Former President Donald Trump told Ohio voters that GOP Senate hopeful J.D. Vance “is your guy” Saturday evening, saying that there will be “RINO tears” when his candidate of choice wins his primary and general election races.
The former president made the comments at a “Save America” rally at the Delaware County Fairgrounds in Delaware, Ohio. Trump came to the Buckeye State to stump for Vance, the author of Hillbilly Elegy and a venture capitalist seeking the GOP nomination for retiring Republican Sen. Rob Portman’s vacated seat.
Trump dealt with Vance’s disparaging comments about him from the 2016 election cycle directly during his remarks, noting how the likes of Sen. Josh Hawley, Tucker Carlson, and his son, Donald Trump Jr. had endorsed his candidacy.
Calling Vance an “America first warrior,” Trump explained that he chose to endorse his Senate bid because he holds the best chance at beating the “radical Democrats in the November midterms.”
“I studied this very closely,” he told the crowd of supporters. “I like a lot of the other people in the race. I liked them a lot. But we have to pick the one that’s going to win. This guy is tough as hell. He’s going to win.”
“He’s a guy who said some bad s*** about me,” the 45th president acknowledged in a crass moment. “But you know what? Every one of the others did also. In fact, if I went by that standard, I don’t think I would’ve ever endorsed anybody in the country.”
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Trump also took the opportunity to slam President Joe Biden’s job performance, citing failures ranging from the Afghanistan withdrawal to the border to inflation and energy production.
He told the audience that inflation under Biden is “costing families $6,000 a year,” while trying to tout his 2017 tax cuts and accused his successor of “waging economic war” against families.
Shifting his focus to Biden’s handling of global affairs, Trump argued that the United States was respected under his leadership, whereas now “they don’t even call [Biden] back,” a reference to a March Wall Street Journal report alleging that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman refused to take a call from the U.S. president. Biden was reportedly seeking to have the oil-rich Middle Eastern country ramp up oil production in light of a U.S. ban on oil and gas from Russia.
Trump also reiterated his claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not have invaded Ukraine if he was still in the White House.
“I know Putin very well,” he said. “Under me, Russia took nothing.”
The former president also re-aired his grievances about the 2020 presidential election, saying it “was rigged and stolen.”
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A spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party released a statement after the rally denouncing the former president’s remarks, saying, “After his visit already kicked off another round of vicious infighting, Trump’s rally will only intensify this chaotic race and make it a sprint to the sewer.”
“Trump’s priorities were clear tonight — spending more time furthering his own 2024 ambitions than focusing on his lackluster, phony endorsed candidate for U.S. Senate in 2022.”
