Substitute while the actions of the article are loading
NEBRASCA City, Nebraska – Former President Donald Trump on Sunday gave a closing speech on a Republican presidential candidate accused of sexually assaulting many women, delving deeper into the primary election that divided Republicans in this hard-line conservative state.
Trump appeared at a rally in Greenwood with Charles Herbster, a businessman who advised the former president on agricultural policy and donated to his campaigns. The visit came after a recent report by the Nebraska Examiner, in which eight women, including a state senator speaking on protocol, accused Herbster of touching them inappropriately. Last week, another eight women claimed Herbster had touched her. He denied the allegations.
According to Sen. Julie Slam (R), Herbster lifted her skirt without her consent and touched her inappropriately as she went through a local Republican fundraiser in a crowded ballroom in 2019. Elizabeth Todson, a former assistant to a senator from state, Herbster said, grabbed her buttocks after he stopped to greet her at the same event. Several women told the Examiner that Herbster had touched them inappropriately when greeting him or posing for a photo.
Both Trump and Herbster tried to dismiss the allegations on Sunday by taking a challenging stance without discussing the allegations specifically. The former president called Herbster a “very good man” who was “evil.” Trump said Herbster was “innocent” in what he called “despised accusations.”
“I protect people when I know they are good,” Trump said. “A lot of people look at you and say, ‘You don’t have to do this, sir.’ I protect my friends. “
The former president invited Herbster to the stage during his speeches. The gubernatorial candidate is using his time to talk about being one of Trump’s earliest supporters in 2016.
Trump, who has faced and denied numerous allegations ranging from sexual harassment to rape, backed other candidates accused of sexual misconduct or domestic violence, and denied the allegations.
These include Herschel Walker, a U.S. Senate candidate in Georgia who is accused of threatening the lives of two women, and Sean Parnell, who ended his campaign in the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania last year amid allegations of domestic violence, and Roy Moore, 2017 candidate for the US Senate in Alabama, who was accused by two women of initiating unwanted sexual intercourse when Moore was 30 years old and they were 16 and 14 years old.
Speaking on stage before Trump spoke, Herbster briefly and obliquely addressed the accusations, saying the “political establishment” did not want him to win. “They’re trying to scare me out of this race and it’s not going to happen,” Herbster said. “We’ll get Nebraska back.”
He likened his vision of “making Nebraska great again” to Trump’s approach to the presidency, rolling up his sleeves to tackle illegal immigration and protect religious freedom. “This is my show,” Herbster added.
Trump’s presence in the Nebraska race pitted him against outgoing Gov. Pete Ricketts (R), who said Herbster would be a “terrible governor” and backed a rival candidate, University of Nebraska Regent Jim Pilen.
Accusations of sexual assault against Herbster have become a contentious issue in primary elections. Herbster suggested that Ricketts was behind them, which the governor denied. Taking a position similar to Trump, Herbster claims that both were falsely accused for political reasons.
“This is a book from the past,” Herbster told former Trump adviser Stephen K. Bannon in his War Room podcast. “Look what you did to Clarence Thomas. See what they did to Donald J. Trump. Look what they did to Brett M. Cavanaugh. Now this is Charles W. Herbster.
Trump hinted at a personal reason for the campaign with Herbster – trying to prove once again that the candidates he supported are winners. He mentioned his preferred candidates in other states, including Ohio, which is holding a closely monitored Republican Senate primary on Tuesday. Trump recently backed author and venture capitalist JD Vance, but on Sunday seemed to mix his name with Josh Mandel, a Republican candidate.
“We supported JP, didn’t we?” JD Mandel, “said Trump, who at the same rally mocked President Biden for tripping over his words.
After telling the crowd how many of his favorite candidates won the primary, Trump cited slides by his sociologist McLaughlin & Associates, citing figures that show that more than 60 percent of his constituents “strongly” support him. .
“Strong support means you can do almost anything and they will support you,” Trump said.
