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Trump lashes out at Democratic 2020 opponents and tells thousands at rally Obama ‘chose not to’ end Aids epidemic

Donald Trump spoke to supporters in New Jersey to support former Democratic Congressman Jeff Van Drew, which recently switch parties: Getty Images
Donald Trump spoke to supporters in New Jersey to support former Democratic Congressman Jeff Van Drew, which recently switch parties: Getty Images

Moments after his legal counsel paused their defence of the president in his impeachment trial, Donald Trump attacked "rage-filled" Democrats at a campaign rally in New Jersey, taking particular aim at 2020 candidates' platforms and defending himself from campaign attack ads that deflate the president's false claims.

The president claimed Republicans prevented insurance companies from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, saying "we are protecting people with pre-existing conditions and we always will. The Republican party ... we saved it."

But Republicans have repeatedly tried to undermine those protections in the Affordable Care Act, which the president has vowed to undo in the courts.

He also claimed that former president Obama "chose not to" end the AIDS epidemic, despite the administration spending more than $10b in research for HIV/AIDS.

Among his shortest rallies, speaking at roughly an hour, the president addressed thousands of supporters in the seaside town of Wildwood, represented in Congress by Jeff Van Drew, who recently switched his party allegiance from Democrat to Republican. It was the president's first rally in the state since taking office.

Mr Van Drew, who switched his party after siding with Republicans against impeaching the president, later told Mr Trump he has his "undying support" despite telling a constituent weeks before his party switch that he would never vote for him.

He appeared on stage next to the president on Tuesday, telling the crowd that "the eyes of the world are on South Jersey and all of us." Mr Van Drew is up for re-election in 2020.

The president also singled out Bernie Sanders, who has climbed polls ahead of elections in early primary states and fares well against hypothetical match-ups between potential Democrat nominees and Mr Trump, for his proposed Green New Deal.

Mr Trump said: "Pipelines are good. They're underground. Environmentally sound."

He boasted about "America's energy independence" as the world's top producer of oil and gas, which it earned in 2012 under the Obama administration.

The president attacked California cities spending billions of dollars to address homelessness, saying Democrat-controlled governments in that state "don't know what the hell they're doing".

The president falsely claimed that "thousands upon thousands" of MS-13 gang members have been removed from the US by immigration agencies, and said Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers "start swinging" into a "pack" of immigrants, "and they end up standing up. That's the end of that."

He said: "You have criminals on the street who should be taken the hell out of the country and brought back to wherever the hell they came from."

Mr Trump boasted about his win at the US Supreme Court, which sided with the administration in its attempts to deny immigrants seeking permanent legal status if they're enrolled in public benefits.

He said: "We will now finally be able to enforce federal law [and] ensure people are able to support themselves financially and not abuse taxpayer-funded programs."

As the crowd chanted to "build a wall" on the US-Mexico border, the president falsely claimed that 100 miles of wall have been built, though that only includes replaced fencing.

After making a campaign trial promise to somehow make Mexico pay for the wall, he claimed on Tuesday that Mexico will "ultimately and very nicely" pay for its construction.

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