‘I’m going to reverse Bidenomics’ Trump says before SC GOP crowd after third indictment
Donald Trump promised South Carolina conservatives a revitalized economy by dismantling what he calls “Bidenomics,” an approach that he says has caused excessive inflation, surges in gas prices and a steady rise in mortgage and interest rates.
The former president headlined the South Carolina Silver Elephant Gala on Saturday, a Republican-led black tie optional fundraising event that featured a crowd of more than 1,300.
“Under my leadership, we built the greatest economy in the history of the world,” Trump said. “When I get back in office, I’m going to reverse Bidenomics and restore the trajectory I created toward increasing this country’s financial prosperity.”
Trump touted economic policies that led to the creation of 20,000 manufacturing jobs in South Carolina during his administration, and $140 million in federal dollars to help make the port of Charleston the deepest port on the east coast.
“Crooked Joe Biden only cares about enriching his family,” Trump said. “I care about enriching your family. And in every poll, we’re kicking Biden’s (butt).”
Trump arrived in the state toting the endorsement from House Speaker Murrell Smith, who announced Saturday his support for Trump in the primary.
“I am convinced that Donald J. Trump is the only person who can rescue our nation from the disastrous policies of the Biden-Harris administration,” Smith wrote in an op-ed published in the Post and Courier on Saturday.
Smith joins Gov. Henry McMaster, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, Treasurer Curtis Loftis, Congressmen Russell Fry, William Timmons and Joe Wilson, former U.S. Attorney Peter McCoy, former ambassador to Switzerland Ed McMullen and former Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer in supporting the former president.
Speakers in past years at the gala include former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and current House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The event is a fundraiser for the state Republican Party and is an opportunity to speak in front of a conservative crowd who will cast ballots in the First in the South presidential primary.
Winning the South Carolina primary — which will follow Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada — is key. The winner of the First in the South primary has gone on to win the Republican nomination every cycle since 1980, except in 2012.
Trump is the front runner for the 2024 GOP nomination for president. Trump won the South Carolina primary in 2016 and carried the state in the General Election in 2016 and 2020.
A recent Fox Business poll had Trump leading all other candidates with 48% of support from GOP primary voters in the Palmetto State. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley was in second place with 14% of the support. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was in third with 13%, and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., had 10% of support.
Trump’s return to South Carolina capped off a week when he was indicted on criminal charges for a third time this year. The latest indictment deals with efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
But even in the face of additional criminal charges, Trump supporters continue to embrace the former president, including McMaster.
“These cases against Donald Trump are losers,” McMaster said. “It has been said that you can put lipstick on a pig, but I don’t think all the lipstick in the world can turn these pigs into princesses.”
The former president repeated claims he is being persecuted by the Biden administration’s Department of Justice and that the 2020 election was stolen.
Trump’s own attorney general has said there was no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election.
Saturday was Trump’s third visit to South Carolina this year. He rolled out his state campaign leadership team in January at a small event inside the State House and then drew tens of thousands of people to a rally last month in the Upstate town of Pickens.
Despite this week’s indictment, Trump has been making the rounds to shore up his support. On Friday, he spoke at the Alabama Republican Party Summer Dinner where he was introduce by U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville.
South Carolina Democrats criticized the former president before he arrived Saturday.
“Trump has shown us time and time again that he doesn’t care about the people of South Carolina. But you know who he does care about? The ultra-wealthy and the powerful,” said state Rep. Ivory Thigpen, D-Richland. “Trump spent every minute in office kneecapping working families while shelling out money to rich folks and corporations.”
“Donald Trump has never put the American people first. He uses his power to line the pockets of his special interest donors at the expense of working families, and he would do the same again if elected,” Thigpen added.
Drew McKissick said this is the largest Silver Elephant Gala the state party has ever held with between 1,350 and 1,400 people attending. He would not specifically disclose how much money would was raised but said it would be the most ever at the event.
“My job is to raise money for the party and when I’ve got this many candidates who want to be in South Carolina, I want to do as many individual events with all of them as I possibly can to raise as much money as I can so we can beat Democrats next year,” McKissick said.
McKissick, who is the Republican National Committee co-chair, deflected any concerns about the Republican Party nominating someone who has been indicted and possibly having a criminal conviction.
“My job’s not to handicap the candidates,” McKissick said. “My job is to put together a stage (so) as many of our activists and volunteers and donors can actually come and hear from the candidates who want to become our nominee, let them pick the nominee and then go win the election. Politics works best when everybody knows their job and sticks to their role. That’s what I’m doing.”
John Wentzell, 71, a retired CPA from Irmo, is backing the former president in the primary.
“He did a great job his first time around even though he got hijacked and railroaded and I feel he’ll continue to do the same,” Wentzell said of Trump.
“A lot of things haven’t been too good. A lot of railroading going on as that’s just disappointing. It’s too bad that we are a part of (parties). We should all just be Americans.There’s so much acrimony among people from all sides.”
He called the indictment a tit for tat with the Hunter Biden legal issues.
But Wentzell is not concerned with how much the 2020 election gets brought up during Trump’s campaign.
“I think it is brought up to remind people as to how things were, and they can compare it to how things are,” Wentzell said.
