Trump’s ‘Thank you’ tour gets off to raucous start
ASSOCIATED PRESS
President-elect Donald Trump smiles as he speaks during the first stop of his post-election tour.
CINCINNATI >> Donald Trump returned to his campaign roots Thursday in his first major public appearance since Election Day, resembling the pugnacious, brawling campaigner more than the traditional president-to-be as he held court in front of thousands of adoring fans — and even announced a Cabinet pick from the stage.
Trump’s first stop on this “Thank you” tour to salute his supporters was in Ohio and, ever the showman, he made the surprise announcement that he will be offering the post of Defense Secretary to retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis. Trump said he was supposed to unveil that Monday, so he jokingly warned the Cincinnati crowd to “not tell anyone.”
The raucous rallies during the Trump campaign road show often had the feel of a rock concert, and Thursday night in Cincinnati had all the hallmarks of a reunion tour: Trump took a veiled swipe at fellow Republicans. He remembered his general election foe by joking, “We had fun fighting Hillary, didn’t we?” He boasted about size of his victory and repeatedly bashed the media. Protesters briefly interrupted the proceedings. And the crowd chanted “Build the Wall” and “Lock Her Up.”
The president-elect had eased up on those campaign promises recently, suggesting the U.S.-Mexico border wall could be part-fence and indicating no willingness to pursue criminal charges against Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton.
Perhaps befitting an encore presentation, the downtown arena that Trump packed in October — drawing a crowd that was one of the loudest of the campaign — was only about half-full Thursday night. But the thousands who were there cheered Trump as he declared to restore American to greatness, saying, “Now is not the time to downsize our dreams.”
“Never again will anyone’s interests come before the interests of the American people. It’s not going to happen,” Trump thundered. “The old rules no longer apply. Anything we want for our country is now possible.”
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Trump did nothing to downplay expectations before he takes office, declaring that “America will start winning again, big league.” Much like he did during the stretch run of the campaign, he read from teleprompters, but he was bombastic as ever, spending more than a dozen minutes bragging about his victory before outlining his economic plan.
He boasted about his wins in Midwest states that normally vote Democratic, declaring he didn’t just “break the blue wall, we shattered it.” He veered off-script to make fun of a protester, saying she was being ejected from the arena so “she could go back to Mommy.” He repeated his recent threat that, despite Constitutional protections, “if people burn the American flag, there should be consequences.” And he repeated many of his signature campaign promises, including a pledge to “construct a great wall at the border.”
And he stunned his own aides when he announced the Mattis pick from the stage. Mattis, nicknamed “Mad Dog,” is considered one of the foremost strategic thinkers of his generation but to gain confirmation as Pentagon chief, he would need Congress to waive a requirement that a defense secretary be a civilian for at least seven years before taking up the post.
Mattis retired as chief of U.S. Central Command in 2013 after serving more than four decades in the Marine Corps. There is no sense of strong opposition to his nomination in Congress.
Trump, who has long spoken of feeding off the energy of his raucous crowds, first floated the idea of a victory tour just days after winning the election but has instead prioritized filling Cabinet positions. He is also expected to hold rallies in Pennsylvania, Florida, North Carolina and Michigan in the coming weeks, though details have yet to be announced. His supporters were thrilled that he had hit the road again.
“That he wants to do this, to take time out of his schedule to fly out here and personally thank the people … shows what kind of man he is,” said Josh Kanowitz, 43. “He’s one of us.”
But while Kanowitz largely praised Trump’s initial moves as president-elect, he visibly recoiled at the suggestion that he might pick Mitt Romney as secretary of tate, saying the 2012 Republican presidential nominee was “someone we should leave behind as we move forward.”
Others at the rally also expressed some hesitancy at Trump’s picks, with a few suggesting that choosing former Goldman Sachs partner Steven Mnuchin as Treasury Secretary was not exactly fulfilling Trump’s campaign promise to “Drain the Swamp” and eliminate corruption and elitism from Washington.
