Speaking at a campaign rally outside of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Wednesday night, former President Donald Trump did not hesitate to mention the 91 felony charges filed against him this year.
The current frontrunner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, Trump has worked his legal problems into becoming a key part of his campaign platform.
“I’m being indicted – you have to remember this, and I believe it’s true – I’m being indicted for you,” he told supporters gathered in Coralville on Wednesday. “Never forget our enemies want to take away my freedom because I will never let them take away your freedom. This is an honor to be doing this.”
Through applause, Trump called each indictment a “badge of honor.” He told his supporters that he blames — without evidence — President Joe Biden and his reelection campaign for the criminal charges filed by a U.S. special counsel and local district attorneys in Manhattan and Fulton County, Georgia.
Hours before the rally, Trump fans who were lined up in the cold to hear him speak said they either do not think much of the charges or they don’t see the accusations as disqualifying.
“Look at all he’s been through! And he’s still standing, you know? And we all know it’s a hoax anyway,” said Connie Dowling, an Iowa resident attending her first Trump event. “I don’t think they have anything on the charges. It’s all drummed up.”
Robert Armstrong, who was brought to the event as an early Christmas present, also defended Trump.
“He’s been picked on ever since he started trying to run. So, I think – I don’t want to say ‘the Democrats,’ but you know, the shoe fits,” he said, chuckling.
Separate from the 91 felonies, Trump has been the subject of a civil trial in New York. A judge is now weighing a punishment for Trump after finding the former president, and his co-defendants, liable for fraud through the Trump Organization. Trump has denied wrongdoing.
“I feel like there’s some truth to some of his legal problems,” said Teann Wagner, an Iowa resident who spoke specifically about the New York fraud trial. “But even if it was all just business, I don’t care. You know, being a president, that doesn’t matter to me.”
At Trump’s rally Wednesday night, the Iowa State Fair in August and the Iowa GOP Lincoln Day Dinner in July, Trump supporters throughout the state have told Spectrum News they are drawn to his policies and personality.
Many said they are willing to overlook the criminal charges because they view them as political. Some even say the more Trump is charged, the more they consider the investigations to be baseless.
“Who else has been more thoroughly investigated?” said Iowa farmer Paul Reed, who attended Wednesday’s event. “And if they could find anything to hang around his neck, they would. So then that puts my mind at ease.”
Outside the event space in Coralville, merchandise featuring the former president’s mugshot was sold.
One supporter handed out a homemade poster saying Trump’s “wanted” for another four years in office.
At the front of the line to get in, the self-described “Front Row Joes” had set up lawn chairs. They are Trump superfans who follow him from rally to rally across the country, motivated in part by what they view as unfair attacks he faces.
“All the persecution and all the news media against him made me want to start questioning everything,” said John Russell, who drove in from Illinois to attend his 14th Trump event.
Charles Hibbs traveled in from South Dakota to mark his 35th Trump rally.
“They didn’t like him when he got elected, but they did like him before he was not elected,” Hibbs said, referring to Trump’s prior profession as a reality TV star and mogul in New York City.
Iowa Republicans will caucus on Jan. 15. A new poll from the Des Moines Register shows Trump ahead by over 30 points, reaching a new level of support in this campaign.