HIALEAH, Fla.—Former President Donald Trump called on the Republican National Committee (RNC) to stop “wasting time” on his “weak and ineffective” rivals for the Republican presidential nomination.
President Trump drew a large, enthusiastic crowd during a rally in Hialeah, Florida, a Hispanic-dominant suburb of Miami. The rally was held only a few miles from the third Republican presidential debate and drew a diverse crowd in the one-time Democrat stronghold—a fresh sign that the area has tilted in Republicans’ favor.
Because President Trump’s speech began about 90 minutes later than scheduled, some people at the event wondered whether he was trying to more directly conflict with the debate time in nearby Miami. The debate began at 8 p.m. local time, while President Trump’s speech started at about 8:30 p.m.
However, Jason Miller, a senior adviser to President Trump, said there was no purposeful delay.
“President Trump loves to get out to the people, loves to speak to the people who’ve been patiently waiting and been here for hours,“ Mr. Miller said. ”So soon as he was able to get here, he did.”
During his speech, the former president hit on several of the most common themes of his many rallies: He decried Democrats for allegedly “rigging elections” against him, vowing not to let it happen again; accused the federal government of being weaponized against Democrats’ political enemies; and repeated his promise to undertake the largest deportation initiative in U.S. history.
President Trump also took the opportunity to attack his Republican opponents for the nomination, citing his stunning success in polls for both the primary and general elections.
“Our nation is in very serious trouble,” he said.
“It’s time for the Republican establishment to stop wasting time and resources trotting to push weak and ineffective ‘RINOs’ [Republicans in name only] and ’Never Trumpers’ that nobody wants and nobody is going to vote for.”
President Trump cited his massive double-digit lead over the rest of the GOP field to bolster his call.
“In the primary, we’re leading the field with an average of 61 percent for Trump,” he said. “And you have what, seven or eight candidates left? I think they’re at a debate tonight. Nobody’s talking about it. Everybody’s watching us.”
Across town, security fences were set up outside the debate venue. However, only a few stragglers could be seen looking on.
Although Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had a relatively strong start in his campaign, drawing about 20 percent support early on, that support has faded. While he’s still the runner-up in most polls, his numbers have slipped to about 10 percent.
Trump Comments on Rivals
“I watched these guys coming in. ... They’re not watchable,” President Trump said about the debate performance of his rivals. “You know, the last debate was the lowest-rated debate in the history of politics. So do you think we did the right thing by not participating?”Mr. Miller agreed, telling The Epoch Times that he and other members of the campaign team watched the debate and were unimpressed.
“The senior team watched it,” Mr. Miller said. “We watched it, and I can tell you that none of the candidates moved the needle in the slightest.”
“Every dollar that is spent on other candidates ... is effectively helping Joe Biden. We should unite behind President Trump and focus on beating Joe Biden.”
Kari Lake, whose failed bid for governor of Arizona has sparked a firestorm of controversy over election integrity, jokingly compared the candidates who participated in the debate to “the kids’ table at Thanksgiving dinner.”
President Trump has now boycotted all three debates hosted by the RNC, and ratings for the debate have been low and dropping. Meanwhile, competitors for the nomination have been unable to make inroads.
While the former president rarely has a kind word for his rivals, he did indicate that he respects Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur seen as a “Trump-lite” by many observers—and indeed, Mr. Ramaswamy has marketed himself as such.
Though President Trump didn’t reference Mr. Ramaswamy by name, he said he appreciated it when Mr. Ramaswamy recently praised him about his time in the White House.
“One of them said last week ... on the stage that President Trump is the greatest president in many generations,” President Trump said. “I sort of like him, you know that?
“I mean, how can I dislike him? He’s so nice.”
President Trump also has reason for optimism about his prospects in the general election.
Throughout his primary bid, a key criticism by his primary opponents has been that he can’t win the general election.
President Trump referenced that poll during his speech.
“You probably saw last week, the New York Times—no big fan of mine—and the Siena poll, very well respected. In the general election, we are leading crooked Joe Biden in almost all of the swing states,” he said.
The Crowd
President Trump’s latest rally drew a diverse crowd of supporters in the onetime Democrat stronghold of Hialeah, the sixth-largest city in Florida.Lavale Degraffeinreid, 27, who is black, traveled from Charlotte, North Carolina, to the rally, where he made a new Hispanic friend, Elmer Melendez, 41, of Hialeah.
Both men told The Epoch Times that they agree on the main reasons that they support President Trump. Those include his policies for enforcing U.S. immigration laws, his putting America first, and his building a stronger economy, resulting in lower prices on goods and services.
Mr. Degraffenreid said people who accuse the former president of being racist are misinformed.
“It’s not about color. He looks at people as human beings. He looks at who you are. He just wants the best for the American people. But he doesn’t see white; he doesn’t see black. He doesn’t see Indian or Hispanic. It’s just you’re an American. And that’s it at the end of the day.”
Hialeah Police Maj. Fernando Villa told The Epoch Times that, around 6 p.m., two and a half hours before President Trump spoke, the crowd had already exceeded 8,000 people.
By the time the former president took the stage, Mr. Miller said, that number was closer to 10,000.
Mr. Miller contended that no other presidential candidate—Republican or Democrat—can draw a crowd as large as the one that President Trump attracted to Hialeah.
Hialeah, a part of historically blue Miami-Dade County, voted by double-digit margins for Mr. DeSantis, running for reelection as governor on a Trump-like platform, last November.
The diverse crowd demonstrated President Trump’s rising popularity among Hispanic voters, who’ve steadily backed Republicans more than Democrats in recent years.
The fourth and final Republican debate—which will almost certainly be boycotted by President Trump—will take place on Dec. 6 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