But most were inclined to give the president-elect the benefit of the doubt.
“He’s a businessman. He’ll pick talented people to work for him and then keep them in line,” said Jaime Bollmer, a 28-year-old teacher from Lockland, Ohio. “He’s a leader. That’s what leaders do.”
The rally in Cincinnati was the second stop on a victory lap through the Midwest on Thursday, coming hours after Trump saluted workers, owners and himself at a Carrier plant in Indiana. There he declared that a deal to keep a local plant open instead of moving operations to Mexico was only the first of many business victories to come.
Some questions remain about the extent of the victory at Carrier, which announced this week that it will keep an Indianapolis plant open. In February, the heating and air conditioning company said it would shut the plant and send jobs to Mexico, and video of angry workers being informed about the decision soon went viral.
“Companies are not going to leave the United States anymore without consequences. It’s not going to happen. It’s simply not going to happen,” Trump said to workers at the Indianapolis plant.
During the campaign, Trump had often pointed to the Indiana plant’s moving plans as a result of poor Obama administration policies, and he pledged to revive U.S. manufacturing. Officials said this week that Carrier had agreed to keep some 800 union jobs at the plant.
Seth Martin, a spokesman for Carrier, said Indiana offered the air conditioning and furnace manufacturer $7 million in tax incentives after negotiations with Trump’s team to keep some jobs in the state.
95 responses to “Trump’s ‘Thank you’ tour gets off to raucous start”
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What a stupid article. Hey Star Advertiser, the election is over and Trump won. What a bunch of Bozos.
“Indiana offered the air conditioning and furnace manufacturer $7 million in tax incentives after negotiations with Trump’s team to keep some jobs in the state.”
And Carrier agreed to $16 million in new investments in the plant that was suppose too close. How many more jobs and tax dollars does that create? Yeah, but let’s not mention that as it is positive news and doesn’t play into the liberal media’s bashing of the deal.
pe donald trump making america great again and a’ama obama blaming fox news
auwe!
If the reports produced by the broadcast media outlets could somehow be transformed into newspaper, I would use them to line the bottom of my bird cage (I do the same with my morning newspaper). Because that’s all the mainstream American media is good for in 2016 and beyond– Cleaning up poop.
Don’t forget to use it with your cats litter box.
But yet here you are. Again.
I LOVE the selection of Gen. Mattis for DS. He’s the real deal. Regardless of political party affiliation, ALL Americans should rest assured knowing that he’s the best man for the job. A brilliant pick by our PE!
I thought Trump retracted his promise not to prosecute Hillary when she joined the recount boondoggle.
Don’t forget that “recount Boondoggle” could NOW be the key that Locks her up! Retracted,I say stay tuned! #lock her up!
He changes his mind every 30 seconds. He’s a psychotic.
Ever since Nov. 8th the air seems cleaner & crisper…the grass looks greener…Thanksgiving was wonderful…Christmas will be merrier…New Years will be the most prosperous in 8 years! Even the World is feeling it!!!
January 20, 2017 #MAGA
Two ways only, he gets his public jollies –
1) Standing in front of adoring crowds;
2) Defying tradition and protocol.
Governance? That’s an altogether different thing. Nowhere near as interesting as tweeting in the middle of the night.
yes; adoring crowds and defying tradition and protocol…there’s nothing like it!
Dealing with Carrier was not a prere
Dealing with Carrier was not a prerequisite to taking office. Obama said some time ago the jobs were gone, it would take magic to keep them. Gallling to you though, isn’t it.
Team Obama was too lazy to find a solution. Back in June, this is what the lazy team leader who dismissed the people, the VOTERS in flyover country , had to say re:Carrier and jobs going to Mexico.
“But for those folks who have lost their job right now because a plant went down the Mexico, that isn’t going to make you feel better. And so what we have to do is to make sure that folks are trained for the jobs that are coming in now because some of those jobs of the past are just not going to come back, and when somebody says, like the person you just mentioned who I’m not going to advertise for, that he’s going to bring all these jobs back, well how exactly are you going to do that? What are you going to do?” said Obama.
