In Waco, Trump avoids mentioning standoff but invokes apocalyptic “WWIII” and war on “deep state”

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. When Trump Force One actually touched down in Waco, to a fired-up crowd that had been waiting in the scorching sun all day on an airport tarmac to see him, the former president avoided mentioning the standoff itself, but offered scattered warnings of sinister forces, World War III, and an apocalyptic “final battle” that wouldn’t be out of place in a cult hall. “We’re at a very pivotal point in our country.” Before Mr Trump took the stage, conservative rocker Ted Nugent delivered a guitar solo version of the “Star Spangled Banner,” but not before asking the crowd for January 6-inspired “moment of silence for the political prisoners in the gulags of Washington, DC, because of jackbooted thugs in our own government.” And if there was any mistaking the militant message in Trump world, consider the soundtrack: the former president began his remarks with a version of the national anthem, sung by people imprisoned for participation in the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol. open image in gallery An artist paints a portrait of former Trump before his appearance on stage at Waco Between these statements, Mr Trump railed against the prosecutors in Florida, Georgia, and Washington considering unprecedented criminal charges against the former president, calling them “the Department of Injustice and their local henchmen.” “The new weapon being used by out of control, unhinged Democrats to cheat in elections is to criminally investigate a candidate, bad publicity and all,” Mr Trump said. open image in gallery Much of Trump’s speech focused on his grievances America has “been hijacked” Steve Harris, a retired statistics professor from Waco, told The Independent.