Tuesday night in Nashville was one to remember. President Trump was in the Music City to campaign for Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn in her bid to replace retiring Sen. Bob Corker. However, the president had a lot of other things on his mind. In the speech, Trump talked about recent reports that there were spies working on his 2016 campaign, he praised his cabinet, and he spent several moments defending his widely reported moniker for MS-13 gang members.
Media pundits inaccurately reported that Trump called all illegal immigrants "animals" last week, when he was referring to the violent MS-13 gang. He described a bit of the disturbing gang behavior during the rally. They not only kill, but they dismember their victims, he explained. He wasn't about to give them "respect" as some politicians have demanded.
"They're not human beings," he said, before leading the crowd in an "animals!" chant.
.@POTUS: "This is why we call the blood-thirsty, MS-13 gang members exactly the name that I used last week...Animals." pic.twitter.com/V9125sxaGC
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 30, 2018
He didn't let Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi off the hook, reminding the crowd that the pair has apparently put illegal immigrants on a higher pedestal than lawful Americans.
.@POTUS: "Chuck and Nancy— they don't want the wall. They want open borders. They're more interested in taking care of criminals than they are in taking care of you." pic.twitter.com/JvHAlvGoP5
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 30, 2018
During another particularly raucous moment of the rally, the audience booed Sen. Corker when Trump mentioned his name.
When @realDonaldTrump introduces the current Senate delegation of @SenAlexander & @BobCorker. Corker get LOUDLY booed. pic.twitter.com/9AZ2nuq3VA
— Fin Gomez (@finnygo) May 30, 2018
Corker must've at least expected a lukewarm reception from the Trump-friendly crowd, considering he once referred to the White House as an "adult day care center." The two continued to trade insults last year, with Trump giving the senator the nickname "Liddle Bob Corker" and insisting he wouldn't even be able to get elected "dog catcher" if he tried running for re-election. The two men shared the stage last night so they must have agreed to some sort of a truce.
As a reminder, Trump's purpose in Nashville was to generate support for Rep. Blackburn. The Tennessee primary is Aug. 2.