Donald Trump appeared at a rally hosted by super PAC Buckeye Values in Dayton, Ohio, on Saturday supporting Bernie Moreno, the Senate candidate vying for the GOP primary who Trump endorsed.
Moreno is competing with state Senator Matt Dolan and Secretary of State Frank LaRose in the Republican primary, the winner of which will go head-to-head against Democrat Senator Sherrod Brown. Brown is one of the two Democrats (the other is Montana Democrat Jon Tester) running for reelection in red states. The two races will be pivotal in determining which party controls the Senate.
Trump’s endorsement of Moreno is not a slam dunk. Dolan has the recent backing of former Senator Rob Portman and Governor Mike DeWine, two leading Ohio Republicans, which gives Moreno a major challenge in the short stretch to the Ohio primary on Tuesday.
Trump’s speech was made partially without the aid of a teleprompter (apparently it was not working for him to refer to as he mentioned several times), and he meandered, riffed, made blunders, and mispronounced several words. Though, to be fair to the apparent failing teleprompter, these gaffes have become typical during Trump’s rally speeches.
Along with giving props to Moreno, Trump also drove home his rote stories about being the most persecuted president in history; lodged put-downs of President Biden; called special counsel Jack Smith “deranged” over leading two federal probes against him; and touted his unfounded perception of the migrants coming to the United States all being “hardened criminals” that are “destroying our country,” among his other top tropes.
Of course, it would not be a Trump rally without him spouting off about the election he lost being rigged and talking in near-apocalyptic terms should he not be reelected this year. “Now if I don’t get elected, it’s gonna be a bloodbath for the whole — that’s gonna be the least of it. It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country, that will be the least of it,” he warned. Later, he went as far as ominously implying that voting as we know it won’t exist if he loses: “I don’t think you’re going to have another election in this country if we don’t win this election,” he said.
Colombian-born Moreno, a wealthy businessman who formerly owned car dealerships, also briefly addressed the audience during Trump’s speech, calling him “a great American.” The anti-LGBTQ rights candidate was recently embroiled in controversy after the Associated Press reported on the existence of a 2008 profile, which was created by someone who had access to Moreno’s email, seeking “Men for 1-on-1 sex” on a website called Adult Friend Finder. Moreno’s lawyer told the AP that Moreno’s then intern, Dan Ricci, made the account as “part of a juvenile prank.”
Other Trump political advocates also took turns at the podium to give praise to Trump and Moreno, including J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, and Congressman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).
Trump won Ohio in 2016 and 2020, and the GOP currently controls top offices statewide.