Trump touts Van Drew impeachment rebuke at New Jersey rally
Trump was rallying support for Rep. Van Drew who vowed "undying support" for him
Amid the ongoing impeachment trial in the Senate, President Donald Trump escaped Washington Tuesday night and campaigned for recent party-switcher Rep. Jeff Van Drew in New Jersey.
Trump pointed to the new Republican as an example of Democrats having gone too far with impeachment.
"He stood up to the House Democrats and the outrageous abuse of power you see going on right now," Trump told the rally crowd in Wildwood, New Jersey, who cheered Van Drew, a Democrat just weeks ago.
"The American people are disgusted by the Washington Democrat -- and you see it, you see it -- which is worse? The impeachment hoax or the witch hunts from Russia?" Trump asked the crowd.
The president also argued that Van Drew's party switch proved impeachment would lead to more Democrats leaving the party.
"We are going to be signing up millions and millions of registered Independents, Democrat voters," the president said.
However, support Among Democrats for removing the president from office is 82%, according to an ABC News/Washington Post poll.
While the rally at Wildwoods Convention Center is in the Democratic stronghold of New Jersey, Trump supporters had lined up around the block more than 24 hours before the president was scheduled to speak -- a not so uncommon occurrence at the president's campaign rallies.
And while the Trump campaign won't exactly say New Jersey is in play in 2020, a state that former Secretary of State and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton won by nearly 15 points in 2016, the president's team says the turnout for Trump's first rally in the Garden State should worry Democrats.
"If I were a Democrat, I would look at the enthusiasm and crowd here and think what the hell is going on here?" Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh told ABC News.
Trump will head to Iowa on Thursday for his second rally this week when he looks to counter Democrats ahead of the caucuses there next week. The campaign plans to deploy over 80 surrogates across Iowa on caucus day, including Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Lara Trump and Cabinet-level officials, such as acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney.
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