It’s the 2018 midterm season—and Montana is on the hit list. Incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Tester is vulnerable and has earned the ire of the Trump White House for his character assassination of Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson. Jackson was nominated to be the next Veterans Affairs secretary, but Tester decided to push a false narrative that Jackson had driven drunk, crashed a government car, and was more or less a pill pusher. The strategy worked; Jackson, who has served as the personal physician to both Trump andObama, withdrew his nomination. Jackson might not have been right for the role. He might have shown that he was inexperienced, as many have alleged, but we’ll never know because Senate Democrats decided to pull this crap. Even CNN said these allegations were overreach. So, you bet Tester, who quarterbacked the kill Ronny effort, was going to be a target in last night’s rally.
[Trump appears at around the 41:38-mark]
President Trump spent the vast majority of the hour-plus speech hitting on familiar themes: trade, taxes, immigration, protests by NFL players, the economy, the press, better relations with Russia and North Korea, his proposed "space force," and the Supreme Court vacancy.
The president once again promised to appoint a justice to replace the retiring Supreme Court justice Anthony Kennedy. Mr. Trump said Kennedy had decided to leave the High Court because he knew the president would pick a stellar replacement. Mr. Trump did not mention former EPA chief Scott Pruitt's resignation, which happened only hours earlier.
Mr. Trump was in Montana to campaign for Republican candidates, including at-large Rep. Greg Gianforte and U.S. Senate candidate Matt Rosendale. Toward the start of the speech, Mr. Trump concentrated his fire on Democratic Montana Sen. Jon Tester, who is leading Rosendale in the polls despite the state's Republican lean. "You deserve a senator who actually votes like he's from Montana," told the crowd after criticizing Tester at length.
[…]
But Clinton and Tester weren't the only Democrats who drew fire from Mr. Trump on Thursday. He also mocked former Vice President Joe Biden, California Rep. Maxine Waters, and repeatedly referred to Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren as "Pocahontas."
Mr. Trump noted that he had been criticized for referring to Warren as Pocahontas, a reference to Warren's claimed Native American ancestry. But he also said the attacks were working, and said he would buy her a genetics testing kit should he ever face her in a presidential debate. In the process, he also mocked the "Me Too" movement, saying that he would be considerate as he pushed her to take it.
"Pocahontas, I apologize," Mr. Trump said. "To you, I apologize. To the fake one, I won't. "
The president also attacked Democrats for their opposition to his immigration policies. And he insisted that Waters, an outspoken critic of the president, had a "low IQ."
"Democrats want anarchy," Mr. Trump said. "They really do."
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Plugged-in SCOTUS process source on Kethledge’s (allegedly) rising stock: Of top 3, he’d likely have smoothest confirmation road. Lacks Kavanaugh’s DC baggage, w/ much more experience than Barrett. Also known as winsome & charming + an outdoorsman. Complicates opposition.
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) July 5, 2018
Trump on Elizabeth Warren: "I'm going to get one of those little DNA kits and if I'm debating her, we will toss it to her, very gently so it doesn't injure her arm, and we'll say, 'Pocahontas, I'll give you a million dollars if you take the test to show you're an Indian!'"
— Christina Wilkie (@christinawilkie) July 5, 2018
Trump’s solution: “get you a** out to vote.” And I couldn’t agree more. The whole agenda is at stake. The economy is booming. That will all shut down if Democrats win.
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