Donald Trump meets in the Capitol with Republican lawmakers

2024-06-14 08:00:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Donald Trump meets in the Capitol with Republican lawmakers

Former President Donald Trump, source AP

Former President Donald Trump was given a rapturous welcome back in Washington on Thursday as he drew support from Republican lawmakers following his guilty plea in his trial in New York.

Mr. Trump, who according to polls is in a close race with his successor Joe Biden for the leadership of the White House, thanked members of the House of Representatives at a private club near the Capitol, who sang "Happy Birthday" to him, after on Friday he will turn 78 years old.

It was Mr Trump's first meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol since leaving the White House in 2021 and his first time in Washington since he was found guilty last month on 34 counts of falsifying business records.

During his visit to the Capitol, in separate meetings with House and Senate Republicans, Mr Trump appeared to try to smooth over divisions ahead of the November 5 election, where his party could take control of the White House and both chambers of Congress.

Former President Donald Trump, Reuters source

Mr Trump criticized US aid to Ukraine and suggested raising tariffs to replace income tax while calling the city where the Republican National Convention will be held "terrible".

Attendees said there was a handshake between him and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, despite their frosty relationship, and that he had urged Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to be nice to House Speaker Mike Johnson after the failure. of her attempt to remove him from office.

"There is incredible unity in the Republican Party ," Mr. Trump said after meeting with Senate lawmakers.

But the Republicans found it difficult to give explanations after reports in some media that Mr. Trump during the closed-door meeting had called Milwaukee a "terrible" city , approximately one month before the Republican Party Convention is held there, where it is expected for Mr. Trump to ensure the appointment of this political force as a candidate for the presidential elections.

Such a thing could cause anger among residents of Wisconsin's largest city, one of the states that could be decisive for the outcome of the election.

A presidential campaign spokesman and several Republican lawmakers said Mr. Trump was referring to the city's problems with crime and vote rigging. A nonpartisan audit of Wisconsin's 2020 election found no evidence of irregularities.

Lawmakers said Mr. Trump criticized the $60 billion aid package for Ukraine that was recently passed with Republican support.

Mr. Trump told Republicans that they should support the idea of ??each state having its own abortion policies, rather than pushing for a national abortion ban.

Some members of the Party would like abortion to be completely illegal./ VOA