Greenville, North Carolina (CNN) Former President Donald Trump dashed the hopes of Republicans on Saturday who spent the weeks leading up to his public reemergence encouraging him to keep his focus on policy and Democratic shortcomings, rather than re-litigating his 2020 election loss once again. It was also a major test of his ability to be an instrumental surrogate for Republicans as the party approaches a grueling midterm cycle. "The Biden administration is pushing toxic critical race theory ... into our nation's schools," Trump claimed during a lengthier riff against his successor. But some Democrats seized on the former President's reemergence, suggesting that Republicans will suffer electorally for continuing to bear hug Trump. We should all declare with one unified voice that China must pay -- they must pay," Trump said.

Source: CNN June 06, 2021 03:11 UTC