President Donald Trump and his re-election push to be the first Republican to win Minnesota in decades swept into Minneapolis Thursday with a whirlwind that began with controversy days before and continued through his evening rally at Target Center.
Standing before a backdrop of “Cops for Trump” T-shirt wearers, Trump heaped praise on police and squared off against his foes here and nationally, attacking Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Minneapolis’ U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, former Vice President Joe Biden and the Democratic-led House impeachment inquiry that threatens his presidency.
Trump takes the stage with Pence in Minneapolis, at his first rally since impeachment probe opened pic.twitter.com/fXuVZBnFT5
— Ryan Faircloth (@RyanFaircloth) October 11, 2019
Outside, thousands of protesters lined the streets, blowing whistles, chanting “traitor, traitor” and calling for Trump’s ouster. Protesters jeered at supporters entering the arena and tensions intensified as the event broke up and attendees dispersed.
Inside, to a roaring crowd of some 20,000, Trump launched into his common foils, including the media and Democrats, during a 1 hour, 40-minute speech.
Trump’s push to win Minnesota in 2020 was evident months before his Thursday night rally. He is establishing a campaign apparatus that dwarfs what he had here for the entire 2016 cycle; his campaign plans to pour tens of millions of dollars into the state and have 100 staffers on the ground by Election Day.
Here’s some of what Trump said:
ON WINNING MINNESOTA
Trump’s first words were: “This is a great state. We are going to win this state.”
That won’t be easy. No Republican presidential candidate has won here since Richard Nixon in 1972, making Minnesota the state with the longest blue streak in the nation.
But Trump’s 1.5 percentage point loss to Hillary Clinton here in 2016 was the closest losing margin of any presidential race in Minnesota since 1984. The president is confident he can win Minnesota this time, and his campaign has singled out the state as one of its top pickup targets.
MINNEAPOLIS POLICE
A prominent theme of Trump’s remarks was support for law enforcement.
After Trump’s visit was announced, Frey enacted a policy banning police from attending political events in uniform.
Frey said the policy, which has been adopted in numerous other major cities, had been proposed for some time. But the timing of putting it into effect prompted police union head Bob Kroll to accuse Frey of trying to stifle police support for Trump. The union began selling “Cops for Trump” T-shirts, which prompted one St. Paul officer to start selling “Cops AGAINST Trump T-Shirts.”
“I love these red shirts,” Trump said at one point during the rally, later adding that “cops love Trump. Trump loves cops.”
Trump and his son Eric gave shout-outs from the podium to Kroll, and at one point invited him and other police officers onto the stage. The move drew a lengthy ovation.
Kroll also spoke before the rally, telling the crowd that “the mayor says the president isn’t welcome, but the Police Federation of Minneapolis begs to differ.”
MINNEAPOLIS MAYOR JACOB FREY
“Minneapolis, you got a rotten mayor,” Trump said of Frey. “You got a bad mayor.”
In the days before the rally, a mini-drama erupted between Frey and Trump.
Frey, a Democrat and vocal Trump critic, said Target Center would be on the hook for $530,000 in public safety measures to secure the streets outside the arena.
Target Center’s management firm attempted to bill the Trump campaign upfront, which prompted the Trump campaign to accuse Frey of trying to shut down the rally. In the end, the management firm AEG Worldwide, appeared to have backed off, making it unclear who will pick up the tab.
THE BIDENS AND IMPEACHMENT
Trump launched into several tirades against former vice president and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, as well as his son Hunter’s business practices.
“He’s been part of the Washington swamp for years,” Trump said, before using his most crude attack yet on the rival he calls “Sleepy Joe.”
“He was never a good vice president because he only understood how to kiss Barack Obama’s ass,” he said, to loud cheers.
Trump also railed against a Democratic-led impeachment probe, which he called “crazy” and a “witch hunt.”
“The Democrats’ brazen attempt to overthrow our government will produce a backlash at the ballot box, the likes of which they’ve never ever seen before in the history of this country.”
REP. ILHAN OMAR
From the second he mentioned Omar, Trump came out swinging. His Omar remarks drew the loudest boos of the night from a raucous crowd.
He called her an “America-hating socialist” and a “disgrace,” and then pondered to the crowd how she got elected in Minnesota.
“How the hell did that ever happen?” Trump said. “She is a disgrace, and she is one of the reasons I’m going to win and the Republican Party is going to win Minnesota.”
He then gave a shout-out to a writer for a right-wing website, Powerline, who was among the first to report the allegation that Omar married her brother. The allegation has not been substantiated, and Omar has denied it, but she has refused to provide evidence to disprove it, or, in recent months, respond to questions about it.
SOMALI REFUGEES
“For many years,” Trump said, the U.S. government “brought large numbers of refugees to your state — from Somalia.”
The crowd erupted in boos.
Trump continued, saying the resettlement of the refugees from war-torn Somalia, who included Omar’s family, was done “without considering the impact on school boards … and taxpayers. I promise you that as president, I will give local communities a greater say in refugee policy.”
He said he had already reduced refugee resettlement by 85 percent since taking office.
MINNESOTA REPUBLICANS
Trump gave shout-outs to Minnesota’s Republican members of Congress — Tom Emmer, Pete Stauber and Jim Hagedorn — as well as state Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka and state Republican Party chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan.
“You don’t want to fight him and you don’t want to play him in hockey,” Trump said of Stauber, who represents Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District and used to be a policeman and professional hockey player.
The president also praised former Republican U.S. Rep. Jason Lewis, who is running against Democratic U.S. Sen. Tina Smith.
TURKEY WITHDRAWAL
Trump defended his decision, criticized by members of both parties, to pull U.S. military forces out of the Kurdish region of Syria — a move that was followed by Turkey attacking the Kurds — longtime American allies.
He cast the issue as an extension of his “America first” stance to foreign policy.
“Turkey has been fighting the Kurds for two centuries,” he said, adding later that he was considering sanctions, as well “maybe we’ll mediate a deal.”
On balance, he said, America’s historic involvement in the Middle East has made the region “less safe,” adding, “The single greatest single mistake our country made, in its history, was going into the quicksand of the Middle East.”
HOW DEMOCRATS RESPONDED TO RALLY
Minnesota DFL Chairman Ken Martin denounced Trump in a statement issued after the rally.
“Tonight we witnessed a President of the United States who instead of finding ways to bring this country together during a time of unprecedented unease and anxiety has doubled down on his politics of destruction,” Martin said. “Demeaning political rivals, attacking the media, gross vulgarity, an immaturity that would make my two teenage sons look like reasoned adults. The one thing I would agree with what Donald Trump said tonight is that clearly something is a little different up there.”
Christopher Magan contributed to this report.