Trump stumps for Hawley

President credits GOP majority for nation's success

Missouri Attorney General and U.S. Senate candidate Josh Hawley speaks to the crowd Thursday alongside President Donald Trump at the Columbia Regional Airport.
Missouri Attorney General and U.S. Senate candidate Josh Hawley speaks to the crowd Thursday alongside President Donald Trump at the Columbia Regional Airport.

COLUMBIA - President Donald Trump spoke for more than an hour Thursday evening, encouraging Missouri voters to vote for Republican Josh Hawley and "retire far left Democrat Claire McCaskill."

Trump said it's so important Hawley be Missouri's next U.S. Senator that he is coming back Monday for another elect-Hawley rally in Cape Girardeau.

"Josh has your values, and he's going to vote your values all the time," Trump declared. "He's a star."

"He's going to represent you well."

McCaskill, on the other hand, has "said nice things about me - but she won't vote with me.

"She didn't even vote for Justice (Brett) Kavanaugh."

McCaskill has said she's voted with the president about 50 percent of the time and supported 70 percent of the federal judges he's nominated.

Trump called next Tuesday's national midterm elections "one of the most important elections in a lifetime," and said it's a referendum on his leadership and Republicans' control of the federal government.

"This is probably the greatest economy in the history of our nation," the president said.

If Republicans lose next week, "the radical Democrats (will) wipe it all away. Under Republican leadership, America is booming (and) thriving. We are finally putting America first."

Trump reported the nation's "unemployment rate just fell to the lowest level in 50 years - more Americans are working now than at any time in the history of our country.''

The president also said African American and Hispanic "poverty are at an all-time low," while the U.S. economy is at an all-time high.

And, he said, mining, steel worker and manufacturing jobs are returning to the U.S. because of the tax cuts passed earlier this year and because "we've cut a record number of job-killing regulations in less than two years."

As he has announced at other times in recent days, Trump said: "We will soon follow with another 10 percent tax cut for the middle class."

The president added: "The Republican agenda is the mainstream agenda of our country," while the Democratic Party's agenda will create more problems for the nation.

"Democrats want much higher taxes many more regulations (and) they want to shut down American energy," he said. "They've gone crazy, folks.

"They've gone loco."

Trump said the Democrats "are the party of rigid ideology - they dismiss and demonize anyone who questions their radical ideas."

The president said a number of groups, including law enforcement, the military and veterans, "love us" and support his agenda.

At the same time, Trump said, his administration is using social media and other non-traditional methods of communicating with Americans because "never before has a president had to withstand (such) a partisan assault from the media."

The president said his policies are bringing a new peace with North Korea and better trade with China, where the world was close to the brink of war only a few years ago.

"(Now), we're not going to have to worry about millions of lives being lost," he said. "We would be in a nuclear war right now if the right person didn't come along."

But, Trump said, the media don't want to report favorably on things he's done - even though many in the news media "are fine people. But some are not honest, and we just have to go around them."

After about 30 minutes, Trump introduced several dignitaries on the platform, including Gov. Mike Parson, U.S. Reps. Blaine Luetkemeyer and Vickie Hartzler, U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, former U.S. Sen. and Missouri Gov. John Ashcroft - and Hawley.

The attorney general, hoping to block McCaskill's bid for a third six-year term, noted Trump won in Missouri by 20 points two years ago.

"And President Trump is delivering in Missouri," which, Hawley said, "some of those career politicians in Washington, D.C., haven't noticed and haven't gotten with the program - like, for instance, Sen. Claire McCaskill."

Hawley argued Trump "is putting pro-Constitution, pro-America judges on the bench - but Claire McCaskill voted 'no.'"

Hawley and Trump both emphasized the president's work to "secure our borders."

And Trump repeated his pledge to end "the worst immigration laws in the world," including "birthright citizenship" that he called "this crazy lunatic policy that we can end."

Trump said earlier this week the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment doesn't protect the citizenship rights of babies who are born to pregnant mothers who've come from other countries so their children can be American citizens, a right which then allows them to "bring their entire extended family into the United States through chain migration."

There was no official crowd estimate, but several thousand attended Thursday's rally in a hangar just west of the passenger terminal at the Columbia Regional Airport.

Rick Fisher, of Jefferson City, was "most definitely" glad he came - and stood "probably 25 feet from the president."

He added: "It's just something to tell your children and your grandchildren - it's just a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us to be able to see the president of the United States in person."

Buzz Ries drove to Columbia from the Lake of the Ozarks.

"I just wanted to show my support, and feel the energy of his movement," he said. "I'm very supportive of everything that he's done, and there's nothing he could have said that could have made me even more enthused about his situation."

Kathy Barrow said it was worth it to drive to Columbia from Warrenton, arriving at 8:30 a.m. Thursday

"I am so glad I came," she said. "I am just thrilled to be here. He said everything I wanted to hear."

And Sandi Ogden came from Kirkwood, near St. Louis.

"There is nobody that I think that I could sit or stand for this long to see - and it was so worth it," she said. "I don't think he missed a lick.

"I think he did fabulous."

Blunt told the News Tribune the rally - just five days before the election - was important.

"I think the president energized in 2016 a group of voters that was newly inspired because of him, and keeping them coming back in the off year is really critical to what needs to happen in Missouri and a handful of other states," he said.

"I think the intensity is just about equal on both sides (this year), around the country and certainly in Missouri."