Analysis by Chris Cillizza, CNN Editor-at-large
Updated 1:48 PM ET, Sun March 11, 2018
(CNN)President Donald Trump traveled to western Pennsylvania Saturday night on a rescue mission: State Rep. Rick Saccone (R) is fighting for his political life in a House special election on Tuesday and the President's visit was aimed at rallying the GOP base in a district he won by 20 points in 2016.
Trump's speech --- largely unscripted -- ranged (and raged) for more than an hour, and barely mentioned Saccone until the end when Trump handed Saccone the mic and allowed him to say a few words.
It felt more like a therapy session -- with Trump venting and attacking his enemies -- than a political rally. I went through the entire transcript and pulled out the most memorable lines. They're below.
1. "Hello Pittsburgh. Hello Pittsburgh."Read more
"Hello Cleveland!"
2. "And a lot of steel mills are now opening up because of what I did."
Trump signed the steel tariff measure on Thursday. So, that's, um, fast work.
3. "Pennsylvania is the state that gave us the 45th president of the United States."
This is beyond third person. It's like fourth person, says a reporter for CNN.
4. "A lot of evil. A lot of bad people. A lot of bad people."
This is Trump talking about Washington. It's a throwaway line, but think about what he is saying here. It's not just that there are people who disagree with him in Washington. It's that these people are bad, they are evil. Rhetoric like this has consequences. I think Trump knows that but doesn't really care because it works for him.
5. "President Moon of South Korea said without Donald Trump, the Olympics would have been a total failure. That's true. True."
Ok, follow this logic: Trump is tough on Kim Jong Un and North Korea ? Kim backs down off his nuclear threats ? Olympics succeed. Done and done!
6. "It's a little hard to sell tickets when you think you are going to be nuked."
FACT CHECK: True!
7. "He's a sleeping son of a bitch."
This is a sentence from the President of the United States. (He's talking about "Meet the Press" host Chuck Todd.)
https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/11/politics/trump-speech-pennsylvania/index.html
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