Former President Donald J. Trump drew a crowd of thousands on Saturday to a quiet South Carolina town\u2019s Independence Day event, where he assailed the integrity of major American institutions and painted a dark portrait of the country ahead of a holiday meant to celebrate its underpinnings.<\/p>\n
Speaking for nearly 90 minutes on Main Street in Pickens, S.C., with at least 20 American flags behind his back, Mr. Trump often eschewed the rhetorical flag-waving and calls for unity that have long been as central to Independence Day as hot dogs, baseball and fireworks.<\/p>\n
Instead, the twice-impeached and twice-indicted former president railed against Democrats and liberals, who he said threatened to rewrite America\u2019s past and erase its future. He skewered federal law enforcement, which he accused without evidence of rampant corruption. And he attacked President Biden, enumerating what he saw as his character flaws and accusing him of taking bribes from foreign nations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to have a respect for our country and for the office\u201d of the presidency, Mr. Trump said. \u201cBut we really have no interest in people who are sick.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Trump\u2019s comments were largely familiar. But the event highlighted the hold he has on his most fervent supporters \u2014 a challenge for his Republican rivals as they seek their party\u2019s presidential nomination from far behind Mr. Trump in the polls.<\/p>\n
Despite sweltering humidity and heat, thousands of people swarmed the streets of Pickens \u2014 a town of about 3,000 in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains \u2014 beginning at dawn.<\/p>\n
Pam Nichols, who described herself as an \u201cinsurrectionist,\u201d said that she flew from Mundelein, Ill., to proudly support Mr. Trump in person. She had last done so in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, she said, when a mob of Mr. Trump\u2019s supporters stormed the Capitol building. She did not talk in detail about her actions that day.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was told to lay low after,\u201d Ms. Nichols said, adding that she had watched a number of Mr. Trump\u2019s speeches online since. \u201cBut I felt like it\u2019s time to come out now. I\u2019m tired of laying low.\u201d<\/p>\n
The event in Pickens was only Mr. Trump\u2019s second full-scale rally since he kicked off his campaign in November. Though such rallies were a hallmark of his past two campaigns, he has so far largely taken the stage at events organized by other groups.<\/p>\n
Bryan Owens, the director of marketing for Pickens, said that a representative for the Trump campaign reached out two weeks ago to ask to come to the town for its Independence Day celebration.<\/p>\n
South Carolina, an early nominating state, was a key victory for Mr. Trump in the 2016 primaries as he sought to unite the Republican Party behind him. In 2020, he won the state handily, drawing overwhelming support in this region, a conservative swath of 10 counties in the northwest corner known as the Upstate.<\/p>\n
Mr. Owens said that the town\u2019s decision was easy. Though he personally would not support Mr. Trump in 2024, he said, the opportunity to bring a former president to Pickens was too good to pass up.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a once-in-a-lifetime event for Pickens,\u201d Mr. Owens continued, gesturing behind him to a crowd that packed the streets and stretched for several blocks. \u201cAnd people that aren\u2019t that familiar with small towns \u2014 they\u2019ll get that experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pickens\u2019s Independence Day festivities began with a 5K race to raise money to repair water fountains on a local nature trail. American flags lined the streets, and signs encouraged visitors to shop local, even as businesses on Main Street were closed because of Secret Service measures.<\/p>\n
With parking near the site of the rally limited, residents were charging up to $100 \u2014\u00a0cash, many were quick to clarify \u2014\u00a0to let visitors leave cars in their driveways or on their lawns. For another $20, a golf cart might shuttle you from your car toward the rally\u2019s entrance, outside a McDonald\u2019s at the end of Main Street.<\/p>\n
Red, white and blue were the wardrobe colors of the day, from hat to boots. Tammy Milligan, of Myrtle Beach, S.C., arrived dressed in a Wonder Woman costume, which she said she started wearing around the time of Mr. Trump\u2019s first impeachment in 2019.<\/p>\n
Even as she stood behind Mr. Trump wholeheartedly and called him a patriot, she acknowledged that much of the country felt differently \u2014 which she framed as an American ideal.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, everyone\u2019s entitled to think what they want to think,\u201d Ms. Milligan said. \u201cThat\u2019s our country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Trump\u00a0was not so generous. He dwelled on the federal indictment that charged him with illegally retaining national security documents and obstructing the government\u2019s efforts to reclaim them. And even as he denounced the prosecution as an egregious and politically motivated step, he vowed, as he has before, that he would reciprocate in kind if elected.<\/p>\n
Outlining a dark vision of America, Mr. Trump called his political opponents \u201csick people\u201d and \u201cdegenerates\u201d who were \u201crunning our country to the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n