by WorldTribune Staff, June 14, 2024 Contract With Our Readers
During the 2024 campaign, Donald Trump has had great success in getting positive responses when barging into previously hostile environments.
Last month, it was massive rallies in New Jersey and the South Bronx. On Thursday, it was the D.C. Swamp.
Trump met with House Republicans at the Capitol Hill Club to talk strategy and announce plans for his "secret weapon," 100 tele town halls for House candidates, The Daily Caller reported, citing a source in the room.
Republicans gave Trump the game ball from the previous day's Congressional Baseball Game, in which Republicans trounced the Democrat team, 31-11.
"Trump joked that the performance of the Democrats’ outfield in the game was a bigger help to Republicans than anything they could have done themselves" The Daily Caller's Henry Rodgers noted.
Trump received one of several ovations when he mentioned that The Washington Post's readership is down 50 percent.
"President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party, and everyone outside of Washington, DC knows it, but that hasn’t always been the case inside this city," Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said. "Today, that all changed. President Trump received standing ovation after standing ovation."
Sources at the meeting also said that Trump noted that nearly all of the Republicans who voted in favor of impeaching him have since either retired or lost bids for re-election.
He also noted that he is polling well in traditionally Democrat states such as New York, New Jersey and New Mexico, and said he was leading by a slim margin in Virginia.
Claimed he would be tougher on Russia than President Biden, likely a reference to claims by Biden and Democrats that Trump has been a puppet for Russian President Vladimir Putin in opposing U.S. military aid for Ukraine.
Trump congratulated Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, a Trump skeptic-turned-supporter, on her primary win.
Trump also praised House Speaker Mike Johnson and at one point encouraged Greene, a frequent critic of the speaker, to be nicer to him.
Greene said that Trump had said "he’s willing to work hard to make sure everyone gets re-elected because he’s committed to not just winning the White House, but the Senate and the House as well."
In a shot at Trump's likely Democrat rival, Joe Biden, Greene said Trump was "candid, funny, direct, and called many of us out by name. He didn’t even use teleprompters or notecards. He’s as real and genuine as they get."
