Waco (FOX 44/KWKT) — Former President Donald Trump is holding the first rally of his 2024 Presidential campaign at the Waco Regional Airport.
Waco leaders expect more than 15,000 people to attend the event that starts with guest speakers at 2 p.m. The former president is expected to take the stage at 5 p.m.
Some of the Republican guests of honor are Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, and Representatives Pete Sessions, Ronny Jackson, and Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Rock legend Ted Nugent is expected to perform the “Star Spangled Banner” at 2 p.m. and Pastor Ramiro Pena of Christ the King Church will perform the opening prayer. You can watch his program on FOX 44 every Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m.
Fans of Pres. Donald Trump line up outside the Waco Regional Airport
There are several vendors at the event, but not all are looking to make money. One man from Tennessee is giving away free religious books, as he does at all of the other 16 Trump r allies he has attended.
The China Spring VFD is hoping the Trump rally will translate to bigger crowds for its bi-annual barbeque fundraiser. Their fire department captain, Andrew Owens says there are mixed feelings.
“Little exciting but a little nervous at the same time because it could go either way and help bring people to our area to eat, or it could take away so it’s going to be 50/50 there,” said Owens.
Mr. Trump is expected to speak for at least an hour, with one of the main topics being the indictment he may soon face in New York. He announced last weekend that he expected to be indicted and arrested on Tuesday. That did not happen.
The Manhattan grand jury investigating Donald Trump over hush money payments turned to other matters on Thursday, delaying until next week at the earliest any vote on a historic indictment of the former president, according to a person familiar with the matter.
It was not clear whether Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s prosecutors planned to question more witnesses before the grand jurors next week or when a vote might be taken about possibly indicting Trump.
Friday morning, Mr. Trump argued that filing charges against him could result in “potential death & destruction.”
“What kind of person can charge another person, in this case a former President of the United States, who got more votes than any sitting President in history, and leading candidate (by far!) for the Republican Party nomination, with a Crime, when it is known by all that NO Crime has been committed, & also known that potential death & destruction in such a false charge could be catastrophic for our Country?” Trump wrote on Truth Social shortly after 1 a.m. Friday.
“Why & who would do such a thing? Only a degenerate psychopath that truely hates the USA!” Trump wrote.
The post marked an escalation in Trump’s barrage of attacks against Bragg. It also further fueled concerns that Trump is stoking violence ahead of potential charges.