As the American public is waiting for the New York hush-money trial outcome, former president Donald Trump is expected to return on the campaign trail and hopefully continue with all the activities uninterrupted since the trials in the remaining three cases against him are unlikely to start before the November general election. Just recently, Trump and President Joe Biden confirmed they will have at least two debates in what is widely expected to be a potential problem for Biden, having in mind Trump’s debates in the past.
Current standings
With less than six months until the November general election, Trump has a slight lead in the presidential race, according to the data from The Hill. Based on the results of more than 700 surveys combined, Trump currently has a 1.0% lead, but what is more important is that he leads Biden by a bigger margin in the key battleground states. Candidates are expected to focus on winning the support of voters in the swing states of Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, North Carolina, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. As the campaign progresses, attacks against the opponent will become more frequent, and it seems that Trump started the war of words last week when he accused Biden of authorizing the FBI to use “deadly force” on him during 2022’s Mar-a-Lago raid.
The details
Former President Donald Trump stirred controversy among his supporters by inaccurately stating in a campaign fundraising message that President Joe Biden’s Justice Department was “locked & loaded ready to take me out” during the 2022 search at his Mar-a-Lago property for classified documents.
This claim seems to stem from Trump’s interpretation of court documents that were made public on a Tuesday regarding his case about federal classified documents. These documents included an “Operations Order” from the 2022 search, which contained a standard policy statement about the use of deadly force. It mentioned that “Law Enforcement officers of the Department of Justice may use deadly force when necessary.”
Nearly escaping death
Despite this, Trump presented the order in his fundraising email as if it was direct proof that Biden’s Justice Department had the authority to use lethal force against him, suggesting he had “nearly escaped death.”
“You know they’re just itching to do the unthinkable,” Trump said in an alert asking his supporters for donations. “But here’s the one thing they don’t know: WE WILL NEVER SURRENDER!”
The support
Trump and his supporters have focused on the “deadly force” wording, even though Trump wasn’t at Mar-a-Lago when the FBI conducted the search. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. reposted Trump’s comments on Truth Social to X, formerly Twitter, and falsely claimed that the “Biden DOJ and FBI were planning to assassinate Pres Trump and gave the green light.” Former FBI assistant director also chimed in on X, writing “Every FBI operations order contains a reminder of FBI deadly force policy.”
Read also: Biden’s inappropriate comments in Georgia could push Black voters even further away from him
The case
Trump is facing numerous federal charges for keeping hundreds of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate after he left office in 2021. He and his team argue that he had declassified those documents, which they claim were his personal property, and they describe the criminal trial as part of a broader “witch hunt” aimed at disrupting the November elections. Originally set to start on May 20, the trial was indefinitely delayed by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon on May 7.
Attorney General Merrick Garland labels Trump’s claims as “extremely dangerous”
Addressing the media on Thursday, Garland responded to claims from Trump and his supporters that the Department of Justice had given FBI agents permission to use lethal force during their search of Mar-a-Lago.
“That allegation is false, and it is extremely dangerous. The document that is being referred to in the allegation is the Justice Department standard policy limiting the use of force,” Garland told reporters.
He added, “As the FBI advises, it is part of the standard operations plan for searches. And in fact, it was even used in the consensual search of President Biden’s home.”
