(Photo : Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
FLORENCE, ARIZONA - JANUARY 15: Former President Donald Trump prepares to speak at a rally at the Canyon Moon Ranch festival grounds on January 15, 2022 in Florence, Arizona. The rally marks Trump's first of the midterm election year with races for both the U.S. Senate and governor in Arizona this year.
Former United States President Donald Trump held a speech in Arizona, which was one of his latest rallies, where he repeated his overused narratives that the 2020 elections were rigged with fraud and that Joe Biden is "destructive."
Compared to before, the situation is no longer as surprising or shocking to many supporters or American citizens. The Republican businessman's Saturday night speech, which was also his first in the last few months and his opportunity to speak after the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill riot anniversary, was not considered newsworthy.
Trump's Overused Narratives
If it was done years ago, Trump's speech would have been covered by various news media outlets and driven multiple news cycles. But now, the majority of media that covered the story only mentioned it in mostly perfunctory.
Some have anticipated that the Arizona speech could be Trump's attempt to kick off his 2024 presidential election campaign. However, the former president will have to do more to make an impact, especially since media outlets are less likely to give him ample air time for free, The Daily Beast reported.
On top of his usual remarks, Trump also criticized President Biden during his "Save America" tour while endorsing local Republican candidates. While the Republican businessman has still not confirmed whether or not he was seeking reelection in 2024, he detailed what he believed was Biden's mishandling of the U.S.- Mexico border.
Trump also criticized the Democratic leader for his actions regarding the coronavirus pandemic and the country's record-high inflation. The former president told the audience that the United States has gotten more problems and more destruction in the last year than during the time of five presidents put together.
The Republican businessman said that the decisions that the federal government was making were "wrecking and devastating" the lives of millions of people across the country. Trump continued to criticize the firing of Americans from their jobs and forcing innocent children to grow up in masks, Fox News reported.
Attack on Biden
Trump's Arizona speech was filled with various narratives, some overused, that claim various facts without evidence. For example, the Republican businessman said that the Democratic party was rationing life-saving therapeutics based on race and discriminated against white people. However, there is no evidence that suggests White Americans are being restricted from accessing coronavirus vaccines or treatments.
The former president referred to a previous opinion column from the Wall Street Journal that criticized New York State's guidelines on two limited antiviral treatments. These urged health providers to prioritize the therapies to be used for immunocompromised patients and people with risk factors.
The guidelines, which authorities released in late December, said that "nonwhite race or Hispanic/Latino ethnicity" were to be considered as risk factors. This was due to the longstanding systemic health and social inequities that have contributed to an increased risk of severe illness and death among these people.
State officials have responded to criticisms of their guidelines by citing data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The numbers showed that Black, Hispanic, and Native Americans were roughly two times as likely to die from the coronavirus than White Americans, the New York Times reported.
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