CNN
—
Former President Donald Trump will deliver the keynote address Saturday at the New Hampshire Republican Party’s annual meeting as he gets back on track looking to ramp up his 2024 presidential campaign.
Trump will engage with hundreds of Republican leaders and community activists at the meeting in Salem before heading a second campaign event in South Carolina – also an early voting state – later in the day.
The pair of events gives Trump an opportunity to renew his campaign, which has been moving slowly since he announced his candidacy in November. The former president remains the only major announced candidate for 2024, but several Republicans are publicly weighing in or encouraging speculation about possible bids.
New Hampshire Republican Party chairman Stephen Stepanek expressed enthusiasm about the former president’s upcoming address, saying in a statement, “President Trump has long been a strong defender of New Hampshire’s First in the Nation Primary Status and is excited us that it is. we will be with us to give comments to our Members.”
Trump’s visit comes days before the Democratic National Committee is set to meet to vote on a new 2024 presidential primary calendar proposed by President Joe Biden that would strip New Hampshire of its premier status in the nation – a move he strongly opposes. by New Hampshire Democrats. Republicans have already locked in their early state lineup of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada – the same Democratic lineup before.
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, who is seen as a possible contender for the 2024 GOP nomination, has sharply criticized Trump. He argued in December that Trump is “not the influence he thinks he is” and said the Republican Party was “moving on” from him.
After the New Hampshire event, Trump will fly to South Carolina, a state that helped pave the way for him to become the GOP nominee in 2016 and is expected to reveal a leadership team and a handful of endorsements. Among the top Republicans from South Carolina who are scheduled to attend the event at the Statehouse in Columbia to support the former president are Senator Lindsey Graham, Gov. Henry McMaster and US Rep. Russell Fry, who won last year’s primary over the GOP incumbent Trump voted to impeach.
The Department of Justice continues to investigate Trump, and special counsel Jack Smith is overseeing the criminal probe into the retention of classified documents at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort and in parts of January 6, 2021. out at the US Capitol. . Both investigations involve Trump’s conduct.
Trump’s campaign events on Saturday follow recent revelations that classified documents were also found in locations linked to Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel to take over the investigation into classified Obama-era documents found in Biden’s home and former private office.
Earlier this week, Facebook parent company Meta announced that it would reinstate Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts in the coming weeks, just over two years after it was suspended following the January 6 attack.
This heading has been updated.
