Former U.S. President Donald Trump continued a summer of campaign-style rallies this weekend in Phoenix, Ariz., where he criticized a wide range of people and topics, from his former vice president to basketball star LeBron James.
Videos from the Turning Point USA “Rally to Protect Our Elections” event, which aired on Newsmax, show that Trump also took time to reiterate claims of voter fraud related to the 2020 election.
On athletes
During some parts of his speech, Trump took on basketball star LeBron James and the U.S. women’s soccer team.
Before Trump mentioned James, he appeared to be discussing how he would only recruit transgender athletes if he was the coach of a women’s sports team.
“Somebody said that if LeBron James decided to get the operation, how would he be on the court?” said Trump, referring to gender confirmation surgeries.
James, a championship-winning NBA player and three-time Olympian, identifies as male.
He has never publicly expressed a desire to undergo gender confirmation surgery, reported Business Insider.
“LeBron James, you can have him,” continued Trump, who previously criticized James for tweeting about an Ohio shooting. “Did you see the basketball ratings that were terrible? They went up after his team was defeated.”
In addition to James, Trump mocked the U.S. women’s soccer team for losing a game to Sweden in the Tokyo Olympics. FIFA currently ranks the team as the top women’s soccer team worldwide.
On former staff, fellow Republicans
As he has done before, Trump bashed former Vice President Mike for failing to use claims of voter fraud to prevent current President Joe Biden’s win to be certified.
“I only wish that my friend Mike Pence had that additional courage to send the results back to the legislatures,” he said, to cheers from the crowd.
Trump’s claims of election fraud are unsubstantiated.
The former president also took aim at former Defense Secretary Gen. Jim Mattis, Chief of Staff John Kelly and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley during his more than two-hour speech. He didn’t spare politicians from his party either, with remarks skewering Republican Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
“The old crow,” he called McConnell. “I’m not too high on him,” Trump continued before he said that the Kentucky senator said “the nastiest” things about him even after Trump endorsed him.
The crowd also cheered when Trump said he wouldn’t endorse Ducey of he ran for Senate.
Apart from these comments, Trump mentioned his disdain for the Green New Deal and supporters wanting him to run for the 2024 presidential election.
According to the Washington Post, Trump’s political PAC raised about $75 million in the first half of this year.