DEMS/ELECTION/GOP/RALLY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump gazes out over his rally crowd and lets loose a stream of insults with a theatrical flourish and playful grin. He jabs at Cory Booker the ‘disaster’ mayor, Elizabeth Warren the ‘Pocahontas’ pretender and ‘sleepy’ Joe Biden…The venue may be Council Bluffs, Iowa, or Erie, Pennsylvania, or Topeka, Kansas, but the formula is largely the same. Start with a few derisive nicknames, mix in some dreamy-eyed reminiscences of Election Night 2016, spice things up with an unexpected quip or zinger out of left field and you’ve got Trump’s recipe for a successful campaign rally…Trump’s rallies once were the cornerstone of an unconventional, star-powered presidential campaign that eschewed traditional organizing and defied every expectation. Now they’re being deployed with gusto as Trump and his team work frantically to defy polls and precedent and save his Republican majority in Congress in November’s midterm elections. The rallies — more than two dozen so far to boost GOP candidates — never fail to delight Trump’s supporters…Trump has been aggressively campaigning across the county to try to boost vulnerable Republicans before the Nov. 6 elections, when the stakes couldn’t be higher. A Democratic takeover of Congress would stymie his agenda and mire his administration in endless investigations, including possible impeachment proceedings. Trump’s team believes his appearances fire up his loyal base, countering the wave of Democratic enthusiasm that polls suggest will lead to significant Democratic gains, especially in the House.”
–The Associated Press, “Mixing Bravado and Insults, Trump Rallies Delight Supporters,” The New York Times online, October 15, 2018