MOSINEE, WIS. -- With just days to go before his first 鈥� and likely only 鈥� debate against U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris, former U.S. president Donald Trump leaned into his familiar grievances about everything from his indictments to the border as he campaigned in one of the most deeply Republican swaths of battleground Wisconsin.
鈥淭he Harris-Biden DOJ is trying to throw me in jail 鈥� they want me in jail 鈥� for the crime of exposing their corruption,鈥� Trump claimed at an outdoor rally at Central Wisconsin Airport, where he spoke behind a wall of bullet-proof glass due to new security protocols following his July assassination attempt.
There's no evidence that either U.S. President Joe Biden or Harris have had any influence over decisions by the U.S. Justice Department or state prosecutors to indict the former president.
Trump was speaking a day after appearing in court for an appeal of a decision that found him liable for sexual abuse, returning attention to his legal woes in the race's final stretch. After his appearance, he delivered a lengthy statement to news cameras in which he brought up a string of past allegations of other acts of sexual misconduct 鈥� at times in graphic language 鈥� reminding voters of incidents that had potentially been forgotten.
Hours later, a Manhattan judge announced that the sentencing in Trump's hush money case had been postponed until after the November election, granting him a hard-won reprieve. The sentencing had previously been scheduled for Sept. 18.
Trump has eschewed traditional debate preparation, choosing to holding rallies and events while Harris has been cloistered in a historic hotel in downtown Pittsburgh, working with aides since Thursday to prepare for Tuesday's debate in Philadelphia.
Harris has agreed so far to a single debate, which will be hosted by ABC.
At the rally, Trump outlined his plans to 鈥淒rain the swamp鈥� 鈥� a throwback to his winning 2016 campaign message as he ran as an outsider challenging the status quo. Though Trump spent four years in the Oval Office, he vowed anew to 鈥渃ast out the corrupt political class鈥� if he wins again and to 鈥渃ut the fat out of our government for the first time, meaningfully, in 60 years.鈥�
As part of that effort, he repeated his plan, announced Thursday, to create a new 鈥淕overnment Efficiency Commission鈥� headed by Elon Musk that will be charged with conducting 鈥渁 complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government" to root out waste.
After again maligning the U.S. Congressional committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the nation鈥檚 capitol by his supporters after his election loss in 2020, Trump told the crowd of thousands that he would 鈥渞apidly review the cases of every political prisoner unjustly victimized by the Harris regime鈥� and sign their pardons on his first day back in office.
Trump has repeatedly defended those who have been jailed for crimes including attacks on law enforcement.
And he said he would 鈥渃ompletely overhaul鈥� what he labeled 鈥淜amala鈥檚 corrupt Department of Injustice.鈥�
鈥淚nstead of persecuting Republicans, they will focus on taking down bloodthirsty cartels, transnational gangs, and radical Islamic terrorists,鈥� he said.
Both Harris and Trump have been frequent visitors to Wisconsin this year, a state where four of the past six presidential elections have been decided by less than a percentage point. Several polls of Wisconsin voters conducted after Biden withdrew showed Harris and Trump in a close race.
The crowd in Mosinee was greeted by a big screen video of Trump urging attendees to check their voter registration and make a plan for voting.
鈥淚f we swamp them, they can鈥檛 cheat,鈥� Trump said, continuing to raise unfounded concerns about voter fraud, which is extremely rare.
Democrats consider Wisconsin to be one of the must-win 鈥渂lue wall鈥� states. Biden, who was in Wisconsin on Thursday, won the state in 2020 by just under 21,000 votes. Trump carried it by a slightly larger margin, nearly 23,000 votes, in 2016.
As Trump was campaigning, Harris took a short break from debate prep on Saturday to stop at Penzeys Spices in Pittsburgh鈥檚 Strip District, where she bought several seasoning mixes. One customer saw the Democratic nominee and began openly weeping as Harris hugged her and said, 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to be fine. We鈥檙e all in this together.鈥�
Harris said she was honored to have endorsements from two major Republicans: former U.S. vice-president Dick Cheney and his daughter, Liz Cheney, the former Wyoming congresswoman.
鈥淧eople are exhausted, about the division and the attempts to kind of divide us as Americans,鈥� she said, adding that her main message at the debate would be that the country wants to be united.
鈥淚t鈥檚 time to turn the page on the divisiveness,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 time to bring our country together, to chart a new way forward.鈥�
Trump held his rally in the central Wisconsin city of Mosinee, with a population of about 4,500 people. It is within Wisconsin's mostly rural 7th Congressional District, a reliably Republican area in a purple state. Trump carried the county where Mosinee is located by 18 percentage points in both 2016 and 2020.
During his speech, he railed against Harris in dark and ominous language, claiming that if the woman he calls 鈥淐omrade Kamala Harris gets four more years, you will be living (in) a full-blown Banana Republic" ruled by 鈥渁narchy鈥� and 鈥渢yranny.鈥�
He also railed against the administration's border policies, calling the Democrats鈥� approach 鈥渟uicidal" and accusing them of having 鈥渋mported murderers, child predators and serial rapists from all over the planet."
Many studies have found immigrants, including those in the country illegally, commit fewer violent crimes than native-born citizens and violent crime in the U.S. dropped again last year, continuing a downward trend after a pandemic-era spike.
Among those in the crowd was Dale Osuldsen, who was celebrating his 68th birthday Saturday at his first ever Trump rally. He hopes a second Trump administration will take on 鈥渃ancel culture鈥� and bring the country back to its 鈥渇oundational past.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had past administrations say they want to fundamentally change America,鈥� Osulden said. 鈥淔undamentally changing America is a bad thing.鈥�
Many supporters embarked on hours-long drives from across Wisconsin to see Trump speak. Some came from even further.
Sean Moon, a Tennessee musician who releases MAGA-themed rap music under the stage name, 鈥淜ing Bullethead,鈥� blasted his songs from a truck in the event parking lot. As a musician, he said Trump rallies approximate the experience of a raucous concert.
鈥淭rump is a rockstar,鈥� Moon said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 incredible. People see he represents them and the deep state trying to kill him and take him out. But he鈥檚 standing strong, and he stands for the normal person.鈥�
Democrats have relied on massive turnout in the state's two largest cities, Milwaukee and Madison, to counter Republican strength in rural areas like Mosinee and the Milwaukee suburbs. Trump must win the votes in places like Mosinee to have any chance of cutting into the Democrats' advantage in urban areas.
Republicans held their national convention in Milwaukee in July and Trump has made four previous stops to the state, most recently just last week in the western Wisconsin city of La Crosse.
Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, last month filled the same Milwaukee arena where Republicans held their national convention for a rally that coincided with the Democratic National Convention just 90 miles away in Chicago. Walz returned Monday to Milwaukee, where he spoke at a Labour Day rally organized by unions.
Bauer reported from Madison and Colvin from New York. Associated Press writer Josh Boak contributed from Pittsburgh
