Former rivals-turned-allies Donald Trump and Chris Christie brought their brand of brash, New York-area “telling it like it is” to North Carolina on Monday in an attempt to win more evangelical votes ahead of its primary.

Trump and Christie bandied about serious insults while campaigning against each other, until the New Jersey governor dropped out of the 2016 White House race and endorsed the real estate mogul last month. They appeared on stage Monday morning at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, N.C., to bash socialism, praise Christianity and rationalize the mounting anger of Trump’s supporters on the campaign trail.

The conversation comes amid controversy surrounding the escalating violence at Trump events, including attacks on journalists and scuffles between supporters and protesters. The businessman brushed off the violence as an imaginary non-issue.

“There’s no violence. You know how many people have been hurt at our rallies? I think, like, basically none,” Trump said to the crowd. “Other than I guess, maybe somebody got hit once or something, but there’s no violence.”

A few of the incidents have made headlines: On February 29, a Secret Service officer working Trump’s security choke-slammed a Time magazine photographer. On March 8, a Breitbart News reporter was “roughed up” backstage as she was questioning Trump. On March 9, a Trump fan sucker-punched a protester.

Trump complimented himself several times for having the foresight to call off his Friday night rally in Chicago. The real estate tycoon blamed supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders for the unrest and did not acknowledge that his incendiary rhetoric and radical policy proposals may have contributed to the heightened tension.

Donald Trump, left, shakes hands with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, right, at the Lenoir-Rhyne University event on Monday. (Photo: Chuck Burton/AP)

“So rather than fighting in Chicago, I did something that was a good move, a good decision, because I don’t want to see anyone be hurt,” Trump said. “And we’ve been given so much credit for that decision. Nobody hurt… but because of that people say, ‘Was there violence?’ There’s no violence. There’s a love fest. These are love fests.”

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Several times, protesters in the Lenoir-Rhyne University audience heckled Trump, but were drowned out by chants of “Trump!” and “USA!” as they were escorted from the building.

“Let him go,” Trump said of one protester. “He’ll go back home to Mom, and she’ll be angry with him.”

After another outburst, Trump accused Democrats of sending people to disrupt his events because — according to Trump — his campaign is a phenomenon without precedent in American history.

“We’re taking from the Democrats. Remember the Democrats for Reagan? We have it bigger,” he said. “We’re taking also from Independents big league, and we’re taking from people that have never, ever voted before — and they’re 50 years old in some cases.”

Trump also said that many high-ranking members of the Republican Party are calling him and inquiring about how they can get on the “Trump train” because “this train is unbelievable.” Despite this claim, the Republican establishment has had an uneasy relationship with Trump at best. He even canceled a scheduled speech at American Conservative Union’s 2016 Conservative Political Action Conference earlier this month at the last minute.

As expected, Trump played to the Evangelical Lutheran gathering by affirming his faith and flaunting his endorsement from Liberty University’s president, Jerry Falwell Jr.

Donald Trump, left, talks with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at a rally at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, N.C., on Monday. (Photo: Chuck Burton/AP)



“Well I’m a good Christian, I will tell you. I am a good [Christian], and I’m a believer,” he said. “One of the things — and speaking, Chris, of Christian — they are chipping away at the Second Amendment, and that’s not gonna happen anymore. And they’re chipping away at Christianity, folks. They are chipping away big league. Big league!”

Students cheered as Trump vowed to defend Christianity from political correctness. He argued that their religion has been singled out as open for censure.

“Why is it that Christianity seems to be taken advantage of? With other religions, with other places, if you said things that you [say about Christianity], you couldn’t do it. You can almost say whatever you want about Christianity,” he said.

Trump said that Christians are the biggest group in the United States and potentially the most powerful. Under a Trump presidency, he said, Christians will get their voices back, because he will “bring [the issue] up big.”

“Hey, look, we’re going to say ‘Merry Christmas’ at Christmastime, folks. Remember that. So I really mean that. You go into stores now, it’s Christmas, and you don’t see ‘Merry Christmas’ anymore. Even if you say ‘Merry Christmas’ and ‘Happy Holidays’ for people. And everybody wants it. I have many friends who aren’t Christian, and they like to say ‘Merry Christmas.’”

Later in the discussion, Christie praised Trump as “one of the greatest capitalists in American history” and asked why it’s important for the United States to keep embracing capitalism and not turn to socialism “like Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are talking about.”

According to Trump, Americans have no incentive to do a great job anymore. He said Sanders’ vision of democratic socialism is unrealistic and would require crushing taxation.

“Your taxes are gonna go up to 95 percent or something. If you were going to do all of the stuff, somebody’s going to pay it. It’s probably going to be you, folks. Get used to it,” he said. “But your taxes go up to 95 percent, and once you hit 100 percent, then you go from socialism to communism, and then the other things start to happen.”



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