“There’s — there’s no answer to it. He just says, “Well, I’m going to negotiate a better deal.” Well, how — what — how exactly are you going to negotiate that? What magic wand do you have? And usually, the answer is he doesn’t have an answer.”
http://www.infowars.com/video-6-months-before-carrier-deal-obama-mocked-trump-said-he-wouldnt-save-manufacturing-jobs/
Carrier is going to get 7 million dollars in tax incentives. Sounds more like blackmail to me.
@ Tita Girl…you being equipped with FACTS & INFORMATION are the weapons in debunking libs nitpicking and their spew…e.g. keaukaha
Keep up the great work TG!
January 20, 2017 #MAGA
Good post Tita Girl. The current administration has had a goal of income redistribution of wealth within and outside of the country. A great example is the medical device tax. The tax was illogical and only helped our foreign competitors. Such a policy demonstrates the current administration’s lack of business experience; such a policy only hurt workers who were laid off, as evidenced by the increased gap between the ‘haves” and the Have nots”. The 1% ers have done very well during the past eight years. Minorities have done the worst, which ironically support the Democrats.
OOPS! Should read “Who ironically…
50.
that’s the only number hillary is counting down every day until january 20, 2017.
the senate and f.b.i. are still in the investigative mode, and by 1400 est january 20, 2017 the investigations restart, absent a pardon.
t minus 50, . . .
I’m surprised how voters can overlook such corruption from the Clinton’s.
AP garbage. Trump, Trump, Trump. Anything great is possible again, even in all Dem Hawaii, where insider stupidity rules supreme.
The Chump packed the arena in October and now it’s only half full? Looks like he’s draining his base and not the swamp. The smarter Chumpsters are finally waking up. Looks more like a funeral procession rather than a victory tour. Just remember there are more than two million voters that don’t like him that do. Also how can he keep anyone in line when he can’t control himself? Take away his twitter and give him a pacifier.
Dude, where’s all the anger coming from. Don’t you know that rage clouds your judgement. Why can’t you be happy for Mr. Trump and by extension for America? It’s over, Waldo lost and Mr. Trump won. Sooner or later you’re going to have to get a grip and realize that Barry Hussein style progressivism is a bankrupt philosophy. My advice is to up our meds until you can learn to act like an adult again and become part of the solution instead of airing your grievances like a spoiled child.
The truth hurts and two million votes are a fact no matter where it came from.
Explain to me why now that he is pe the crowds are getting smaller? Doesn’t take a genius to figure that out. Some Chumpsters are pis-ed that he’s remodeling the swamp instead of draining it.
CEI I’m not angry. Actually I’m delighted that I get Chumpsters like you pis-ed off at me. Thanks for making my day.
Trump has already begun to “Make America Great Again” Kick a$$ and take names. The wimpy libs are struggling as they gasp for air. Political science books are being rewritten as the over educated have learned a lesson and common sense has prevailed. Trump 2020
Who needs books when he has his twitter. Seriously I don’t think that the Chump uses a pen except to sign his name.
The two million came from California and New York. Thank goodness for electoral college or those states would be dictating who would be our POTUS.
BOOM! Libs don’t know the Law…sad.
These employees should be working for the state of Indiana because the taxpayers are paying their salaries.
I don’t think this Carrier deal will have the same outcome as the failed Solyndra “investment”. Don’t you think we should wait to see how this plays out before we start with the chiding.
The fact is that the 7 million dollars will need to come from someplace else. Doesn’t take a genius to know that it’s going to be passed on to the working people of Indiana.
Hmm…Obama gave Solyndra $535 million. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the Solyndra deal was passed on to the all taxpayers across the country. You’re making a big deal about $7 million “to be passed on to the working people of Indiana” as you put it. Petty and laughable you are.
