Donald Trump during his campaign rally yesterday assured that he will “save America” ​​if he wins the November election against the “corrupt” Joe Biden, while he demanded the release of his supporters who stormed the Capitol three years ago.

The Republican made a series of appearances yesterday in the state of Iowa, where the primary elections that will determine his party’s presidential candidate begin on January 15.

Trump, who wants to return to the White House in November despite the four court cases pending against him, will find himself in eight days in front of the voters’ judgment for the first time since he left the US presidency on January 20, 2020 .

Exactly three years after the unprecedented attack on the Capitol by his supporters, on February 6, 2021, Trump emphasized in two separate speeches in the small towns of Newton and Clinton, Iowa, that he will “win the third time” in the election.

“Corrupt Joe”

The billionaire believes that 81-year-old Democrat Joe Biden, whom he regularly calls “corrupt Joe,” “stolen” his election victory in 2020, while not missing an opportunity to tease him about his age. Besides, he characterizes him as “incompetent”, “corrupt”, “the worst” president in the history of the USA.

The 77-year-old Trump estimated that the world’s greatest power is “in decline”. Referring to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, tension with Iran or China, he warned his enthusiastic supporters in Newton that if Biden is re-elected, the US risks “World War III” and a “recession” like that of the 1930s .

“We are a state in decline,” Clinton complained, stressing that she is “the only candidate capable of saving America from all of Biden’s disasters.”

“I’m a dictator”

Mocking Democrats and media warnings about the danger of a Trump “dictatorship” if he wins a second term in office, the businessman declared to laughter and applause from the crowd: “I’m a dictator.”

Despite his legal adventures, polls give Trump 60% of the Republican vote over his two main rivals: Nikki Haley and Ron DeSandis. An unprecedented lead.

On Friday, at another campaign rally, Trump lashed out at them, calling them “establishment pawns” and claiming they would “sell out” voters.

The unprecedented attack on the Capitol three years ago remains a deeply divisive issue in the US: a quarter of Americans and 44% of Trump supporters believe the federal police (FBI) instigated the attack, according to a Washington Post poll and of the University of Maryland published this week.

“Hostages”

The FBI announced yesterday the arrest in Florida of three people for their participation in this attack. During the 35-month investigation, which has not yet concluded, authorities have charged more than 1,200 people. More than half have been convicted.

“They suffered enough,” Trump said yesterday, referring to them. “I call them hostages. Some people call them prisoners.”

On March 4, the trial begins in Washington in which Trump is accused of exerting pressure to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election.

A day later is Super Tuesday, with primaries held in about 15 states, including Texas, California, but also Colorado and Maine. The last two states have excluded Trump from the Republican ballot because of his role in the Capitol attack. The US Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear the former president’s appeal against the states’ decision, and until it rules in February, his name remains on the primary election ballot.