Call him the campaigner in chief.
Donald wrapped a West Coast political rally and fundraising swing on Friday with another raucous campaign rally, this time in Las Vegas, as he continues trying to preempt – and disrupt – early Democratic caucuses and primaries.
After a tweet-filled morning at his hotel and casino near the Vegas Strip during which he tried to dismiss his intelligence community’s warnings of new Russian election meddling as a “Democratic hoax” and offered a taxpayer-funded bailout to farmers, the president hit the stage trying to flip the Silver State into his column as part of a strategy to shore up the electoral map in case states he narrowly won in 2016 go blue in November.
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The Las Vegas rally follows ones in Phoenix on Wednesday night and Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Thursday night. And, by all accounts, he is feeling confident about chances of securing a second term. The president on Thursday night greeted some supporters with reporters traveling with him within earshot. He asked them how they thought former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg did in Wednesday night’s ninth Democratic debate.
“It wasn’t pretty,” Mr said before lauding the Las Vegas crowd for showing up at noon local time after that rally was initially scheduled for 8 p.m. “I have to get back to Washington to work,” he said with a smile. “This is too much fun.”
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Trump styles his ‘You’re fired!’ pose in his Tower office in June 2012. At the time he was known as a reality TV star on The Apprentice
Diane Bondareff/Invision/AP
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He was also well known as the patron of the Miss Universe competition
Getty
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Early signs of’s ambition for the presidency can be found everywhere. Not least in his 2011 book ‘Time to get tough: Making America #1 again’
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Trump with Piers Morgan in November 2010. Piers Morgan has long held that he and are good friends
Getty
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Trump appeared on Fox & Friends, his favourite show, in August 2011
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Trump considered running in the 2012 election, where he would have faced Barack Obama. He is speaking here at an event for a Republican women’s group
Getty
7/29
Trump was subject to a Comedy Central roast in 2011. He is pictured here being roasted by rapper Snoop Dogg
Getty
8/29
Given that this store is in the lobby of Tower, it can be said that sells merchandise of himself out of his own home
Getty
9/29
Trump held meetings with prominent Republicans when considering his 2012 bid. He is pictured here with Alaska governor Sarah Palin
Getty
10/29
He didn’t end up running in 2012 afterall, instead endorsing Republican candidate Mitt Romney
AFP/Getty
11/29
Trump’s golf course in Aberdeen proved controversial in 2012 when he began lobbying the Scottish government against wind power in order that they wouldn’t install turbines off the shore by his new course
Getty
12/29
He even gave eence to a Scottish parliamentary committee discouraging wind energy
AFP/Getty
13/29
He still found time for a round of course
AFP/Getty
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On 16 June 2015, announced that he would run for the presidency of the United States in the 2016 election as a Republican
Getty
15/29
His campaign was divisive, courting controversy wherever he went. Ultimately he was declared the Republican candidate in June 2016
Getty
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Trump took part in the TV debate against opponent Hillary Clinton on 9 October
Getty
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Trump and wife Melania vote in the presidential election on 8 November 2016
AFP/Getty
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Hillary Clinton conceded defeat at 2:50am on 9 November and president-elect swiftly delivered his victory speech to a crowd of supporters
Getty
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News coverage around the world focused on the huge political upset that’s victory spelled
AFP/Getty
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Trump met with president Obama to discusss transition planning on 10 November.
AFP/Getty
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Donald and Nigel Farage pose in the golden elevator at Tower on 12 November 2016. Farage was the first British politician to meet with after the election
LeaveEUOffical/Twitter
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The inauguration of Donald took place on 20 January 2017.’s press secretary Sean Spicer boasted that the crowd was the ‘largest ever’ to witness an inauguration, a claim that was proved not to be true
Getty
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In his first 100 days as leader, signed 24 executve orders, the most of any president
AFP/Getty
24/29
One of’s most memorable election pledges was to build a wall between the US and Mexico. He is standing here in front of a prototype for a section of the wall
Getty
25/29
Trump’s meetings with other world leaders have proed no short supply of photo opportunities
Getty
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Trump was welcomed to the UK by the Queen and a state banquet was held at Buckingham Palace in his honour
Reuters
27/29
Not everyone welcomed the president. Mass protests were held in London throughout his visits in both 2018 and 2019
EPA
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One of the most significant meetings has held with another leader was with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. In June 2019, became the first sitting president to set foot in North Korea
Getty
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2020 will see president fight for a second term in office, who knows what the next decade will bring?
Getty
1/29
Trump styles his ‘You’re fired!’ pose in his Tower office in June 2012. At the time he was known as a reality TV star on The Apprentice
Diane Bondareff/Invision/AP
2/29
He was also well known as the patron of the Miss Universe competition
Getty
3/29
Early signs of’s ambition for the presidency can be found everywhere. Not least in his 2011 book ‘Time to get tough: Making America #1 again’
Getty
4/29
Trump with Piers Morgan in November 2010. Piers Morgan has long held that he and are good friends
Getty
5/29
Trump appeared on Fox & Friends, his favourite show, in August 2011
Getty
6/29
Trump considered running in the 2012 election, where he would have faced Barack Obama. He is speaking here at an event for a Republican women’s group
Getty
7/29
Trump was subject to a Comedy Central roast in 2011. He is pictured here being roasted by rapper Snoop Dogg
Getty
8/29
Given that this store is in the lobby of Tower, it can be said that sells merchandise of himself out of his own home
Getty
9/29
Trump held meetings with prominent Republicans when considering his 2012 bid. He is pictured here with Alaska governor Sarah Palin
Getty
10/29
He didn’t end up running in 2012 afterall, instead endorsing Republican candidate Mitt Romney
AFP/Getty
11/29
Trump’s golf course in Aberdeen proved controversial in 2012 when he began lobbying the Scottish government against wind power in order that they wouldn’t install turbines off the shore by his new course
Getty
12/29
He even gave eence to a Scottish parliamentary committee discouraging wind energy
AFP/Getty
13/29
He still found time for a round of course
AFP/Getty
14/29
On 16 June 2015, announced that he would run for the presidency of the United States in the 2016 election as a Republican
Getty
15/29
His campaign was divisive, courting controversy wherever he went. Ultimately he was declared the Republican candidate in June 2016
Getty
16/29
Trump took part in the TV debate against opponent Hillary Clinton on 9 October
Getty
17/29
Trump and wife Melania vote in the presidential election on 8 November 2016
AFP/Getty
18/29
Hillary Clinton conceded defeat at 2:50am on 9 November and president-elect swiftly delivered his victory speech to a crowd of supporters
Getty
19/29
News coverage around the world focused on the huge political upset that’s victory spelled
AFP/Getty
20/29
Trump met with president Obama to discusss transition planning on 10 November.