Same story smaller scale. What makes me really laugh is all you Chumpsters scrambling to make excuses for the idi-t.
I think you’re mistaken about who’s making a big deal about all of this. I’m not the ones who flew to Indiana to brag about saving 800 jobs.
Stating opposing views is what’s expected on these boards. Losing $535 million in taxpayer’s money is not a laughing matter and inexcusable. However, equating the two when it’s obviously not IS making excuses for Obama.
keaukaha – It’s called Socialism. Mr. Trump so far has refused to disclose what he promised that the federal government will do with other people’s money in this “deal.” He doesn’t pay federal taxes, so there is no consequence to him regarding what he pledged that the U.S. taxpayer will have to kick in.
Socialism seems to be OK when Mr. Trump runs the show. Odd, no?
Windward_Side – It seems that you are completely ignorant of the DOE loan guarantee program that involved Solyndra. Do you often comment on things about which you know nothing? No taxpayer ended up contributing anything.
No one gave Solyndra $535 million. It was a loan guarantee underwritten by the DOE from a program that subsequently recovered all of the money originally lost. It turned a significant profit in the end, starting in 2014.
A lot has been written about this program and that deal. Maybe you should try reading a bit?
Thanks klastri glad your back in the loop. Really missed you.You are the go to guy when we need some serious fact checking. I don’t know about you but I really enjoy playing offense rather than defense. Easy to move the ball when their middle linebacker is the Chump.
The tax incentives is not a handout. There are conditions attached to it and it’s over the course of 10 years. Additionally, employee training programs and tax incentives for future development is also written into the plan. This is probably a Mike Pence deal more than a Trump deal since it’s being put together by The Indiana Economic Development Corp which Pence is the Board Chairman of.
For 800 jobs? Don’t you think that they should be focused more on penalizing these corporations instead of kissing their as-es. All of these praises for 800 jobs when the real number should be in the thousands. Also I agree that Pence should get the full credit for this deal. My question for him is why didn’t you do it when you were governor. Typical Chump taking credit for something that he didn’t do.
I mean thousands of jobs now and not in the future.
Solyndra LOST 1,100 jobs for $535 million.
Mike Pence is still the Governor of Indiana so maybe the deal was already in the works…who knows.
The incentives for the training and development will probably be used to teach different skills as the technology changes and improves. A good use of money which will keep existing employees on the job and not have to start from scratch. This is a good start. It’s not the end of the story, it’s the beginning. Hopefully other companies nationwide can find solutions to keep jobs in America.
But Keaukaha, a better question to ask is Why did Barry get so snarky in his reply re:saving jobs? He should have tried to save jobs instead of mocking Trump and giving his all too tiring dismissive responses.
Tita girl just for comparison the Hilton Hawaiian Village hotel has more than 1700 employees and the Chump is acting like a national hero for saving 800 jobs. I’ve been to luaus with more than 800 people. On top of that they get a 7 million dollar tax break. Give me a break.
You Chumpsters will eat whatever he throws to you. Whether it’s edible or not.
Keaukaha, whether it was 800 jobs or 1100 jobs, it’s a start. No one person can do it alone. Trump isn’t in office yet and he’s trying to at least keep the lights on. Though I suspect Mike Pence played a bigger role in the deal. And it doesn’t matter if he’s acting big body and playing the hero. So what? What’s important is that hundreds of jobs are not going elsewhere. We should celebrate the small wins.
Tita girl it’s ok to play big body when you one nobody but for crying out loud we talking about pe not one pro ball player. What kind of message does it send to our younger generation to take credit for something that was team effort at best. Unlike you I don’t see playing big body as an admirable trait of a PE.
Also tita girl remember through out his campaign that he said he alone can fix all of our problems. Well looks like he meant that.
Well done Mr. Trump. He should follow it up after he is inaugurated with an apology tour. Not a Barry Hussein style apology. Many of you may remember Barry apologizing for America’s evils on foreign soil. Trump should apologize to the world for America electing little Barry Hussein not once but twice. He should also reassure our allies that responsible adults are back in charge after 8 years of progressive nonsense.
