Donald Trump flew in a private jet to Las Vegas on Friday, where he campaigned on behalf of Sheriff Joe Lombardo, who is running for governor, and former Attorney General Adam Laxalt, running for U.S. Senate. Trump’s Nevada theme was crime and corruption, and he spoke for 45 minutes about those and other policy goals before a crowd of 300 at the Treasure Island resort.
Trump blasted Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak for “letting your state go to hell,” and for allowing it to become “a cesspool of crime.” The venue was not designed as one of the Save America rallies; Las Vegas reached 110 degrees on Friday — not the kind of weather in which one has people standing for several hours waiting to get into a stadium. The Las Vegas event was a fill-in appearance on the way to Alaska for the main show.
Trump spent the night in Las Vegas before heading for Anchorage Saturday, where he held forth for 98 minutes in the largest indoor venue available in Alaska’s largest city, a university basketball stadium that was packed to the gills with Trump fans. Alaskans came to hear Trump, and he delivered, giving the crowd everything they hoped for and more. He did not hold back, and for many, this was the event of a lifetime.
Before leaving Anchorage on Sunday, he said, I’m still in Alaska after an incredible Rally last night in Anchorage. The crowd and enthusiasm were incredible. Didn’t want to just fly in and fly out of a State that I won twice in a ‘landslide.’ It’s called respect for a great place. I’ll be leaving in two hours, and will miss Alaska, but the people know that no President has ever done so much for Alaska as I have – and that was great for the U.S. also!”
Trump turned 76 one month ago. In November of 2024, when he hopes to be elected president again, he will be 78-1/2 years old, a year younger than President Joe Biden is today. Neither men are young by any standard.
But Joe Biden years are not Donald Trump years. While Biden mangles sentences and searches for words, Trump delivers tongue twisters and jokes. He says the names of dead terrorists, dates they were dispatched, and events that occurred afterwards — mostly without notes.
The Trump who came to Anchorage seemed every bit as vital and focused as the Trump that came down the escalator at Trump Tower in 2015, when he first — to the sneers and jeers of the mainstream media — audaciously announced his run for the U.S. presidency. His remarks started at nearly 4:30 pm Alaska time — 8:30 pm East Coast time, and yet he showed no sign of fatigue.
As he has around the country, Trump thrived on the Save America rally in Anchorage, even though the venue is small compared to the stadiums he usually appears in. A typical Trump event has tens of thousands attending, and more waiting outside, just to soak up the atmosphere.
But even in an arena that held just 6,000, Trump gave it his all, as though there were 50,000 in attendance. He was on a mission to convince Alaskans that Sen. Lisa Murkowski has been bad for the state, and that Kelly Tshibaka will be a change for the good.
His speech was all over the map on substantive topics of national interest. He talked about the humiliation the nation had suffered from the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, which took the lives of 13 soldiers and which left many more Americans wounded. He talked about his negotiations with the Taliban and how he kept them in check — by showing them photos of their homes right after the U.S. had taken out a known terrorist. That got their attention, he implied. He said that had he remained president, Americans would not have lost their lives in a U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Sometimes Trump would use the teleprompter, but most of the time he spoke off the cuff, and he personalized his message for Alaska, talking up the importance of Alaska’s role in securing energy independence once more, the state’s strategic geographic location, and the key role that Sen. Lisa Murkowski has played in taking down the entire nation by enabling President Joe Biden’s America Last agenda and voting against Alaska’s interests time and again.
Trump veered off his prepared remarks at several points, once even inviting to the stage a couple of people wearing unique Trump-themed t-shirts, with Trump’s face printed all over them. He joked about how he wanted those shirts. Another time he joked about his hair and said if he could only thicken it up, he’d get a crew cut. He joked about President Biden, and how he can’t string two words together without being unintelligible. Trump joked about the two “fake” impeachment votes against him in the U.S. House, and reminded the crowd that Sen. Murkowski voted in favor of impeaching him in February of 2021 (after he was no longer president.)
Although he is not an announced candidate for president, and although he steered clear of saying when he will announce, it was apparent the event in Anchorage was a campaign warm-up for a 2024 Trump presidential run. By stumping for other candidates in the midterm, Trump is able to keep his profile high, remain influential in political life, keep the media engaged in battle with him, and remind people of the differences in their lives from when he was in office and what America is like now, with the current officeholder. Any announcement of his candidacy would come after the 2022 midterm elections, likely early 2023.
Can Trump take the rigors of a bruising national campaign again? It appears he can and he will. It appears almost certain. Trump has the stamina of a man 10 or 15 years younger than his biological age. He is energized and thrives on campaigning.
It’s been generations since Alaskans had such a powerful and well-attended event. The last time there was a crowd like this in Alaska was when Rev. Billy Graham flew into Anchorage in 1984 to speak at the Sullivan Arena to a packed house. He was the first speaker to book the brand new arena and Alaskans came by the thousands for the Billy Graham Crusade. (This year, the Sullivan Arena is in disrepair after being used as a homeless camp for the past 30 months and was an unusable venue.)
When Trump stepped out from behind the curtain onto the ramp leading to the stage on Saturday, the applause was thunderous, and he knew how to connect.
The comparison between Trump and Biden is stark. Biden campaigned from his basement in 2020, and when he did attend events, they were tightly controlled, with only a chosen few reporters attending, being kept 10 or more feet apart with painted circles designating their spaces.
Today, Biden can’t seem to put in a four-day work week, and has all the signs of advanced dementia: Difficulty speaking, expressing his thoughts, reading the wrong notes on the teleprompter, and not knowing where he is supposed to be at events. He’s tightly scripted and, even then, his handlers have to explain to the media what Biden meant to say after nearly every media exposure.
Biden’s approval rating, by most measures, is between poor and awful. A Civiq’s poll, which is an ongoing survey, shows found Biden in poor standing in every age bracket of voter, with an average approval rating of 29% (Biden enjoys a 28% approval rating among voters in Alaska). Among younger voters, ages 18-34, Biden only has a 20% approval.
Trump, by comparison, is articulate, bold, engaged, and unscripted. Trump events are still crowded, loud, and energized, just like the man who appears to be on a mission to retake the presidency in just 28 months.
What Trump had in 2016 — campaign mojo and a solid connection to the working men and women of America — appears to be as strong as ever.
What was your impression of the Trump Save America rally in Anchorage? Add your thoughts in the comment section.
[Photo at top of page: Al Grillo]
