LATROBE, Pa. 鈥 Donald Trump鈥檚 campaign suggested he would begin previewing his closing argument Saturday night with Election Day barely two weeks away. But the former president kicked off his rally with a detailed story about Arnold Palmer, at one point even praising the late, legendary golfer鈥檚 genitalia.
Trump was campaigning in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, where Palmer was born in 1929 and learned to golf from his father, who suffered from polio and was head pro and greenskeeper at the local country club.
Politicians saluting Palmer in his hometown is nothing new. But Trump spent 12 full minutes doing so at the top of his speech and even suggested how much more fun the night would be if Palmer, who died in 2016, could join him on stage.
鈥淎rnold Palmer was all man, and I say that in all due respect to women,鈥 Trump said. 鈥淭his is a guy that was all man.鈥
People are also reading…
Then he went even further.
鈥淲hen he took the showers with other pros, they came out of there. They said, 鈥極h my God. That鈥檚 unbelievable,鈥欌 Trump said with a laugh. 鈥淚 had to say. We have women that are highly sophisticated here, but they used to look at Arnold as a man.鈥
Trump senior adviser Jason Miller told reporters before the speech that Trump planned to preview his closing argument against Vice President Kamala Harris and 鈥渟tart to get into that framing.鈥 Candidates have traditionally used their final days on the campaign trail to sum up for the electorate why they deserve to win the White House.
Trump eventually hit many of his favorite campaign themes but didn鈥檛 offer much in the way of new framing of the race or why he should win it. He instead boasted of creating strong tax policies and a strong military during his first term in office.
He slammed Harris as 鈥渃razy" and added a profanity.
鈥淵ou have to tell Kamala Harris that you鈥檝e had enough, that you just can鈥檛 take it anymore, we can鈥檛 stand you anymore, you鈥檙e a s鈥 vice president,鈥 Trump said to roars of the crowd. 鈥淭he worst. You鈥檙e the worst vice president. Kamala, you鈥檙e fired. Get the hell out of here.鈥
He also criticized Harris for suggesting during her unsuccessful run for president in 2020 that she鈥檇 support a ban on hydraulic fracking, which is important to Pennsylvania鈥檚 economy and a position Harris鈥 campaign says she no longer supports.
Trump invited on stage members of a local steelworkers union that endorsed him. He donned a construction hat with his name on it.
He also said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called him amid Israeli鈥檚 ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza.
鈥淗e said, 鈥業t鈥檚 incredible what鈥檚 happened,鈥欌 Trump said of the Netanyahu call before moving to a criticism of President Joe Biden, saying that the Israeli prime minister 鈥渨ouldn鈥檛 listen to Biden."
Trump praised the raucous crowd, which was outside and at an airport, but also made a point of suggesting that there was more conspicuous security around him following two assassination attempts, saying, 鈥淭hey give you a little extra security nowadays, you notice?鈥
鈥淚 got more machine guns than I鈥檝e ever seen听鈥 look at these guys,鈥 he said referring to security. He was interrupted by cries from the crowd of 鈥淯SA! USA!鈥 before continuing, 鈥淲e鈥檝e got more guys, and every one of them is like central casting too, holy s鈥.鈥
Then he tied it back to Latrobe鈥檚 native son, adding, "They look like Arnold. Can鈥檛 look better than Arnold.鈥
Weissert reported from Washington.