Story highlights Donald Trump pilloried Mitt Romney on his home turf on Friday, making his best appeal to the state's majority Mormon population and questioning whether Romney truly represented their faith

The rally in Salt Lake City was also marked by crowds of protesters outside the Infinity Event Center, some of whom at one point tried to rush into the event

Washington (CNN) Donald Trump pilloried Mitt Romney on his home turf on Friday, making his best appeal to the state's majority Mormon population and questioning whether Romney truly represented their faith.

The rally in Salt Lake City, coming one week after clashes between supporters and protesters forced Trump to cancel a Chicago event , was also marked by a couple hundred protesters outside the Infinity Event Center, some of whom at one point tried to rush into the event.

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"Do I love the Mormons? I have many friends that live in Salt Lake City -- and by the way, Mitt Romney is not one of them," Trump said to applause. "Are you sure he's a Mormon? Are we sure?"

Romney, the GOP 2012's nominee, said earlier on Friday that he would vote for Ted Cruz in Utah, who is expected to do well in the state's GOP caucuses on Tuesday. Romney has recently become a leading critic of Trump, the national GOP front-runner, and he said he would back Cruz in Utah because he had the best chance of stopping Trump there.

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Trump also said at his campaign rally Friday night that many Mormons had worked for his businesses, and that employees even occasionally make deposits directly to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints so they're not tempted to pocket their paychecks.

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