On eve of SC Democratic presidential primary, Trump urges votes for ‘weakest’ opponent
Hosting a rally in South Carolina on the day before the state’s Democratic presidential primary, President Donald Trump urged his supporters to cast ballots for the “weakest” of his opponents in the race.
In the packed arena of the North Charleston Coliseum on Friday, Trump polled the audience on which Democratic presidential hopeful fit the bill.
“Are we allowed to tell them who to vote for?” Trump asked South Carolina’s U.S. Sens. Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham, who sat to his right. “Ok, let’s do a poll. Who would be the best candidate for us? (U.S. Sen.) Bernie (Sanders), (former Vice President Joe) Biden?”
Trump’s visit to the state follows a pattern of the president visiting early nominating states in the days before Democrats picked their preferred presidential nominees. The rally paired with a fundraiser for Trump, Graham and the Republican Party.
Trump named several of the eight Democrats who are hoping to unseat him in November, gauging the “Make America Great Again” clad crowd’s responses. Trump went on to call California businessman Tom Steyer “a loser,” called U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren “Pocahontas,” and said “mini” Michael Bloomberg — the former New York City mayor — would “eliminate” the Second Amendment.
Each assessment received resounding “boos” from the Lowcountry audience.
“This is a real poll, this isn’t a fake poll,” Trump said, punching at Fox News for releasing a poll today that shows the president losing to Democrats in November.
Trump eventually settled on U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, the national front-runner who Upstate GOP activists have said they plan to vote for Saturday in hopes of delivering Trump a candidate they think he can beat and to make a case for closed primaries. South Carolina’s primary is currently open, meaning there’s no registration by party and voters are free to vote in the party primary of their choice.
Several national polls conducted in the last month, including the Fox News poll, gave Sanders the edge over Trump, winning by an average of 4.4 percentage points.
The president also promised his supporters he would win a historic portion of the African American vote in November. In South Carolina, more than two-thirds of the Democratic electorate are African American.
During his rally, Trump took shots at multiple Democratic presidential hopefuls, who spent the last year wracking up more than 600 campaign stops in South Carolina, including a debate last week in Charleston.
“The state of South Carolina has had a front row seat to all of the craziness,” Trump said.
Trump, a billionaire real estate mogul, compared the campaign strategies of fellow billionaire’s Bloomberg and Steyer to the tactics that won him the presidency in 2016. Trump, like his Democratic counterparts, self-funded a large portion of his 2016 campaign.
“(Steyer) spent millions and millions in Iowa and he got less than one percent (of the vote),” Trump said. “I said, ‘Tom, its not so easy doing what I did.”
“All you have to do is ask ‘mini’ Mike (Bloomberg),” Trump added. “He’s in for a fortune. He wish he never started.”
Trump’s supporters camped overnight in the parking lot, some for days before the event.
Richard Snowden, a Saint Augustine native who said he’s been to 66 Trump rallies, said he had been waiting in the lot since Tuesday. Snowden — who said he drove to South Carolina after seeing Trump’s Nevada rally — and a group of early comers took turns holding their spots in the front of line while others slept at a hotel and ate.
“Those of us who are experts at this, we know how to do it,” Snowden said.
Hundreds of supporters amassed outside of the coliseum by 9:30 a.m., where they chatted and watched a giant video screen playing clips from pro-Trump media.
Vendors selling Trump-related memorabilia lined the corner outside of the coliseum, selling anything from “Trump Bears” to pins bearing the logo of QAnon, a right-wing conspiracy group.
Terry McGuire, of Greenville, sold foam bricks symbolizing Trump’s wall and sweatshirts promoting “Trump’s swamp cleaning company.” McGuire said he specially designed the sweatshirt himself and plans to donate the proceeds from its sales to a group that supports veterans.
“There will be more people here than at the Democrats,” McGuire said.
Cindy Kelly, of Goose Creek, said she made her way to the parking lot at 7 p.m. Thursday, intending to wait a full 24 hours to see the president because of her son, who was interested in politics.
“I wouldn’t stand out here this long for a concert,” she said.
Meanwhile, Trump boarded Air Force One in Washington DC with all of South Carolina’s Republican congressmen and senators in tow. The group was joined at the rally by S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster and S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson.
During the rally, Trump called the governor, congressmen, senators to the stage, where he heaped compliments on them.
“With us tonight are your two incredible senators,” Trump said. “Lindsey (Graham) is a true fighter for South Carolina. ... Sen. Scott is a leading in lowering health care costs like nobody has done it.”
Trump gave Graham, Scott and McMaster moments at the microphone to talk to the gathered audience.
“Who is the greatest president in the whole world who we love more than anybody else? And what is the name of the president who loves you?” McMaster said to a roaring crowd. “And who are we going to send back to the White House for four more glorious years?”
This story was originally published February 28, 2020 at 9:03 PM.
