At rally in Minnesota, Trump says border will stay "tough"
President Trump was in his element Wednesday night at a rally in Duluth, Minn., where supporters cheered him on as he blasted illegal immigration, praised his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, promoted his new "Space Force" and mocked protesters.
In the roughly one-hour rally, the president jumped from topic to topic, as he often does, lightly touching on his decision earlier in the day to temporarily end family separation at the border. Mr. Trump said the U.S. will still be "tough" at the border, despite that policy change by executive order, a policy change Mr. Trump had said only days ago couldn't be done by executive order.
Mr. Trump also reiterated his claim that he will halt foreign aid to countries from which people immigrate illegally.
"They're not sending their finest," Mr. Trump said. "We're sending them the hell back. That's what we're doing."
In his wide-ranging speech, the president also blasted one protester for having long hair, saying he couldn't tell if the person was a man or a woman. He mocked another protester saying, "Goodbye, darling, goodbye, darling," and telling the individual to go home to "mommy."
The energetic crowd loved Mr. Trump's monologue.
"By the way, is there anything more fun than a Trump rally?" the president said at one point.
The president did not mention the GOP primary for governor, as some thought he might. He did praise GOP congressional hopeful Pete Stauber, running in Minnesota's 8th Congressional District.
Follow below for updates from earlier:
"We're going to keep winning," Trump says, ending rally
Mr. Trump ended the rally after just under one hour, saying, "We're going to keep winning."
Trump brings up DOJ inspector general report
Mr. Trump brought up the Department of Justice Inspector general report that criticized former FBI Director James Comey's handling of the Clinton email investigation, along with text message exchanges between then-FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page.
"Have you been watching what's been going on with the inspector general's report? What a scam this whole thing is? How guilty is she?" Mr. Trump said.
There have been reports that Strzok and Page were having an extramarital affair.
"With Peter Strzok and his lover, Lisa Page," he continued. "I don't think their wife and husband were too happy about that, what do you think, what do you think?"
"Is there anything more fun than a Trump rally?"
Mr. Trump, pausing for a moment, said, "By the way, is there anything more fun than a Trump rally?"
It's a line Mr. Trump has used before in such rallies with exuberant crowds.
Trump blasts John McCain's health care vote, without naming him
Mr. Trump, without calling out Sen. John McCain by name, blasted the senator battling brain cancer over his health care vote last year. The senator's vote meant the GOP push to overhaul Obamacare failed, and Mr. Trump, it would appear, still hasn't let that go.
Trump on undocumented immigrants: "We’re sending them the hell back"
Mr. Trump, touting his administration's tough approach to immigration, said the U.S. is sending immigrants in the country illegally back.
"They're not sending their finest. We're sending them the hell back," Mr. Trump said, reiterating his claim that he will be cutting foreign aid to countries that send people to the U.S.
"Goodbye, darling," Trump says to protester
Mr. Trump, seemingly spotting a protester being escorted out of the building, called out the "single protester."
"Goodbye, darling. Goodbye, darling," he said.
The president said the man is going home to his "mommy."
Trump praises Kim Jong Un summit
Mr. Trump repeated his claim that he and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un have great "chemistry," blasting the media for not making a big enough deal out of the meeting.
"Chairman Kim will turn that country into a great, successful country," the president said.
"I got along with Kim Jong Un. I got along. And that's a good thing, not a bad thing," he added.
Trump calls out "very dishonest" media
Mr. Trump gestured to reporters in the crowd, calling them "very dishonest."
Chants of "CNN sucks! CNN sucks!" broke out in the crowd.
Trump gives podium to Pete Stauber
Mr. Trump welcomed Rep. Pete Stauber, the person he is supposed to be there to support, on stage.
"Like President Trump, I love this country. I love our freedoms. And I love our Constitution," Stauber said as his explanation for his congressional bid.
Stauber emphasized that the people in the crowd support him, and they are the same people who will send him to Washington to "unleash the economic engine" in Northern Minnesota.
Trump welcomes members of Congress on stage
Mr. Trump welcomed some members of Congress on stage, including Rep. Kevin McCarthy, Rep. Sean Duffy, Rep. Tom Emmer and Rep. Jason Lewis.
