Trump Cut Back On In-Person Events To Save Money And Attend Court Hearings. According to Axios, “Former President Trump has cut back on rallies and some campaigning to save money and attend court hearings, but he's making a habit of calling into live events to deliver messages to far-right supporters.” [Axios, 2/18/24]
Trump Called Into Events To Court Far-Right Groups Without Being Seen Next To Them. According to Axios, “For Trump it's become an efficient, low-cost way to connect with fans and surrogates — and a way to court fringe political groups and their followers without appearing on a stage or in photos with them.” [Axios, 2/18/24]
VIDEO: May 13, 2023: Trump Called Into An Event On The ReAwaken America Tour. [YouTube, 5/13/23]
During The Call, Trump Promised To Bring Flynn Back In A Second Trump Administration. According to Axios, “During one Trump call last May, a crowd of several thousand people erupted as the former president's voice boomed through a microphone and he declared Flynn ‘some general, some man who took abuse like nobody could have handled’ — and vowed to bring Flynn back into government in a second Trump administration. Flynn — Trump's former national security adviser — twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, and has peddled conspiracy theories about George Soros and Bill Gates creating the coronavirus.” [Axios, 2/18/24]
NPR: The ReAwaken America Tour Was “Part QAnon Expo And Part Political Relay” Conceived By Michael Flynn. According to NPR, “Each stop of the ReAwaken America Tour is part conservative Christian revival, part QAnon expo and part political rally. It features big name stars in the MAGA galaxy, including MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, Trump adviser Roger Stone and former President Donald Trump's son, Eric. There are meet and greets, a buffet and, lately, baptisms and the casting out of demons. The show was conceived in the months after former national security adviser Michael Flynn received a pardon from Trump. Flynn connected with Clay Clark, an Oklahoma man who had been hosting local, anti-lockdown gatherings during the pandemic. The two put on their first event in Tulsa in April 2021. The most recent stop in Pennsylvania Amish country was their 16th show together.” [NPR, 11/2/22]
ReAwaken America Members Continued To Claim That The 2020 Election Was Stolen. According to Axios, “Reawaken America members support Trump's claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him, and they tout a range of QAnon conspiracy theories — including some far-right Christians' belief that America is in its final days.” [Axios, 2/18/24]
The Trump Campaign Stated That Trump Called Into The ReAwaken America Tour Because “People Can't Get Enough Of Him.” According to Axios, “Asked about the ReAwaken America Tour, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung says he doesn't know much about it beyond what he reads in the press. ‘People can't get enough of him, even if it's spurts of him,’ Cheung said of Trump's habit of calling into various events. ‘It goes to show that there's stuff he does in a private setting for people, not for the coverage.’” [Axios, 2/18/24]
September 14, 2022: Trump Called Into A Rally Supporting January 6 Insurrectionists At A D.C. Jail. According to Washingtonian, “Former President Trump called into a small rally held in support of January 6 prisoners at the DC Jail Tuesday. He phoned Micki Witthoeft, whose daughter Ashli Babbitt was killed during the assault Trump supporters led on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.” [Washingtonian, 9/14/22]
At The Rally, Trump Said The Insurrectionists Who Were Held Imprisoned Were “Being Treated Very, Very Unfairly.” According to Washingtonian, “Trump appeared to describe the imprisonment of January 6 suspects as ‘a terrible thing that has happened to a lot of people that are being treated very, very unfairly’ and complained about Michael Byrd, the US Capitol Police officer who shot Babbitt, appearing on television, which he said was a ‘disgrace.’” [Washingtonian, 9/14/22]
VIDEO: March 20, 2023: Trump Called Into An Event With Pastors For Trump. [YouTube, 3/20/23]
Pastors For Trump Was Tied To Roger Stone And Michael Flynn. According to the Guardian, “A far-right religious group with ties to Donald Trump loyalists Roger Stone and retired Army Lt Gen Michael Flynn is planning events with pastors in swing-state churches in Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and elsewhere to spur more evangelical backing for the former US president’s 2024 campaign. But the group, Pastors for Trump, is drawing sharp rebukes from mainstream Christian leaders for being extremist, distorting Christian teachings and endangering American democracy by fueling the spread of Christian nationalism. The Oklahoma-based evangelical pastor and businessman Jackson Lahmeyer leads the fledgling Pastors for Trump organization. Lahmeyer told the Guardian it boasts over 7,000 pastors as members and that he will unveil details about its plans on 11 May at the Trump National Doral in Miami, an event Trump will be invited to attend.” [Guardian, 5/1/23]
