When Donald Trump hosted meetings with Republicans in Congress on Thursday, it was the first time the Republican presidential nominee had been to the Capitol since his supporters forcibly stormed the chambers on January 6, 2021 to stop the certification of Joe’s victory Biden.
A lot has happened since then. The Supreme Court nullified the constitutional right to abortion. House Republicans expelled Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House. And Trump was convicted of 34 crimes in a New York court.
There was a lot to talk about.
During separate meetings with deputies and senators, Trump laughed at his conviction, praised current House Speaker Mike Johnson, and emphasized the need for Republicans to remain united until November. He told Johnson’s frequent antagonist, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene from Georgia, to be “nice” with the Speaker of the House, drawing laughter from all corners of the room, according to some present.
“It was a very joyful experience to have our leader back,” Rep. Matt Gaetz, the Florida Republican firebrand who led the motion to remove McCarthy as speaker of the House, tells TIME. Asked whether Trump fixed the conflict between Greene and Johnson, Gaetz said: “If he did, we will send him to Gaza next.”
During his meeting with senators at the offices of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Trump also appeared to “bury the hatchet” with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and other senators who have criticized the former president, a Senate Republican aide tells TIME. In March, McConnell endorsed Trump for president, despite previously saying Trump was “morally responsible” for the Jan. 6 riot. “I don’t think Trump was shooting at anyone,” the aide said.
“I’m 1,000% with them. They are with me 1,000 percent,” Trump told reporters Thursday afternoon after meeting with the majority of Republican senators. “We agree on almost everything and, if there isn’t, we resolve it.”
Trump’s visit coincided with a failed effort by Senate Democrats to pass a bill affirming the right of women across the country to access in vitro fertilization (IVF) amid a national debate over the popular post-fertility treatment. that the Alabama Supreme Court ruled in February that embryos are considered children. The Southern Baptist Convention suggested this week that the government should “restrict” how in vitro fertilization is used.
Trump did not mention in vitro fertilization in his meeting with House Republicans, lawmakers who attended the meetings told TIME, but he emphasized that Republicans should unite around their current position that decisions on abortion access should be left to the states. This position is at odds with some members of the Republican base, who are calling on Congress to pass a national abortion ban, without exceptions. “He just reminded us that it’s a statewide issue,” said Rep. Roger Williams, a Texas Republican.
Republicans said Trump spent most of his time talking about the economy and criticizing the Biden administration’s policies. “Trump was more energized than ever,” Rep. Ralph Norman, a South Carolina Republican who originally supported former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley in the presidential primary, told TIME of the meeting. “He has laid out a vision of what he will do… He is confident he will be re-elected.”
Trump counted Fox News reported after his meeting with senators that his running mate was “probably” in the room and that he would likely reveal his pick during the Republican convention that begins July 15. reported that Trump mentioned Senators Tim Scott of South Carolina, Marco Rubio of Florida and J.D. Vance of Ohio by name during the meeting and joked that Scott was “not a good presidential candidate” but was a “great replacement for him.”
Trump appeared to go off topic a bit during the House meeting, sources say, and at one point began complaining about crime rates. He called Milwaukee — where Republicans will hold their convention next month — a “horrible city.” Democrats quickly pounced on Trump’s smear of the largest city in a crucial swing state. “Add this to the list of things Donald Trump is wrong about,” said Wisconsin Democratic Governor Tony Evers wrote in the Xincluding the clown emoji.
At one point, Trump floated the idea of eliminating the U.S. income tax and replacing it with tariffs on imports, according to those who attended the House meeting. Norman said the tariffs were launched as a way to level the playing field with China.
The former president also commented on the flotilla of Russian warships that arrived in Cuba on Wednesday. President Vladimir Putin’s surprising move was seen by many as a show of force after the Biden administration said Ukraine could use US-supplied weapons near Kharkiv while attacking Russian forces. Russian ships do not carry nuclear weapons, but they are capable of launching some of Russia’s most touted missiles. Trump said such a display by Russia “wouldn’t happen to him” and that it is a “very real threat,” according to Norman.
When a Republican asked him about immigration and the border, Trump allegedly falsely claimed that there are “15 to 17 million” illegal migrants in the U.S. who are registered to vote. Trump promised to deport them all.
“I think he did the right thing,” says Williams, “by coming to where his base is and where his ambassadors will be – guys like me… He brought the whole team. it was amazing.
Representative Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat from Virginia, called Trump’s visit to the Capitol an attempt to make everyone who works in the building “forget what that day was like,” referring to January 6, 2021, when supporters of Trump stormed the chambers in protest of President Biden’s electoral victory.
Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat from Georgia, spoke with TIME on his way to vote on the IVF measure. “Trump is an American citizen and can come to the Capitol,” says Warnock. “The question is why are my Republican colleagues going there at a time when we are trying to defend families and their ability to have children.” Republicans ended up blocking the measure.
Trump’s visit to the Capitol comes two weeks after a Manhattan jury found him guilty of 34 criminal counts of falsifying business records related to a sex scandal before the 2016 election, making him the first former president to be convicted of a crime. Congressional Republicans criticized the verdict in a unified and unprecedented manner, claiming that the prosecutor and judge were biased. Some echoed Trump’s baseless suggestion that the Biden administration played a role in the prosecution. During his meeting with House Republicans, Trump did not appear overly concerned about his status as a criminal or his impending sentencing on July 11. “He laughed about it,” Norman said. “That really helped him.”
Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat who tweeted that it was “bring your criminal to work day” in response to Trump’s visit, told TIME that it is “unimaginable” that House Republicans who were at the Capitol on January rush to attend Trump’s meeting. “It demonstrates, from my point of view… the hunger for power – that people could withstand this attack and then rush to support it.”
House Republicans began the meeting by singing “Happy Birthday” to the former president, who turns 78 on Friday, and presenting him with the ball and bat from the congressional baseball game the night before. Republicans beat Democrats 31-11.
“He told me, ‘I watched the baseball game…you guys played really well,’” says Williams, who coached House Republicans to their fourth consecutive victory. “He picked some players who he said could have done a little better.”
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
