Trump makes swing-state pitch during court break

Former President Trump is hitting the campaign trail Wednesday, holding his first events in battleground states since the start of his hush money trial in New York City.

The former president is slated to deliver remarks in Waukesha, Wis., on Wednesday afternoon, followed by an evening rally in Freeland, Mich. He is expected to attack President Biden over inflation and immigration, and will likely weigh in on his own legal issues and the ongoing protests on college campuses over the war in Gaza.

Democrats, meanwhile, are planning to go after Trump regarding abortion Wednesday, as a ban on the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy goes into effect in the former president’s home state of Florida.

Trump is required to be in court four days a week in New York City as he faces charges over falsifying business records related to an alleged hush money scheme to keep quiet an affair during the 2016 campaign.

He has repeatedly complained during appearances outside the courtroom in Manhattan that he is being kept off the campaign trail as he seeks a second term in the White House in a rematch with President Biden in November.

“I’m supposed to be in Georgia. I’m supposed to be in New Hampshire. I’m supposed to be in Ohio and lots of other places,” Trump said Tuesday.

But Trump has not previously used the scheduled off days on Wednesdays and weekends to campaign in swing states likely to determine the outcome of the election. He had scheduled a rally for North Carolina last month, but it was canceled because of severe weather.

Wisconsin and Michigan were two closely contested states in 2020, and both will be pivotal for Trump’s and Biden’s chances in November. A Decision Desk HQ/The Hill average of polls in Michigan shows Trump leading there by 4 percentage points, while an average of polls in Wisconsin has the former president ahead by 3 percentage points.