OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Former President Donald Trump is taking the campaign fight directly to his likely opponent, President Joe Biden, as his hush money trial begins.
The Washington Times reported that Trump held a rally at the Schnecksville Fire Hall in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, his third visit to the important battleground state, which was home to Biden as he was growing up.
Biden has made several trips to his home state and gave a short campaign speech in his birthplace of Scranton on Tuesday, the Times reported, noting further that both candidates are planning to crank up their appearances in Pennsylvania in the coming months.
That will be more difficult for Trump, who is required to be in a Manhattan courtroom for his ‘hush money’ trial, which will begin Monday and is expected to take at least six weeks, according to reports.
Trump succeeded in flipping Pennsylvania in 2016, and he is attempting to replicate that. This would represent a significant setback for Biden, who won the state in 2020.
Meanwhile, the Republican National Committee announced a major election integrity project this week that will utilize around 100,000 poll watchers and attorneys to monitor the polls in swing states, beginning with early voting dates and lasting through the November election.
The large-scale operation comes following allegations of widespread voter fraud by former President Donald Trump and his legal teams, claims that have thus far failed to yield any evidence that could stand up in court. The GOP had pledged to dispatch some 50,000 poll watchers to monitor the balloting process during the 2020 cycle, NBC News reported.
“Having the right people to count the ballots is just as important as turning out voters on Election Day,” Trump said in a press release. “Republicans are now working together to protect the vote and ensure a big win on November 5th.”
The legal team and additional volunteers will oversee various stages of the electoral process, including early voting, election day voting, logic and accuracy machine testing, mail ballot processing, and post-election canvassing, recounts, and audits, the report said.
“Every ballot. Every precinct. Every processing center. Every county. Every battleground state. We will be there,” RNC co-chairwoman Lara Trump said in the release. “The RNC is hiring hundreds of election integrity staff across the map – more than ever before because our Party will be recruiting thousands of more observers to protect the vote in 2024. These campaign officials in states are tasked with recruiting, training, and when possible, shifting poll watchers and poll workers day in and day out.”
The attorneys will be stationed at processing centers and polling sites in battleground states and will collaborate with secretaries of state offices and county boards of elections, Just the News added.
The attorneys and volunteers will identify and report any irregularities in voting. They can raise questions or concerns via the designated “Election Integrity Hotline,” connecting to a command center where assigned lawyers will offer guidance to poll watchers on the necessary procedures and help clarify how to address, resolve, or escalate any issues that arise, the RNC said.
Earlier this month, Lara Trump declared her father-in-law to be the most victimized person in the history of the country as he continues to face several criminal charges, most of which could land him in jail.
During a segment with Newsmax TV’s Carl Higbie, the host said, “You guys, since 2015, since he came down the escalator, have battled fake information and yet, with less money than everybody else, have come out on top most times.”
“If you wanna look at a family, and I’ll say a man in Donald Trump, who has nothing but misinformation and disinformation that they like to say on the other side of the aisle thrown at him every single day,” Lara Trump responded.
“I mean, there’s never been anyone in history, I don’t think, that has taken as much incoming as Donald Trump, and yet every day it feels like we are vindicated in so many spaces because at some point, Carl, the truth ultimately comes out,” she said.
WATCH:
Lara Trump nails it: RNC co-chair says her father-in-law is the most persecuted man in the history of the country.
True or not, Democrats would freak out if what's happening to Trump was done by a GOP admin to a former Dem president. pic.twitter.com/i7ECv7u2ii
— USA Features Media (@UsaFeatures) April 11, 2024
