Trump back on campaign trail

US president casts mid-term elections as a ‘personal referendum’

LEWIS CENTER

(Ohio): Embracing his breakneck return to campaign politics, President Donald Trump argued that Republicans needed to control Congress by casting the midterms as a referendum on himself.

In a raucous rally in a sweltering gymnasium north of Columbus, Ohio, Trump pitched for the GOP candidate up in a special election next week and defiantly questioned the idea that, historically, the party that controls the White House suf fers in the midterms, declaring “but I say why?”

“Why would there be a blue wave? I think it could be a red wave,” Trump said of his party’s prospects in November. “They want to take away what we’ve given. And we’re doing a lot of things people don’t even know about.”

Though boisterous and bellicose, Trump steered clear of the trouble he stirred up the night before when he blasted one of Ohio’s favourite sons, LeBron James.

In a latenight tweet, Trump derided the intelligence of one of the nation’s most prominent AfricanAmerican men. The attack on James, who has been critical of Trump, came just as the NBA superstar opened up a school for underprivileged children.

First Lady Melania Trump, in a statement, distanced herself from the broadside, which resembled a racial dog whistle, and praised James’ efforts.

Flanked by signs that read “Promises Made” and “Promises Kept”, Trump dished up plenty of red meat to the crowd. He blasted the media as “fake news” and said journalists “were terrible people”.

He went on a screed against illegal immigration and exaggerated the threat of gangs like MS13. And he basked in cheers as the crowd chanted the staple rallying cry, “Build the wall, build the wall.”

And Trump touted his supporters as “forgotten no more”, saying they were the nation’s true “elite”.