In Iowa, boisterous Trump turns back the clock to campaign
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — He railed against the “fake news” media. He urged the Senate to put more “heart” into its health care bill. And he mused about putting solar panels on a Mexican border well.
Buoyed by the embrace of his loyal supporters and Republican victories in a pair of special elections, President Donald Trump shrugged off the cloud of scandal that has enveloped his White House and turned back to the clock to 2016, delivering a vintage campaign-style performance in a key Midwest battleground state he won a year ago.
“We’re 5-0 in special elections,” Trump said, reveling in Georgia Republican Karen Handel’s congressional victory in an election viewed as an early referendum on his presidency. “The truth is, people love us … they haven’t figured it out yet.”
Savoring the cheers from a boisterous crowd that packed an arena in downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Trump also applauded Republican Ralph Norman, who notched a slimmer-than-expected win in a special election to fill the South Carolina congressional seat vacated by Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s budget director, and mocked Handel’s challenger, Jon Ossoff, saying the Democrats “spent $30 million on this kid who forgot to live in the district.”