Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Former President Donald Trump\u2019s rally Saturday night in Florence, Ariz., was an attempt to add a distinctly MAGA tilt to the midterm election season. <\/p>\n
But for the thousands of his most faithful followers \u2014 some of whom traveled to the rally site at Canyon Moon Ranch from neighboring states \u2014 it was a chance to imagine and push for the former president\u2019s own attempt to regain office. Attendees called for Trump to run again in 2024. Many doubted he was truly ousted from the White House in the first place. <\/p>\n
\u201cI hope states decertify the election. I want to hear him say it\u2019s over, we are ready to move on and hold a new election,\u201d said Ray Kallatsa from Tucson, who arrived at the rally site early. \u201cI do think it\u2019s possible, very possible.\u201d <\/p>\n
Arizona is the epicenter for Trump\u2019s false claims of a stolen election. Over the course of the past year, his allies have attempted to undermine the 2020 results with a widely criticized and partisan ballot review in Maricopa County that only reinforced President Joe Biden\u2019s win. <\/p>\n
The opening speakers for Trump included many of the main figures pushing conspiracies that there was widespread, coordinated voter fraud in 2020. MyPillow CEO and Trump ally Mike Lindell promised he had \u201cenough evidence\u201d to prove the election was rigged \u2014 a claim he\u2019s been teasing for months. Trump-endorsed gubernatorial candidate and former local news anchor Kari Lake called for those who were involved in the \u201cshoddy\u201d 2020 election to be locked up. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), who was recently censured by Congress for sharing an animated video depicting the murder of another House member, told people to prepare for the next election.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you feel the storm building? It\u2019s America,\u201d He said using a phrase commonly said by QAnon conspiracy followers as winds whipped up dust and dirt across the festival grounds.<\/p>\n
Spread out in a sea of red MAGA hats and T-shirts emblazoned with \u201cTrump won,\u201d the former president\u2019s fans roared in support as he aired complaints about the election and made swipes at the Biden administration. To an almost entirely maskless crowd, Trump taunted infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci and criticized vaccine mandates. And he raised popular conspiracy theories about the Jan. 6 riots, trying to recast that day one year ago as a peaceful protest and the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol as \u201cpolitical prisoners.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThese people are living in hell, they’re being hounded like you hound the worst animals,\u201d Trump said. \u201cThe real insurrection took place on Election Day, Nov. 3,\u201d Trump said. <\/p>\n
The crowd gave a standing ovation.<\/p>\n
Photo editing by Katie Ellsworth. <\/p>\n