Mainstream Christian Leaders Said Pastors For Trump Was An Extremist Group. According to the Guardian, “But the group, Pastors for Trump, is drawing sharp rebukes from mainstream Christian leaders for being extremist, distorting Christian teachings and endangering American democracy by fueling the spread of Christian nationalism.” [Guardian, 5/1/23]
AUDIO: December 21, 2023: Trump Called Into An Event With His National Faith Advisory Board. [SoundCloud, 12/21/23]
Trump’s National Faith Advisory Board Was Led By Televangelist Paula White. According to Forward, “Named the National Faith Advisory Board, the coalition is a replica of the White House’s Faith and Opportunity Initiative — created by former President Donald Trump in 2018 and revoked by President Joe Biden when he took office — headed by Paula White, a Florida televangelist who was brought into the Trump administration to help shore up support among evangelicals.” [Forward, 8/30/21]
White Claimed That “Demonic Confederacies” Tried To “Steal The Election From Trump.” According to USA Today, “White-Cain also stated that ‘demonic confederacies...are attempting to steal the election from Trump.’ As of Thursday morning, Joe Biden had 264 electoral votes and Trump 214, according to USA TODAY counts.” [USA Today, 11/5/20]
February 2024: Trump Called Into An Event With His Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson. According to Axios, “This month, Trump spoke through former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson's phone at the Pennsylvania Republican State Committee dinner: ‘We have to win Pennsylvania to turn our country around — and we should, based on everything.’” [Axios, 2/18/24]
Carson Compared Abortion To “Human Sacrifice.” According to the Washington Times, “Ben Carson, retired neurosurgeon-turned-conservative rock star — and an open follower of the Christian faith — likely ruffled liberal feathers with his most recent comment on abortion, during which he likened it to the biblical act of sacrificing humans. […] Mr. Carson’s response seemed to refer to biblical passages that highlight God’s condemnation of pagan nations and religions that relied on human sacrifice — including the burning to death of children — as a means of appeasing and honoring their worshiped figures. ‘It’s interesting,’ Mr. Carson said, Raw Story reported, ‘that we sit around and call other ancient civilizations ‘heathen’ because of human sacrifice, but aren’t we actually guilty of the same thing?’” [Washington Times, 7/2/14]
In Same Interview, Carson Claimed Americans Were Moving Closer To The Position That, “Abortion Is Murder.” According to LifeNews, “Dr. Ben Carson has a way of putting things in perspective that endears him to pro-life activists. The neurosurgeon and the author of six best-selling books makes another compelling point about the issue of abortion that is sure to have everyone who opposes abortion concurring. […] ‘Well, it’s interesting that we sit around and call other ancient civilizations heathen because of human sacrifice but aren’t we actually guilty of the same thing?’ said Dr. Carson in reference to a question about abortion. ‘The good thing is the American populace is moving closer and closer to understanding that abortion is murder. Every year we’re getting better on that regard.’” [LifeNews, 8/6/14]
February 13, 2023: Trump Called Into A Meeting For Club 45 USA. According to Facebook, “At the Club 45 USA meeting on February 13, President Trump called in to tell us that he will be speaking in person at our Club 45 USA’s special President’s Day meeting!” [Facebook, 2/15/23]
February 20, 2023: Club 45 USA Was Renamed Club 47 USA. According to a tweet from Henry Rodgers, “NEWS: Club 45 USA is changing their name to Club 47 USA for former President Donald Trump. Just announced.” [Twitter, @henryrodgersdc, 2/20/23]
AUDIO: November 6, 2023: Trump Called Into A Campaign Event For Daniel Cameron. [SoundCloud, 11/6/23]
AUDIO: May 14, 2023: Trump Called Into A Telerally For Cameron. [SoundCloud, 5/14/23]
Cameron Touted Kentucky’s Almost Total Ban On Abortion: “I'm Proud That Since August Of Last Year, The Abortion Facilities Have Been Closed In Kentucky.” According to a Spectrum News debate, “MODERATOR: Right now, Kentucky trigger law and a six-week ban on abortion are in place while the courts are reviewing challenges to their constitutionality. But would you support any exceptions to Kentucky's current abortion law? And if so, what exceptions are they? CAMERON: Well, I support the current law. And of course, Mario, you know that I've been defending the Human Life Protection Act. And I'm proud that since August of last year, the abortion facilities have been closed in Kentucky and there have been very few abortions. [...] And so I will continue to support the Human Life Protection Act and the exception that exists there in.” [Spectrum News Debate, 3/7/23]