AFP/Getty
21/29
Donald and Nigel Farage pose in the golden elevator at Tower on 12 November 2016. Farage was the first British politician to meet with after the election
LeaveEUOffical/Twitter
22/29
The inauguration of Donald took place on 20 January 2017.’s press secretary Sean Spicer boasted that the crowd was the ‘largest ever’ to witness an inauguration, a claim that was proved not to be true
Getty
23/29
In his first 100 days as leader, signed 24 executve orders, the most of any president
AFP/Getty
24/29
One of’s most memorable election pledges was to build a wall between the US and Mexico. He is standing here in front of a prototype for a section of the wall
Getty
25/29
Trump’s meetings with other world leaders have proed no short supply of photo opportunities
Getty
26/29
Trump was welcomed to the UK by the Queen and a state banquet was held at Buckingham Palace in his honour
Reuters
27/29
Not everyone welcomed the president. Mass protests were held in London throughout his visits in both 2018 and 2019
EPA
28/29
One of the most significant meetings has held with another leader was with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. In June 2019, became the first sitting president to set foot in North Korea
Getty
29/29
2020 will see president fight for a second term in office, who knows what the next decade will bring?
Getty
Here is a grabbag of outrageous and otherwise memorable quotes from his Vegas rally.
“Mike Er… Mike!” The president, who often has difficulties pronouncing complicated last names, just gave up when introducing Mike Eruzione, the captain of the 1980 US men’s Olympic hockey team that pulled off the “Miracle On Ice” by defeating the heavily favoured Soviet Union team. (Full disclosure: Your correspondent also botched it on a first try.)
“12 more years. … Mike, look at the ‘fake news’ back there.” Mr corrected the audience when they broke out into a “four more years chant,” suggesting he might try to stick around even longer. The president contends he drops the line – weekly and sometimes daily – to toy with the press. Democrats and his other critics see it ominously. They think he will try to remain in office even if he is defeated in November.
“Please, tell them. Am I good athlete, and a good golfer?” Mr to Mr Eruzione, possibly feeling insecure once-world-class athletes, before he called other members of the 1980 team onstage.
“That’s ‘Pencilneck’ again. Little ‘Pencilneck’. … These people are crazy.” After using one of his derisive nicknames for House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, the president shifted into full re-election mode by contending – falsely – that Democrats do not think or talk about issues like healthcare and infrastructure. Only that all the remaining Democratic presidential candidates
“You won it!” That wasn’t Mr. That was an audience member when the president asked who won the Wednesday night Democratic debate, which devolved into a free-for-all among the candidates as they attacked one another rather than him.
“She said she was an Indian because she has high cheekbones.” The president likely insulted millions of Native Americans with that attack line on Senator Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts progressive who has faded in the Democratic presidential race. She falsely claimed Native American ancestry when she was younger and had to admit to lying, complete with a public apology.
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Ms Warren herself in 2012 used the term “high cheekbones,” saying her aunt used to point out her grandfather’s facial structure in a picture and remarked he “had high cheekbones, like all of the Indians do.”
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“How about that ‘Pocahontas’ screaming at him? … I want to see those agreements!” Making an unflatteringly angry face, Mr went after Mr Bloomberg for Ms Warren’s demands during that debate that he allow women who once worked for him to break non-disclosure agreements who have stories to tell about the former mayor’s alleged sexually abusive and misogynistic behavior, using his nickname for her.
Here is what Ms Warren actually said: “I used to teach contract law. And I thought I would make this easy. I wrote up a release and covenant not to sue, and all that Mayor Bloomberg has to do is download it – I’ll text it – sign it, and then the women, or men, will be free to speak and tell their own stories.”
(Mr Bloomberg on Friday released nine women from NDAs.)
“Barack Hussein Obama.” Speaking of racially-charged rhetoric, Mr is back to using the 44th president’s middle name. One, it harkens back to charges that Mr Obama is a Muslim; that’s false, he identifies as a Christian. Two, it harkens back to the so-called “birther movement,” of which Mr was a leader in demanding the then-chief executive produce his birth certificate and suggesting he was born outside the United States. That would have made Mr Obama ineligible to be president. He was born in Hawaii, and did produce a legal certificate of birth.
“That’s what happens when you can’t get the words out, you get angry.” That one was for Mr Obama’s right-hand man, former Vice President Joe Biden, who has been open about having dealt with a stutter when he was younger. Mr Biden talks about overcoming that as a source of strength.
“The great Abraham Linclon, who everyone forgot.” Fact check: No one forgot about America’s 16th president. He held the union together, after all. And he’s on the penny.