“Save America! Convert A Liberal” Haaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
Paul Ryan says he’s tutoring Trump about the Constitution. Think about that. Yes, the President-Elect needs to be tutored about the Constitution.
That’s because his mind is always focused on pu-sy.
Are you a fan of Bill Clinton? Just wondering. The country needs Trump and his business experience. The current administration has a fraction of even Jimmy Carters White House in terms of business experience. Plus, the current administration has intentionally tried to distribute wealth within and outside the country. Trump will do very well. Every U.S. citizen will benefit. The concern now is we have a debt that has doubled in 8 years. I wonder if the current President will criticize Trump if the debt goes up at all. It won’t surprise me if he does.
Cjbird are you seriously doubting the Chumps promise that he would solve all of our problems including lowering the debt. Don’t you think that it’s a little too late because your comments makes it look like you voted for him.
“#Save America,Convert A Liberal”…..another One Liner……#Sorelosers use this # for our liberal friends when they insist on being preposterous or making nonsensical comments. I made up my mind,don’t try to explain your logic to them or try to compromise!(Libs) they will never get!
This # is all you really Need #SORELOSERS. Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
I’m not sore. Actually I’m very happy watching the Chump sc-ewing over the du–ies that voted for him. BTW got some some land in Puna for sale if any of you Chumpsters are interested. Great view of the volcano. In fact it’s right in its path.
Trump, knowing nothing about foreign relations or diplomacy, has been calling foreign leaders without any coaching from the State Department. When he called President Nursultan A. Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan, he praised him for his 25-year rule, saying that he had “achieved fantastic success that can be called a ‘miracle,’” Nazarbayev is the former head of the communist party and a dictator who won the country’s last election with 97.7% of the vote. You can be sure that this is the first time that Nazarbayev has ever been praised by a US President. Trump is the avatar of anosognosia.
In a telephone call to the British prime minister, Theresa May, Trump said, “If you travel to the U.S., you should let me know.” Are there words to describe how stupid he is?
Stupid is too kind of a description.
Why should I have misspelled stupid?
Mahalo star adv. that was the shortest moderation ever.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have condemned Philippine leader Duterte for the use of death squads linked to thousands of extrajudicial killings. Trump invited him to the White House.
A reunion of the plant of the apes.
Planet
“Instead of helping us, the first to criticize is this State Department, so you can go to hell, Mr. Obama, you can go to hell,” Duterte said during a speech in October.”
You’re upset that Duterte told O where to go….O allowed that to happen with his apology tour by bending over & showing his….weakness.
O invited racists & muslims & the liberal colluded MSM to the WH all the time..what does that say about O?
January 20, 2017 an American POTUS will inaugurated.
#MAGA
And Obama is accepting immigrants that Australia don’t want to let in.
No worries it’s the Chumps problem now. Is he going to build a bubble over Australia?
keaukaha..here’s your chance to say something positive about O’s Legacy…what “POSITIVE” thing did O accomplish in his 8 years that benefited a MAJORITY of Americans?
My investments have done much better since the Dubya left and President Obama has been in office.
@ keaukaha…Went over the 19,000..history making after The Donald won…so can we give The Donald his due then…in just a matter of a day or two in fact..deserves a WOW! right?
Nope too early to do that. Market will start to react appropriately as the dum-y continues to scre- up and that’s what worries me.
Welcome to the post-factual Presidency!
Defending Trump, Lewandowski said, “You guys [the press] took everything that Donald Trump said so literally. The American people didn’t. They understood it. They understood that sometimes — when you have a conversation with people, whether it’s around the dinner table or at a bar — you’re going to say things, and sometimes you don’t have all the facts to back it up.”
