President Trump Donald John TrumpSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Pelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Trump 'no longer angry' at Romney because of Supreme Court stance MORE leaned into his attacks against the news media Thursday night at a rally in Indiana, blasting news outlets for what he said was unfair coverage driven by ratings.

After mocking a protester who was escorted out at the beginning of his rally, the president predicted that "terrible" people in the press would report that the venue suffered major problems with protesters.

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"One person. 'Major protest.' But are they going to talk about the thousands and thousands of people inside of this arena, and outside the arena where we put screens? No," Trump told the crowd.

"These are just dishonest, terrible people," Trump continued, referring to assembled reporters in the back of the room. "Terrible people. Not all of them. Honestly, not all of them. I'd say 85 percent," he added.

“When you get good ratings, you can say anything," the president added.

Some journalists noted on Twitter that the remarks bore a similarity to Trump's recorded comments that surfaced on an "Access Hollywood" tape during the 2016 election.

On the recording, Trump is heard telling host Billy Bush that "when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything," before describing grabbing a woman's genitalia.

“When you get good ratings, you can say anything," the president says. When you're star! — Katie Rogers (@katierogers) August 31, 2018

Trump, just now in Indiana: "When you get good ratings, you can say anything."



Trump, 2005: "When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything." — Brandon Wall (@Walldo) August 31, 2018

The president frequently attacks the news media and individual reporters, often calling journalists and sometimes whole outlets "fake news," which he has declared an "enemy of the people."

Trump issued attacks against news outlets such as CNN and NBC on Twitter a dozen times this week, signaling that his poor relationship with the press will only continue.

"I just cannot state strongly enough how totally dishonest much of the Media is. Truth doesn’t matter to them, they only have their hatred & agenda," he wrote Thursday morning.

Trump rallied in Indiana on Thursday night in an effort to boost Republican Senate nominee Mike Braun, who is going up against incumbent Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly Joseph (Joe) Simon DonnellyHarris faces pivotal moment with Supreme Court battle Trump meets with potential Supreme Court pick Amy Coney Barrett at White House Names to watch as Trump picks Ginsburg replacement on Supreme Court MORE in the November midterm elections.