Cameron Joined An Amicus Brief Support A Lawsuit Challenging Pennsylvania’s Mail-In Ballots. According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, “Two days after former Vice President Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron joined other Republican AGs Monday in a lawsuit challenging mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania. Cameron signed an amicus brief supporting the Pennsylvania Republican Party's lawsuit against the state Supreme Court’s decision last month to allow mail-in ballots that were postmarked by Election Day to be counted if they arrived in the mail by the following Friday.” [Louisville Courier-Journal, 11/9/20]
AUDIO: November 6, 2023: Trump Called Into A Campaign Event For Tate Reeves. [SoundCloud, 11/6/23]
Reeves Supported A Near-Total Abortion Ban Before the Dobbs Decision. According to CBS News, “REEVES: In Mississippi, we have a trigger law in place. And we will, we will not only have a 15-week ban, which is what this case is about but if Roe is overturned, that trigger law will come into effect and we will ban abortions in Mississippi with the exceptions of rape and the life of the mother.” [CBS News, 5/4/22]
2021: In Response To Whether Biden’s Presidency Was Legitimate And Lawful, Reeves Pointed To MS Not Allowing Mail-In Voting Because Of Opportunities To Fraud. According to the Independent, “He challenged Mr Reeves again to say whether Mr Biden’s election victory was legitimate and lawful. The governor fell back on mail-in voting concerns, despite judges and intelligences officials from across the political spectrum saying fraud did not affect the 2020 results. ‘Our state, we do not allow mail-in voting and the reason we don’t allow mail-in voting is we don’t think that – we think it allows for lots of opportunities for fraud and other things,’ Mr Reeves said. ‘I don’t think mail-in voting should be allowed in other states around the nation. President Biden is the duly-elected president and we will do everything we can to work with him to help the citizens of Mississippi.’” [Independent, 3/27/21]
VIDEO: August 31, 2023: Trump Called Into The Hidalgo County GOP Reagan Dinner With Kari Lake. [YouTube, 8/31/23]
VIDEO: January 29, 2023: Trump Called Into A Rally With Kari Lake. [YouTube, 1/29/23]
VIDEO: Lake Called Roe V. Wade An “Unprecedented And Wildly Inappropriate” Ruling. According to Gosar’s Twitter, “LAKE: Just this week the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on an important abortion case called Dobbs v. Jackson. Legal scholars have noted that there is a potential conservative majority on the court, in large part thanks to President Trump, that could reverse or limit the unprecedented and wildly inappropriate court ruling of Roe v Wade.” [Twitter, @RepGosar, 12/9/21]
AUDIO: February 13, 2023: Trump Called Into An Event For Matt DePerno. [YouTube, 2/13/23]
AUDIO: DePerno Said He Would Enforce Michigan’s Abortion Ban With No Exceptions. In a speech at a Farmington Area Republicans meeting, DePerno said, **“**100% pro-life without exception and I am endorsed by the Heartbeat Coalition in Michigan. […] I will use every power that I have as Attorney General to make sure we protect life of the unborn and we will end these radical attempts like Gretchen Whitmer’s right now trying to declare the 1931 law that is currently on the books.” [Matthew DePerno, Farmington Area Republicans, 4/7/22]
DePerno Said He Would Uphold Michigan’s 1931 Ban On Abortion. According to Bridge Michigan, “Her presumed opponent in the November election, Matthew DePerno, said he was ‘thrilled’ by the [Dobbs] decision and will uphold the 1931 ban on abortion. ‘It is deeply troubling that Dana Nessel pledged to not enforce the opinion of the Supreme Court even before their announcement this morning,’ he said in a statement. ‘We cannot have an attorney general who believes she is better than the Supreme Court and the law.’” [Bridge Michigan, 6/24/22]
Axios: “Almost All” Of Trump’s Call-Ins Were Planned And Prepared For In Advance. According to Axios, “Many of Trump's call-ins are presented as surprises, but almost all are planned, a Trump campaign official tells Axios. An assistant at an event starts a three-way call with the speaker on stage and Trump, who's usually at Mar-a-Lago or his golf club in Bedminster, N.J.” [Axios, 2/18/24]
Trump Was Typically Prepared With The Names Of Local Officials In The Audience. According to Axios, “Trump typically is prepared with the names of local officials in the audience, thanks them for their support and launches into some abbreviated remarks that typically lavish praise on the surrogate or the group in the audience.” [Axios, 2/18/24]
A Trump Call-In May Indicate That The Speaker Spoke Regularly With Trump. According to Axios, “A speaker who chats regularly with Trump may dial the former president while on stage, after giving Trump a heads-up beforehand.” [Axios, 2/18/24]