Pres. Trump cheers economy, criticizes Democrats at Green Bay rally
GREEN BAY -- President Donald Trump cheered the thriving U.S. economy and criticized his Democratic presidential opponents Saturday night as he rallied supporters with familiar themes.
US President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks during a Make America Great Again rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, April 27, 2019. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)
President Trump pointed to the economy's 3.2% growth in the first quarter before drawing even more applause by citing gains in employment and reductions in family poverty in Wisconsin. The state helped propel President Trump's 2016 victory, and Democrats are focused on reclaiming its electoral votes in 2020.
Turning to presidential politics, President Trump referenced his nicknames for two of the leading Democratic presidential contenders — "Sleepy Joe" Biden and "Crazy Bernie" Sanders — and predicted that Elizabeth Warren's candidacy was already over.
Turning to his nickname for Warren, President Trump said: "I think Pocahontas, she's finished, she's out."
President Trump warned his supporters that Democrats would take away their guns, promised anew to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico and pledged to come up with a plan for health care after the next election.
US President Donald Trump waves as he arrives for a Make America Great Again rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, April 27, 2019. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)
President Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had shared their love of golf with a quick round on the president's course in Northern Virginia earlier in the day. No announcement of concrete advances in U.S.-Japan trade relations followed the meeting, though President Trump told his rally audience that Japan was investing $40 billion in the American auto industry.
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President Trump scheduled the mid-evening rally at the same time members of the White House Correspondents' Association gathered for their annual dinner. He had refused the association's invitation again, a break from past practice by the president.
"Is there any place that's more fun than a Trump rally?" he asked, having assured them there was no one he'd rather be with.
Also skipping the correspondents' dinner to attend the rally was press secretary Sarah Sanders. In rare public praise for his chief spokeswoman, President Trump called Sanders to the stage to say a few words.
US President Donald Trump (L) embraces White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders during a Make America Great Again rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, April 27, 2019. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
"I'm so proud to work for the president," Sanders said, and noted that she received a very different reception during the event she attended last year — the correspondents' dinner in which the evening's comedian lampooned her.
The president opened the rally on a somber note, offering his condolences for the victims of a synagogue shooting near San Diego.