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President Trump holds rally in Minnesota

What we covered here

  • President Trump spoke at a campaign rally in Duluth, Minnesota, hours after signing an executive order that he said would keep undocumented immigrant families together when they are detained at the southern border.
  • See below for highlights.

9:41 p.m. ET, June 20, 2018

6 key quotes from Trump's rally in Minnesota

President Donald Trump greets supporters as he arrives for a campaign rally at the Amsoil Arena on June 20, 2018 in Duluth, Minnesota. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

President Trump held a rally tonight in Duluth, Minnesota, after signing an executive order that he said will keep far more families together at the border.

During his speech, Trump blasted Democrats, praised North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and said he was smarter than the elites.

If you missed it, here are Trump's key quotes:
  • On North Korea's prospects: "Chairman Kim... will turn that country into a great, successful country. Let me tell you this, a year and a half ago no one thought that was possible."
  • On the historic summit: "I got along with Kim Jong Un and that's a good thing, not a bad thing."
  • On the elites: "The elite, the elite. Why are they elite? I have a much better apartment than they do. I am smarter than they are. I am richer than they are. I became president and they didn’t."
  • On the Russia probe and Hillary Clinton: "No matter what she did, no matter how many crimes she committed, which were numerous, they wanted her to be innocent. With me, nothing. No collusion, no nothing. They just wanted to take all of us and wanted to put us in trouble."
  • On Democrats and immigration: "The Democrats open-border policies have also allowed MS-13 to break into our country and drugs to pour into our streets, and we are stopping it."
  • On the upcoming elections: "A vote for Democrats in Congress is really a vote for Nancy Pelosi and her radical agenda."
8:55 p.m. ET, June 20, 2018

Trump puts himself above the elites: "I have a much better apartment than they do"

President Trump, questioning why some people are considered "elite," bragged tonight in Duluth that he has a “much better apartment than they do” and is “richer than they are.”

“The elite, the elite. Why are they elite? I have a much better apartment than they do," Trump said.
He continued: "I am smarter than they are. I am richer than they are. I became president and they didn’t,” he said to cheers and laughs. “And I am representing the greatest, smartest, most loyal people on earth, the deplorables."
8:48 p.m. ET, June 20, 2018

Trump asks if protester was a man or a woman, and says they need a haircut "more than I do"

President Trump heckled a protester who interrupted his campaign rally in Minnesota.

Trump was talking about immigration when he stopped mid-speech to acknowledge the protester.

"Get him out of here," Trump said."Get him out of here Go home to your mom, darling. Go home. Get him out of here. Out."

The crowd of Trump supporters chanted "USA," as the President looked on.

"Was that a man or a woman?" Trump asked. "Because he needs a haircut more than I do. I couldn't tell. I couldn't tell. I couldn't tell."

8:46 p.m. ET, June 20, 2018

Trump blasts "disgusting" Russia investigation and says Moscow would've preferred Clinton

President Trump decried the Russia investigation on Wednesday, using the case of Peter Strzok and Lisa Page to accuse the government of favoring Hillary Clinton over him.

“No matter what she did, no matter how many crimes she committed, which were numerous, they wanted her to be innocent,” he said at a rally in Duluth. “With me, nothing. No collusion, no nothing. They just wanted to take all of us and wanted to put us in trouble."

“It's not working,” he said, calling the alleged bias “disgusting.”

He insisted that Moscow would have preferred Hillary Clinton in the White House.

“All the things we’ve done, including sanctions, so many things, they’re looking back and thinking I wish crooked Hillary won that election,” he said.

8:52 p.m. ET, June 20, 2018

Somebody shouted "he's a war hero!" as Trump criticized McCain's healthcare vote

President Trump blamed Sen. John McCain for the collapse of health care repeal, repeating a line he has used in most rallies for months. 

"We had a gentlemen way into the morning hours, go thumbs down," Trump said. "He went thumbs down."

The president did not mention McCain by name, but it was clear who he was referring to.

“He’s a war hero!" a woman shouted from the crowd. "He’s a war hero!"

The president moved onto another topic and did not engage.

8:23 p.m. ET, June 20, 2018

Trump praises Kim Jong Un at Minnesota rally: He will turn North Korea 'into a great, successful country'

President Donald Trump praised North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at a rally in Duluth, Minnesota, on Wednesday, telling a fired-up audience that Kim will "turn that country into a great, successful country."

The President's rally is taking place hours after he signed an executive order halting the separation of undocumented immigrant families on the US-Mexico border.

"It was a great meeting," Trump said of his historic meeting with Kim in Singapore earlier this month. "Chairman Kim... will turn that country into a great, successful country. Let me tell you this, a year and a half ago no one thought that was possible."

Trump has sought to cast his meeting with Kim as a turning point in North Korean relations, hoping that the boost on the international stage will help Republicans running in the midterms elections this year. But the outcome of Trump's meeting in Singapore has been largely overshadowed of late by his decision to separate families on the US-Mexico border.

8:10 p.m. ET, June 20, 2018

President Trump says remains of US soldiers returning from North Korea

Touting his summit with Kim Jong Un, President Trump said Wednesday North Korea has sent back the remains of 200 US soldiers killed in the Korean War.

The return of remains was a key accomplishment from the summit, Trump said, along with ending nuclear tests.

 "They stopped everything that they would want you to stop and they blew up sites where they test," he said. 

"It was a great meeting," Trump said. "Chairman Kim, he will turn that country into a great, successful country. Let me tell you this, a year and a half ago no one thought that was possible."

 He expounded upon his personal ties to Kim.

"I got along with Kim Jong Un," he said, "and that's a good thing, not a bad thing."

"Right now you are so safe," he told the crowd in Duluth.

7:49 p.m. ET, June 20, 2018

Here's the scene inside the rally as the crowd awaits Trump

MAGA hats. American flags. And signs that say, "Promises made" and "Promises kept." That's the scene inside Amsoil Arena in Duluth, Minnesota, as we await President Trump.

Watch live here.
7:46 p.m. ET, June 20, 2018

6 key issues Trump could bring up at his rally

President Trump is delivering remarks at a campaign rally tonight in Minnesota.

The rally comes hours after he signed an executive order to keep families together at the southern border. The practice of separating parents and children sparked outrage and calls for an end to the White House's "zero-tolerance" policy.
Here are a few subjects Trump could talk about tonight:
  • Family separations: Trump reversed course after days of digging in on a policy that resulted in immigrant family separations at the border by signing an executive order that will keep far more families together at the border.
  • Historic summit: The President and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met last week in Singapore. As a result of the meeting, Trump and Kim signed an agreement that says North Korea will "work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."
  • Tariffs on China: Trump ordered the US trade representative to prepare new tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports. Trump was reacting angrily to Beijing's decision to match $50 billion in tariffs he placed on Chinese goods on June 15 to protest China's "unfair trade practices."
  • Inspector general's report: The inspector general found no evidence of bias in the FBI's and DOJ's handling of the Hillary Clinton email probe. Trump said the report was wrong and that there was bias. He also criticized fired FBI Director James Comey.
  • The FBI: The Justice Department watchdog report criticized Comey's handling of the Clinton email investigation and said anti-Trump texts messages between two FBI officials "cast a cloud" over FBI actions.
  • Russia probe: Trump has repeatedly called special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election a "witch hunt."
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