Trump bashes Biden and makes wild baby execution claims in back-to-back rallies

Waukesha, Wisconsin - Donald Trump used a break in his hush money trial to stage back-to-back rallies in battleground states Wednesday, but he kept his legal woes front-and-center as he accused President Joe Biden of weaponizing the courts against him.

Donald Trump held campaign rallies in Waukesha, Wisconsin and Freeland, Michigan on Wednesday – his first since the start of his hush money trial.
Donald Trump held campaign rallies in Waukesha, Wisconsin and Freeland, Michigan on Wednesday – his first since the start of his hush money trial.  © ALEX WROBLEWSKI / AFP

The 77-year-old, who is running for a return to the White House, rallied supporters in Wisconsin and Michigan, among the most hotly contested states in his expected rematch with Biden in November.

The speeches featured all of Trump's go-to set-pieces, from complaints about environmentally friendly household appliances to apocalyptic warnings of a looming world war – but his evening speech in Freeland, Michigan was notable for its vitriol.

"Every single thing he touches turns to s***," Trump said of Biden in a speech in Freeland, Michigan peppered with profane language about his criminal charges, his 2020 election defeat and his determination to win reelection in November.

Biden turns tables on Trump with increasingly personal attacks
Joe Biden Biden turns tables on Trump with increasingly personal attacks

Trump had already spoken in an afternoon rally in the Waukesha, Wisconsin, where he railed against Biden's handling of the economy and immigration.

In both appearances he lied about Democrats of "executing" newborn babies as he turned to the deeply divisive issue of abortion rights, and in both he revived baseless claims that Biden is behind the 88 felony charges he is facing.

"I've got to do two of these things a day," he told a sea of red hats at his Michigan rally. "You know why? Because I'm in New York all the time with the Biden trial – a fake trial that all of the legal scholars say is a disgrace."

"I have come here today from New York City where I'm being forced to sit for days on end in a kangaroo courtroom with a corrupt and conflicted judge enduring a Biden Sideshow trial at the hands of a Marxist district attorney," he later complained in Michigan.

Trump courtroom woes take their toll

Trump lied about newborn babies being executed in the US, among many other falsehoods repeated at the rallies.
Trump lied about newborn babies being executed in the US, among many other falsehoods repeated at the rallies.  © NIC ANTAYA / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP

Trump, is the first former US president to face criminal charges, and the trial appears to have annoyed him to no end.

For two weeks he has been sitting through long hours of witness testimony, visibly bored and angry at no-nonsense Judge Juan Merchan, who required him to be present and then imposed a gag order prohibiting Trump from publicly attacking witnesses, jurors, or court staff.

He has already been fined once for violating the order and could face more consequences on Thursday.

Cover photo: ALEX WROBLEWSKI / AFP

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