President Donald Trump stumps for South Carolina governor; talks about himself

David Jackson | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Trump approval rating drops one week after reaching personal best President Trump's approval rating has dropped, just one week after hitting a personal best for his presidency.

President Donald Trump traveled to one of his friendliest states Monday to help a supporter, avoid political embarrassment, and talk about himself.

While praising South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster during a campaign rally, Trump told voters that the "fake news" is all too eager to criticize him if McMaster loses a primary runoff on Tuesday.

"So, please, get your asses out tomorrow and vote," Trump joked to supporters packed into a high school gym near the Columbia airport.

While praising McMaster as an early supporter of his — "Henry was there at the beginning" — Trump recited a familiar litany of campaign themes while adding a riff on an unusual topic: Late-night talk show hosts.

Echoing a tweet from earlier in the day, Trump bashed NBC's Jimmy Fallon over apologizing for a somewhat gentle "Tonight Show" interview in 2016, including an infamous tussling of Trump's hair. "Be a man," Trump said of Fallon.

Trump also criticized Jimmy Kimmel of ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and Stephen Colbert of CBS' "The Late Show" for mocking him on their programs.

While not mentioning Colbert by name, Trump described "the guy on CBS" as a "lowlife" who "has no talent."

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Trump also touted compliments from film director David Lynch, but joked that his career in Hollywood is probably over now.

Along the way, Trump echoed long-standing comments about his successful election night, a tough immigration policy, nuclear talks with North Korea, trade tariffs, U.S. defense spending for other countries, and his disdain for the news media ("the enemy of the people, I call them").

Defending a "zero tolerance" of illegal immigration that has included separations of children and parents, Trump said he is handling the situation better than Barack Obama's administration. He promoted his proposed "space force," and criticized predecessor George W. Bush over the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

The president again criticized Democratic election opponent Hillary Clinton, as well as the special counsel investigation into possible ties between Trump associates and Russians who sought to influence the 2016 election via email hacks and phony news.

Bad weather delayed the landing of Air Force One at the Columbia airport for about an hour — "it was a little rocky up in the sky tonight" — giving Trump a chance to tweet more complaints about the Russia Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

Trump criticized Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., for claiming, "perhaps in a near drunken state," to have information that only he and Mueller know. Warner is the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, which has also investigated Russian activity in 2016.

Warner spokeswoman Rachel Cohen tweeted that he was "obviously" making a joke — "admittedly not a very GOOD joke" — and added: "Why is our President spending time on this today?"

In another tweet, Trump said FBI agent Peter Strzok and "other hating frauds" should testify in public congressional hearings.

At his rally, Trump said his economic policies have been good for South Carolina, though McMaster's performance as governor has also been a factor.

McMaster is facing a tougher-than-expected race against businessman John Warren, who is making allegations of political corruption a major theme of his campaign. Warren has even borrowed a Trumpian theme, promising to "drain the swamp" of South Carolina politics.

Warren forced McMaster into a runoff when the incumbent failed to garner 50 percent of the vote during a June 12 multi-candidate primary.

Trump essentially made McMaster governor by appointing his predecessor, Nikki Haley, to be ambassador to the United Nations. McMaster, then the lieutenant governor, ascended to the governor's office.

South Carolina gave Trump a pivotal primary victory in the 2016 battle for the Republican presidential nomination. In the fall, Trump won the state by about 14 percentage points.

In praising McMaster, and protesting the bad weather, Trump joked, "I have never taken a longer trip, ever, to South Carolina."

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