Two weeks after his criminal conviction, Donald Trump went to Washington on Thursday for a major charm offensive with Republican parliamentarians and business owners.
The former president very rarely visits the American federal capital, a city that he abhors and where a new trial awaits him.
At the start of the morning, the Republican, candidate in the November election against Democrat Joe Biden, arrived with his fist raised at a meeting with elected officials from his party.
A breakfast organized just a stone’s throw from the Capitol, the seat of the American Congress, stormed by his supporters in January 2021, and where Donald Trump has not visited since.
Surrounded by parliamentarians, the tempestuous septuagenarian discussed his legal troubles at length, according to a Republican leader, but also spoke about abortion, a highly sensitive issue in the middle of the electoral campaign.
Three years after the attack on the Capitol
Donald Trump, who left Washington with a bang in 2021, also met Republican senators, and in particular the conservative tenor Mitch McConnell, with whom he exchanged a handshake.
However, relations between the two men had been frosty since the assault on the Capitol.
On that cold January day, thousands of Donald Trump supporters attacked the headquarters of the US Congress in an attempt to oppose the certification of Joe Biden’s election, causing unimaginable chaos.
Mitch McConnell, leader of the Republicans, then had very strong words towards Donald Trump, accusing the leader of being “responsible” for the assault.
However, this did not prevent the octogenarian senator from rallying behind the Republican’s candidacy for the presidential election.
“I said three years ago, just after the attack on the Capitol, that I would support our (Republican) candidate, whoever he was, including him (Donald Trump),” he justified Wednesday.
Surrounded by a large group of senators during a press conference early in the afternoon, Donald Trump did not discuss these differences with Mitch McConnell.
On the contrary, he praised the “extraordinary unity” of the Republican Party.
“I think we are going to see extraordinary elections,” he added, promising a tougher migration policy, a strong American army, and to stop “wasting money around the world”.
“A fair stand”
Between two meetings with parliamentarians, Donald Trump also met with the leaders of the largest American companies, members of the Business Roundtable organization.
The pressure group, which represents the bosses of Amazon, Apple and McDonald’s, regularly takes positions on subjects directly concerning its members, such as taxation or international trade agreements, but also on broader social issues.
Joe Biden was also invited to an exchange with the group, but was unable to participate due to the G7, organized in Italy.
In front of these big business leaders, Donald Trump was to detail how his program “will offer tax cuts, record deregulation, fair trade, abundant energy and low inflation,” said those around him.
“Donald Trump wouldn’t even be able to manage a fair stand, let alone our country,” retorted a spokesperson for Joe Biden’s campaign team, James Singer.
“He is a crook, a conman, a failed businessman and a president who left America in ruins. »