Trump, Unbowed, Uses Rally to Strike Back Against Impeachment Vote

Mr. Trump’s decision to hold a rally and immerse himself in the warmth of an adoring crowd at a critical juncture in his presidency was an echo of how he handled his worst public humiliation — the revelation of the “Access Hollywood” tape on Oct. 7, 2016, during the final days of his presidential campaign.

After holing up at Trump Tower the day after that video was released, Mr. Trump emerged after seeing on television that a crowd supporters had gathered on Fifth Avenue. He walked through the glass doors, pumped his fist in the air, then walked back into his building, clapping his hands as if cheering himself on.

On Wednesday night, Mr. Trump appeared to rally his own spirits by returning to a favorite topic, his 2016 victory, while taunting the 2020 Democratic presidential field. “She’s gasping for air,” he said of Senator Elizabeth Warren, while poking fun at the pronunciation of Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s name.

The speech — the second-longest he has ever delivered, according to Factba.se, a service that compiles and analyzes data on this presidency — was vintage Trump, hitting on his favorite targets, like Lisa Page, the former F.B.I. lawyer, and James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director. “Did I do a great job when I fired his ass?” he asked.

After a riff about Mr. Trump’s defeated 2016 rival Hillary Clinton, his audience briefly reprised a favorite chant from that campaign, “Lock her up.” Some similar shouts were issued in response to Mr. Comey’s name.

Mr. Trump also lashed out at a woman who was escorted from the auditorium by security after interrupting his remarks and making profane gestures, and encouraged security to act more forcefully to remove her. “You got to get a little bit stronger than that, folks,” Mr. Trump said to cheers of approval.

But more than anything, his anger at the House Democrats rang through. He declared that they had embarked on “a political suicide march,” and predicted that Americans would soon vote Speaker Nancy Pelosi “the hell out of office.”



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