Republican candidate Donald Trump scored another major victory on Friday after his sentencing in New York was pushed back until after the US presidential election.
Convicted of criminal charges in New York at the end of May, the former president will learn the details of his sentence at the end of November, three weeks after the election, rather than in September.
The septuagenarian welcomed the postponement, decided by a judge, saying that the case “should be closed”. “I did nothing wrong!” he said.
– “Witch Hunts” –
The decision was announced just minutes after Donald Trump gave a rambling speech in New York that focused on his legal troubles.
Sporting his traditional red tie, he spoke indiscriminately about his civil trial for sexual assault and his criminal conviction for concealed payments to a pornographic actress during the 2016 presidential campaign. He also attacked his lawyers.
It was only after 40 minutes of this singular tirade that the Republican began to mention his Democratic rival, assuring that he was “largely ahead” in the polls for the presidential election on November 5.
Opinion polls are much more nuanced on this question, placing the two candidates neck and neck for the time being.
The Republican then flew to North Carolina, one of the most contested states in the presidential election, where he received the support of a powerful police union.
The former president blames Joe Biden and the vice president for a crime wave linked to illegal immigration.
“Kamala Harris and the communists have caused a real bloodbath in our country,” he said from Charlotte, something that the statistics contradict.
Security and immigration remain subjects on which Kamala Harris lacks credibility, according to several polls.
– Preparation of the debate –
His campaign team sought to respond on Friday by releasing a letter of support signed by police officers.
“In November, Americans will have to choose between someone who has spent his life enforcing our laws and someone who has been convicted of breaking them,” the message read, referring to the Democrat’s former career as a prosecutor and her opponent’s criminal conviction in New York.
Donald Trump, who is being prosecuted in several other cases including for trying to reverse the result of the 2020 presidential election, will hold a campaign rally on Saturday in Wisconsin, another highly contested state in this indirect universal suffrage election.
Her rival set up camp in Pennsylvania on Thursday, her base camp to prepare for the debate with her Republican opponent, organized on September 10 by the ABC channel in Philadelphia.
The vice president, who has given only one interview since entering the race, also gave a radio interview Friday, calling for “turning the page on the Trump era.”
– Big money –
According to media reports, she is expected to make a few public appearances before the televised debate, breaking with Joe Biden’s strategy of disappearing from the radar for several days to prepare for his June confrontation with Donald Trump, during which he completely lost his footing.
The fifty-year-old will be able to rely on a substantial war chest.
Her campaign team announced that it had raised $361 million in August, “three times more” than the opposing camp, she assures.
The Democrat has a reserve of fresh cash of 404 million dollars, less than two months before an election that is causing pharaonic spending on both sides, notably on electoral advertising.
Donald Trump’s campaign team had reported $295 million immediately available.
Kamala Harris, who is seeking to broaden her base by winning over moderate voters, won the notable endorsement of former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney on Friday.
The octogenarian, known for his ultra-conservative positions, assured that Donald Trump constituted the “greatest threat” to democracy in all of American political history, particularly because of his role during the assault on the Capitol.
cjc-aue/cha
Related News :