Live: President Trump holds rally in Ohio

President Trump now heads back to Bedminster, New Jersey, where he’ll continue his summer vacation. The question now, which will be answered Tuesday night, is to what effect his Ohio visit will have on the special election.

His visit to central Ohio on Saturday injected him into a high-stakes congressional special election, where the Republican candidate finds himself fending off a surging Democratic challenger.

Republican Troy Balderson will face off against Democrat Danny O’Connor in Ohio’s 12th Congressional District on Tuesday, in the final special election before November.

A loss for Balderson in this district, which has historically favored Republicans, would further signal that Democrats have the momentum heading into November.

A Monmouth University poll released this week shows a tight race, with Balderson receiving 44% support to O’Connor’s 43%, with 11% of respondents saying they are undecided.

President Trump admitted Saturday night that Russia continues to meddle in American affairs.

Speaking of spies in the US (he mocked Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein over a report that a staffer in her office was recruited by Chinese intelligence), Trump said:

Trump has defended his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin while criticizing the “Russian hoax,” and spoke at a rally last week just hours removed from his top national security officials who decried Russian attempts to influence US elections.

President Trump briefly mentioned Sen. John McCain, but didn’t name him, who is back home battling brain cancer.

We have “one vote” in the Senate who is “not around to vote,” Trump said.

“I don’t know. He’s out. He’s not voting.”

He was speaking about the Republican Senate majority, noting it’s hard to get anything done with just 51 votes.

President Trump again called Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters “a seriously low IQ person” when questioning whether a blue wave is truly coming for the midterm elections.

“They’re talking about this blue wave — I don’t think so. I don’t think so,” Trump said. “Maxine Waters is leading the charge. Maxine, she’s a real beauty, Maxine. A seriously low IQ person, seriously. Maxine Waters, she is leading the charge.”

Trump’s done this before.

And in response, Waters told MSNBC’s Joy Reid, “This is what this con man does. He diverts attention from himself by attacking others.”

President Trump opened his Ohio rally by slamming the “elites” who didn’t think he’d win the 2016 election, instead telling his supporters, “You are the elites.”

“You’re great people. You work hard, you pay your taxes, you do all of these things and you are forgotten. You are the smartest people. You are the smartest people.”

“They talk about the elites,” Trump said. “Did you ever see the elites? You are the elite. You are the elites. You are smarter than they are, you make bigger incomes. You have everything going. Let them keep calling it. You go to the best schools. You do a tremendous job. You own companies. You work for tremendous salaries. You are talented with your hands and your mind,” he said.

The pastor giving the invocation at his Ohio rally prayed to protect President Trump from the lying liberal media.

Here’s what he said:

“Tonight I pray that you will protect our president and his family with a shield of faith. Lord that shield of faith, against the fiery darts of the wicked ones. Lord, against that jungle journalism extorts the truth and distorts honesty and integrity every single day. Gets in his face with lies and mistruths and innuendos. Lord, protect him,” he said.

President Trump has taken the stage. You can watch live in the video player above.

The crowd let up a big cheer when Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan was seen walking up the bleachers to greet someone.

They chanted, “Jordan! Jordan!” and someone yelled as he walked down the steps, “Speaker of the House!”

He’s now posing for pictures and waving.

Jordan, a leader in the conservative House Freedom Caucus and former chairman of the group, announced his run for speaker of the House of Representatives in a letter to colleagues last month.

Jordan has long said he was interested in the post, but the news comes after he has faced questions about his time as an assistant coach at Ohio State University and whether he knew about alleged sexual abuse by a former Ohio State medical doctor who treated athletes there.

Jordan has repeatedly denied any knowledge of inappropriate behavior during his time as assistant wrestling coach at OSU and said Thursday that he does not believe the questions surrounding his time at OSU will affect his bid for speaker.

Update: Later, during his rally, Trump invited Jordan on stage. The crowd again chanted, “Speaker of the House!”

President Trump is about 20 minutes late, not that his supporters mind. They’re currently rocking out to Barry White and the Village People’s “Macho Man” and “YMCA,” among other hits.

The gym at Olentangy Orange High School in a key Republican part of Delaware County, Ohio, is packed, on the floor and in bleachers on both sides of the room.

It is very hot with air conditioning issues – a few people have been helped by paramedics in the lobby. If there’s air conditioning working, it’s not terribly effective.

Watch:

You might have seen people holding signs and wearing shirts scribbled with “We are Q” and “Q” at President Trump’s rallies in Florida and Pennsylvania this week.

Looks like at least one supporter brought one tonight, too.

So, what does it all mean? The signs promote an online right-wing conspiracy persona – who’s been targeting movie stars and the Democratic Party alike.

It was an apparent reference to QAnon, a group that originated on the 4chan messaging board around an anonymous user, “Q,” who claims to be a member of the US military intelligence. The group’s theory, among other things, alleges that several A-list figures in the entertainment industry and the government are involved in child sex crimes and a “deep state” effort to annihilate Trump.

Users on 4chan, Reddit and the more fringe 8chan devote their time to decoding the supposedly top-secret clues – nicknamed “breadcrumbs” – that “Q” routinely leaves on those channels. Then, they take action – online but also offline – based on a free interpretation of those clues.

What the White House is saying

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders recently addressed their presence at the rally.

“The President condemns and denounces any group that would incite violence against any individual, and certainly doesn’t support groups that would promote that type of behavior,” she said.

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