlow.

Tea was spilled in the last #Capitol riot hearing, as Cassidy Hutchinson revealed firsthand stories about #Trump's chaotic behavior before, during, and after the riots.#CapitolRiot #CapitolAttack #January6thHearings pic.twitter.com/7ko35ToJRM
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) June 29, 2022