Donald Trump

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the Sharonville Convention Center, Wednesday, July 6, 2016, in Cincinnati.

(AP Photo/John Minchillo)

CINCINNATI, Ohio--Donald Trump laid into Hillary Clinton during a prime-time speech in Cincinnati on Wednesday, calling his likely Democratic opponent a "dirty rotten liar" over her claims about her use of a private email server.

In his trademark stream-of-consciousness style, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee also defended himself against a number of recent controversies, including his use of a "Star of David"-style star in an anti-Hillary tweet and praise for former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

Before a packed crowd at the Sharonville Convention Center, Trump was introduced by ex-House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is reportedly among finalists to be Trump's running mate. Trump gave no firm indication during the speech that he plans to pick Gingrich, though he teased the crowd (and reporters) a couple times about the idea.

Here are five takeaways from Trump's speech:

Trump laid into Hillary Clinton over her private email server

Trump, as expected, wasted little time ripping into Clinton over her use of a private email server. Though the FBI earlier this week recommended no criminal charges against Clinton, Trump noted the FBI's sharp criticism of Clinton's actions. The FBI's findings, Trump said, show the actions of his likely opponent were "illegal" and showed "bad judgment."

"The only good thing she's ever done is get out of trouble when anybody else would be in jail right now," Trump said.

"You know who got hurt worse by the FBI than anybody? Bernie Sanders, because he was fighting for the FBI to make him the nominee, and it didn't work," Trump added at another point.

Trump alluded to a New York Times report that Clinton, if elected, might ask Attorney General Loretta Lynch to stay on.

"You're not allowed to do that. That's bribery, folks," Trump said.

Trump said critics of his "Star of David" tweet are "racially profiling"

Trump stood his ground against accusations of anti-Semitism after he tweeted - then deleted - an image of a six-sided star with the words "most corrupt candidate ever" with a pile of money in the background.

Trump said reporters who claimed the star was a Star of David - a prominent Jewish symbol - were "racially profiling" him.

"To me, it looked like a sheriff star," Trump said, noting that his daughter Ivanka converted to Judaism for her husband, businessman Jared Kushner, and the couple are raising his three grandchildren in the Jewish faith.

Trump said even though his campaign took the post down, he thinks the tweet should have stayed up.

Trump defended his praise of Saddam Hussein for killing terrorists

Trump defended comments he made earlier this week - and earlier in the campaign - praising former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein for his effectiveness at killing terrorists.

On Wednesday, Trump repeatedly emphasized that he considers Hussein a "bad man," though he reiterated that the dictator was "damn good at killing terrorists."

Gingrich offered a taste of what he would be like as Trump's running mate

Wednesday's appearance was reportedly designed to be a "trial balloon" for a Trump-Gingrich ticket, and Trump coyly teased the crowd and reporters about the idea.

"In one form or another, Newt Gingrich is going to be involved with our government," Trump vowed to cheers from the crowd.

At another point, Trump said, "I'm not saying it's Newt [for vice president]. But if it's Newt, no one's beating him in the debates!"

One of the main jobs of a vice-presidential nominee is to go on the attack, and Gingrich showed Wednesday that he was ready and willing to do the job.

Gingrich says it wasn't an accident that Clinton was campaigning with President Obama when the FBI announced it wouldn't recommend charges against her. "I would say the fix was in," he said.

"Is there a single person here who believes that if you had done what Hillary Clinton had done, you would not be prosecuted?" Gingrich asked the crowd, drawing shouts of "No!"

Gingrich said that Trump, unlike Clinton, isn't a political veteran, but rather "has had a lifetime of creating jobs, a lifetime of building buildings, a lifetime of getting things done."

Trump vows to spend a lot of time campaigning in Ohio

Trump has been slow to hire staff and open campaign offices in Ohio, and he acknowledged that his Ohio campaign "hasn't started."

But he vowed that will soon change, and he promised to return to the Buckeye State "many, many, many times" during the campaign.

"You're going to be so sick of me," Trump joked.

Trump also repeatedly urged the crowd to support Republican U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, who polls show is neck and neck with Democratic rival Ted Strickland.

In his speech, Gingrich chided Ohio Gov. John Kasich for not endorsing Trump, saying "It's about time he got on the Trump bandwagon."