QUINCY, IL – Former President Donald Trump came to west-central Illinois Saturday to deliver his “complete and total endorsement” for state Sen. Darren Bailey, giving the ultraconservative downstate lawmaker gold-plated momentum heading into Tuesday’s six-way gubernatorial primary.
Trump also reiterated his stamp of approval for “ultra-MAGA” downstate Republican U.S. Rep. Mary Miller in her closely watched primary against fellow Republican U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, who alienated the ex-president with his vote in favor of establishing a January 6th Congressional panel.
During his roughly hour-long, thunderstorm-shortened speech, Trump was typical Trump, airing his false grievance about the “rigged” 2020 presidential election that he lost, jabbing at President Joe Biden’s handling of the inflation-savaged economy and rejoicing at Friday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning the 49-year-old Roe v Wade abortion-rights case.
But the biggest Illinois-centric news to come from Trump’s rally was his decision to finally make a splash in the state’s gubernatorial primary three days ahead of the election, where Bailey appears to be holding a commanding lead.
Trump’s endorsement follows Bailey’s rise in polls
A WBEZ/Chicago Sun-Times poll earlier this month showed Bailey with a 15 percentage point lead over Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin and a 21 percentage point lead over downstate venture capitalist Jesse Sullivan. Later polling has shown a similar double-digit advantage for the first-term state senator.
After praising Miller, Trump introduced Bailey as “the next governor of the great state of Illinois,” prompting chants from the crowd of “Bailey, Bailey, Bailey!”
“Darren is just the man to take on and defeat one of the worst governors in America, JB Pritzker. He’s one of the worst,” Trump shouted to applause. “I had to deal with this guy for a long time on COVID. He was as bad as anybody there is. He did a horrible job. He locked everybody in and locked them up. He was a disaster. His numbers are terrible. Everybody’s fleeing your state, OK? This is a disaster, and Darren is the opposite.”
Trump then launched into a seemingly unscripted anecdote involving Bailey when the two were posing for pictures with one another backstage.
“I wanted to say hello because I’m hearing Darren’s really doing a job,” Trump began. “And we’re standing up, and I’m shaking his hand. He said, ‘Sir, you have a hair coming down right in the middle.’ It was coming down. He said, ‘Let me get it, sir.’ And he grabbed it and pulled it out. I said, ‘Oh, that’s terrible. That’s terrible.’ I’m still looking for that hair. He just ripped it out.
“Which tells you a lot about Darren. There’s no games, right? Somebody else would’ve patted it gently back. He ripped it out,” Trump laughed. “That’s going to be one I remember. We’re still searching for that hair.”
The ex-president said Bailey would be tough on crime and cut taxes and described him as “a fighter and…outstanding warrior in the Illinois state Senate, where he’s totally, totally respected by all of them.
“Darren has my complete and total endorsement,” Trump said, throwing the crowd estimated at more than 2,000 people into a delirium at the sweltering fairground.
A beaming Bailey strode onto the stage alongside Trump to another round of “Bailey, Bailey, Bailey” chants.
“Who’s ready to save America? Who’s ready to save Illinois? Who’s ready to support a president who’s going to take this all back for us?” Bailey shouted, with huge applause following each question.
“I’m glad President Trump told the story about his loose hair because here’s the deal. I will not lie to anyone, and I will not let anything go unnoticed,” Bailey said. “And when I see it, I will…
Read More: Trump endorses Darren Bailey for Illinois governor