Trump brings up 2016 election at top of rally
Just a few sentences into the rally, Mr. Trump brought up the 2016 election. Mr. Trump narrowly lost the state to Hillary Clinton.
"I hate to bring this up but we came this close to winning the state of Minnesota," he said, adding that it would be much easier in two years.
Trump takes the stage
Mr. Trump took the stage to wild cheering just before 8 p.m.
Trump tweets about waiting crowd
Mr. Trump tweeted about the waiting crowd at 7:30 p.m., the time he was supposed to start his rally.
"So sorry, people wanting to get into the already packed arena - I LOVE YOU ALL!" he tweeted.
Trump holding roundtable ahead of rally
Mr. Trump, as he often does before campaign-style events, decided to hold a roundtable discussion. On Wednesday, that discussion is about protecting American workers, although the White House didn't offer many details. Tariffs are almost certainly to be high-up in that discussion.
But in that meeting, the president focused some on immigration, saying Minnesota has certainly faced its own immigration problems. The president stressed the need for strong borders, and stopping people from coming into the country.
Power outages reported where people wait for Trump
According to local media in Duluth, where the president is headed for his rally tonight, much of downtown Duluth is without power -- including where people are waiting for Trump, without air conditioning.
Minnesota Power reportedly hoped to resolve the issue ahead of the rally. But in the meantime, images show people waiting in the dark ahead of the rally, reportedly in blistering temperatures.
Trump leaves White House late
After signing the executive order putting an end to family separation, Mr. Trump left the White House to head to Joint Base Andrews. He was delayed roughly an hour by the executive order, and announcement leading up to it, given that it wasn't on the original White House schedule for Wednesday.
Rally speech likely to cover a lot more than candidates
As with most Trump rallies, the president's remarks about candidates are all-but-certain to turn into something else.
Lately, he has been particularly vocal about immigration and the report released by the Justice Department's inspector general on Hillary Clinton email investigation. The president's rally comes after he has been expected to sign an executive order to keep families together at the border, after days of negative press coverage.
Mr. Trump often uses his rallies to bash Democrats, talk up the need to elect more Republicans in November, blast illegal immigration, tear into special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, and tout his tax overhaul.
A look at GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty's critical comments of Trump
The rally in Duluth is supposed to be for for Pete Stauber, a Republican congressional candidate running in the traditionally Democratic 8th District. Home of the state's famed Iron Range, Minnesota is important ground for Trump as a place where his new tariffs on foreign steel could play especially well. The GOP primary is set for Aug. 14.
But Mr. Trump hasn't held back on his opinions of GOP incumbents he dislikes. The night before a primary for Republican Rep. Mark Sanford of South Carolina, the president blasted Sanford on Twitter and urged people to vote for his primary opponent. Sanford lost. On Capitol Hill Tuesday night, Mr. Trump again mocked Sanford in a meeting with House Republicans, reportedly calling him "nasty." Few Republicans have criticized Trump more strongly than Pawlenty, who is seeking his old job once more.
In 2016, Pawlenty said Mr. Trump was "unsound, uninformed, unhinged and unfit to be president of the United States" in the days after a recording of the presidential candidate making vulgar comments about women surfaced. After launching his campaign in April, Pawlenty said he still voted for Mr. Trump in 2016 and supports the president's policies.
Jeff Johnson, the state GOP's endorsed candidate for governor, has been stronger in his support of the president. He and his allies have portrayed himself as more in tune with the party's base and say Pawlenty -- who holds a huge fundraising advantage -- should be disqualified for his criticism of Trump.
Republican political operative Gregg Peppin said it's another chance for Mr. Trump to aid an underdog candidate who has been a loyal supporter.
"I think it's a pretty cut-and-dried case in this instance," said Peppin, who worked for another GOP candidate for governor who has since quit the race. "It presents the president with an excellent opportunity to test his theory. Whether he'll do that, remains to be seen."
Correction: This article has been updated to reflect that Rep. Mark Sanford is from South Carolina, not North Carolina.