Trump surrogate Scottie Neil Hughes said, “There’s no such thing, unfortunately, anymore, of facts…Mr. Trump’s tweets, amongst a certain crowd, a large — a large part of the population, are truth. When he says that millions of people illegally voted, he has some — in his — amongst him and his supporters, and people believe they have facts to back that up. Those that do not like Mr. Trump, they say that those are lies, and there’s no facts to back it up.”
This is the crowd that accused someone else of lying, yet their defense of the President-Elect’s lies is that it’s okay if he lies — no one cares.
This actually happened: a top Russian official is accusing the Ukrainian government of undermining Donald Trump’s presidential campaign by trashing him on social media and disseminating dirt on Trump’s campaign manager, Paul Manafort. The “dirt” was the release of a secret ledger showing that Manafort was owed $12.7 million in undisclosed cash payments by supporters of exiled Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovych, a Putin puppet. The Ukrainian government also revealed that before he fled to Russia Yanukovych and his cronies, who employed Manafort, may have stolen $100 billion. Meanwhile, back in the U.S., it is reported the Manafort is once again at Trump’s side, advising him on the transition.
Mr. Trump needs this kind of reinforcement to pretend that he did not lose the popular vote. Badly. That loss will eat away at his brain every minute of every day.
He’s a psychotic.
Okay genius. What’s worse? Losing the popular vote and winning the presidency or winning the popular vote and losing the presidency? If anyone has a result eating at their brain it would be the dynamic duo of Willie and Waldo. Face the fact. Uneducated white rednecks outsmarted the smartest people on the planet and y’all can’t handle it.
No way because I don’t see any rednecks in his cabinet. Only billionaires and racists. His only pick that I like is the mad dog.
And that’s the only one so far that cannot serve under the current law.
You are right klastri so I’m wondering if it’s another publicity stunt. You know ” Well at least we tried”.
keaukaha – He is never told NO by anyone, ever. He’s been a spoiled 13 year old child for the past 57 years, and no one is going to start telling him NO now.
Mr. Trump is going to get a rude awakening that President is not the same as CEO.
Klastri truer words have never been spoken. We really need God to Bless America right now.
CEI – In Mr. Trump’s endlessly needy brain, it’s losing the popular vote. It’s already eating at him constantly. The opposition knows that of course, and will remind of his popular vote loss every minute of every day.
The “uneducated white rednecks” as you put it have voted against their own self interests and aren’t smart enough to have figured that out yet. They’ll find out soon enough.
From 2013 to 2015, the Affordable Care Act enabled 13 million people to be insured. 8 million of those 13 million are whites without a college degree. Those “uneducated white rednecks” didn’t outsmart the smartest people; they outsmarted themselves when they voted their prejudices rather than their own self-interest, something they’ll regret when they lose their health insurance.
Yep when their coal mines remain shuttered. I think absentminded is a more appropriate label for them in this case.
Trump just spoke with Taiwan’s president, a major departure from decades of U.S. policy in Asia and a breach of diplomatic protocol with ramifications for relations with China. The U.S. has pursued what it calls a “One China” policy since Nixon visited China and does not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan. There is no public record of a President or President-Elect having spoken to a Taiwanese leader since 1979. Did Trump speak to the State Department before this call? Does he know anything about this history? Does he know anything?
Former Bush press secretary tweeted, “Uh-oh. I wasn’t even allowed to refer to the gvt “of” Taiwan. (I could say gvt “on” Taiwan.) China will go nuts.”
Yep how to grab pus-y
No, obviously, he knows nothing and made no effort at all to learn anything. He’s going to make a mess of things even before he takes office.
His brainless followers think this is just being politically incorrect. They aren’t smart enough to understand what that leans on the international stage.
Maybe the dum-y should watch reruns of Madam Secretary as part of his official tutoring.
On second thought that might not be a good idea because the dum-y might appoint Tea Leoni as ss. Remember he quotes the national enquirer.
Hey klastri and bsdetection the crickets are mighty quiet for now. Guess their mommies tucked them in for the night. They have their sucker games tomorrow.
Thank you? Wrong verb.