Former President Donald Trump, in his first post-presidency rally in Ohio on Saturday, called on Republican voters to deliver a “gigantic victory” for GOP lawmakers during the 2022 midterms and called for the ouster of “RINOs,” or Republicans in name only.
At the same time, Trump told the crowd in Ohio that they should reject Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio) after he joined nine other Republicans in their vote to impeach Trump earlier this year.
While castigating Gonzalez as “a grandstanding RINO,” Trump said voters should back his former aide, Max Miller, during the 2022 midterms. Miller announced his candidacy following Gonzalez’s vote to impeach.
“He’s not the candidate that you want representing the Republican Party,” he said of Gonzales. “Every single Republican needs to vote him out of office.”
Trump also invoked Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), another one of his most vocal Republican detractors, in claiming that Gonzalez is “the candidate of Liz Cheney.” Cheney, notably, was ousted from her House No. 3 leadership position earlier this year over her increasingly critical comments of Trump, and she was replaced with the Trump-backed Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.).
During the rally, Trump also mentioned other Republicans who voted to impeach or convict him during his second trial earlier this year, including Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), suggesting they be voted out in favor of conservatives who back his agenda.
The former commander-in-chief said he wasn’t attending the rally just to spite Gonzalez but was there to support Miller’s bid for Congress.
“That’s not the reason I’m doing this,” Trump said. “But I just thought that it was a character trait that was not so good.”
Gonzalez, a former NFL wide receiver, in January explained that he believed his vote to impeach Trump for allegedly inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol incident will be looked at favorably by historians.
“Over the long arc of history,” Gonzalez said at the time, “I believe that this is the right vote, and I believe it sends the right message to all future presidents and anybody who considers taking the Oval Office.”
Other than certain Republicans, Trump repeatedly criticized the Biden administration’s policies, namely on illegal immigration and crime. That’s why, according to the former commander-in-chief, voters need to deliver victories for GOP candidates during the midterms.
During the event on Saturday, Trump did not make any mention of a potential 2024 bid. In recent interviews, the former president has said he’s toying with the idea but won’t make a decision until the midterms are finished.
The Epoch Times has contacted Gonzalez’s office for comment.
This article was originally published by the Epoch Times. Read the original article.
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