Herbster enlisted former Trump White House senior Kelly Conway to help with his campaign last year, along with former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. He broke up with Lewandowski in December when the adviser was accused of sexual harassment.
Trump was scheduled to meet with Herbster on Friday, but the event was postponed due to time. Sunday’s rally included two Conservative activists who falsely claimed that the 2020 election had been stolen by Trump: MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and Republican activist David Bossi, producer of a documentary called Rigged.
Trump backed Herbster last year, fueling tensions among local Republicans, starting with Ricketts, who called on the former president not to stand behind the candidate. In January, the governor approved Pilen. “I respect a lot of President Trump’s achievements,” Ricketts said. “But we will not agree on that.”
The allegations against Herbster have thrown more uncertainty into what sociologists see as a three-way race between him, Pilen and US Senator Brett Lindström (right), with State Senator Theresa Thibodeau (right) not far behind. While Trump won Nebraska by 19 points in 2020 and remained extremely popular with Republicans in the state, some primary voters said they were not sold to support Herbster.
Herbster’s campaign, which did not respond to a request for comment, had other problems. Last July, Herbster’s original aide, Thibodeau, withdrew his candidacy, saying the candidate was “chaotic and disorganized” and unprepared for the top job.
“I have never seen that there is any real desire to learn about Nebraska or to learn about Nebraska politics,” said Thibodeau, who ran in the primary for governor. “Those leadership characteristics just don’t exist.”
Herbster, who spent $ 5 million of his own fortune on his campaign, was seen leading a tight race when Slama accused him of groping her in 2019. Herbster filed a defamation lawsuit, saying “false accusations and attacks against my character “was” part of a larger scheme “to defeat him.
“We will show this case for what it is: a frivolous and unscrupulous attempt to harass a victim of sexual violence in order to remain silent,” Slama’s lawyer said in a statement to The Washington Post.
At a parade in Nebraska City on Saturday, on the occasion of Arber’s 150th anniversary, Herbster raced back and forth along the route, shaking hands and telling a family not to believe “all the nonsense they hear.”
Some voters grabbed signs for Herbster’s campaign with the words “Trump approved” under his name. Many were skeptical of the allegations against Herbster.
“He’s the best fit for the job,” said Terry Cohen, 36. “I don’t think it really matters.” I don’t think there’s a body in it. “His wife, 43, said,” People will say what they say, no matter who he is.
Opponents of the Republicans did not call on Herbster to leave the race, but criticized his response to the accusations. In a brief interview, Pilen dismissed his rival’s suggestion that he was simply the last of the Conservatives to face false accusations. “Since I’m a veterinarian and a pig farmer,” said Pilen, “I’d call it nonsense.”
Lindström said he did not believe in “rushing to a verdict”, but was “disgusted” by the accusations. He knew and trusted the two identified prosecutors, Slam and Todsen, he added.
“When I look at the people who came out, I tend to take their word for it,” he said after speaking to supporters on Saturday. “Personally, as I have daughters and am in the political world, it is a little discouraging to hear that someone who is running for governor would or could be involved in this kind of activity.
Rival candidates are not alone in questioning Herbster’s defense or explanations. When the allegations were first announced, all 13 women in the Nebraska Senate signed a letter calling the allegations “disqualifying” and “completely unacceptable.”
“Sexual assault is disgusting and harmful,” they wrote, including Sen. Carol Blood (D), who is running without resistance for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. “It’s not a matter of politics. It’s a matter of character and basic human decency. “
Herbster ran a television commercial denying the allegations, noting that Slama had once worked for the Ricketts. At a recent press conference, Herbster explained that he “took the path of lawyers to protect my name and reputation.”
“I respect all the women, all the women in this land, “Herbster said. “The number of calls, text messages and prayers that come to me is absolutely huge.”
On Tuesday, four Republican senators, all women, launched the Herbster Victims Legal Protection Fund. In a joint statement, they accused Herbster of trying to “use the judiciary as a weapon to silence his victims” and avoid responsibility, adding that survivors of sexual violence and witnesses must be able to come …
Add Comment