By Janice Hisle
A day after he pleaded not guilty to criminal charges in hostile, Democrat-heavy Washington, former President Donald Trump broke Republicans’ fundraising records in friendly territory, expressing determination to fight prosecutions that are “not fair” and “probably not legal.”
Speaking to a sold-out crowd of 2,700 at the Alabama Republican Party’s Summer Dinner on Aug. 4, Mr. Trump got a boost from the GOP faithful—and he reciprocated.
The former president’s keynote speech at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel’s Convention Center, the largest event ever held there, raised $1.2 million, “making this the all-time largest fundraiser in the history of the Alabama Republican Party,” the state’s GOP chair, John Wahl, told the audience.
“Donald Trump has been good to the Republican Party of Alabama. But he’s been even better to America," Mr. Wahl said.
Many Alabamans have been in Mr. Trump’s corner since he launched his political career in 2015. Alabama was the state where, eight years ago this month, Mr. Trump held his first stadium rally. The event proved that the former reality TV star could have broad appeal as a political candidate.
After Mr. Trump was elected president in 2016, his policies strengthened the American economy and improved the nation overall, Mr. Wahl said. But under his successor, Democrat Joe Biden, the nation has suffered, he added.
3rd Indictment Key Fact: Trump Not Charged With Inciting Riot
Ahead of Mr. Trump’s Aug. 4 speech, more than a dozen elected state and federal officials from Alabama, including the state’s entire U.S. House of Representatives delegation, announced they are endorsing Mr. Trump as he makes his third presidential run.
Mr. Trump carried 62 percent of the vote in Alabama when he defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton and won the presidency in 2016; he won the state by that same percentage again in 2020, even though Mr. Biden was declared the national winner.
‘Doing It for Us’
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), who introduced Mr. Trump, told the audience: “He’s had a tough week."
A federal grand jury handed up an indictment against Mr. Trump on Aug. 1, accusing him of going too far in his opposition to the 2020 election results. On Aug. 3, Mr. Trump appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to those four charges.
Two earlier indictments accuse him of falsifying New York business records and mishandling classified documents.
"We need to stand behind him. It’s great he’s here, in a place like Alabama that loves Donald Trump. Because, sometimes, even as strong as he is, as much as he’s pushed back, he needs encouragement,” Mr. Tuberville said.
He added: “Folks, they’re not after him; they’re after you. They’re after our country”—radical leftists who hate our country want to rewrite the Constitution, “ruined our borders,” and “infiltrated” the nation’s justice system, he said.
Mr. Trump has fought all of that, Mr. Tuberville said. “It’s tough on him and his family, but he’s doing it for all of us, not for him.”