Leaked audio: Trump calls Bredesen 'tough', says US Senate race against Blackburn is close

Show Caption Hide Caption Trump rally: Donald Trump urges voters to vote out Democrats in November

President Donald Trump mocked the expected Democratic rival of GOP Senate hopeful Rep. Marsha Blackburn Tuesday night during a campaign-style rally in Nashville, describing former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen as "a total tool" who he'd never heard of.

But behind closed doors hours earlier, the president had a starkly different message for a roomful of Republican donors, telling them Bredesen is a tough opponent who has led Blackburn in the race to replace U.S. Sen. Bob Corker.

“It’s close. It’s very close. She was down by a little bit a couple of months ago, now she’s pulled even. We’re in a very even race," Trump told a roomful of supporters at Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center.

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Media was not allowed inside the fundraiser — which cost up to $44,000 to attend — but the USA TODAY NETWORK-Tennessee obtained a recording of his remarks, which lasted about 15 minutes.

Calling Blackburn's main competitor — the former Democratic governor — "tough", Trump said "he’s weaker on crime, he’s weaker on borders. He’s always going to vote for the Democrats."

The comments diverge sharply from the jabs Trump took at Bredesen during a rally after the fundraiser. During the rally, Trump tried to indicate he'd never heard of Bredesen, calling him "Philbert" and "Phil whatever-the-hell this guy's name is."

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It is not immediately clear to which polls the president was referring during the fundraiser. Prior to entering the race last year, a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee poll showed Bredesen leading Blackburn by 5 percentage points.

Two polls commissioned by the Committee to Defend the President have shown Blackburn with leads.

But recent polls from Mason-Dixon Polling and Strategy, Middle Tennessee State University and Public Policy Polling have shown Bredesen ahead.

Bredesen and Blackburn have nominal opposition in their respective primaries.

"We have to get Marsha elected," Trump said.

Donald Trump says Bredesen 'is a tool' at Blackburn rally President Donald Trump called Phil Bredesen, who is running for a Senate seat against Marsha Blackburn, a "tool" during his latest visit to Nashville.

In the early months of his campaign, Bredesen has not run against Trump and has downplayed the national implications of the race. The former Nashville mayor has also said he would support good ideas even if they came from Trump and Republicans.

After Tuesday's rally, Bredesen spokeswoman Alyssa Hansen said in a statement, "Bottom line: Phil Bredesen is an independent thinker with a proven record of working with Democrats and Republicans."

More: Tennessee U.S. Senate race polls: Phil Bredesen, Marsha Blackburn vie to replace Bob Corker

As Trump continued to address the donors, the president went through what he said was his list of accomplishments, which he said include ending the so-called “war on coal”, eliminating the individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act, and improving care for veterans.

After mentioning his decision to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, a woman shouted, "That's why we love you."

Trump said his administration is trying to renegotiate “disastrous” trade deals, adding: “The European Union ... was formed for sole purpose of taking advantage of the United States.”

Trump also reiterated the reason he cancelled a June 12 summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

“We had a meeting set and then we got…one of those nasty letters. I won’t even say what it said. It was a horrible letter so I terminated (the summit),” Trump told the fundraiser attendees.

“I wasn’t going to meet under circumstances like that because it was such a threatening …anyway two days later, everyone was saying why did he cancel the meeting, he canceled it for no reason. They took the letter out of the equation that we were sent or the statement that we were sent. And I just said it’s dishonest to do that. I canceled it because of the statement that was made but they forgot it – they didn’t forget it – they purposely left that out, so it’s just really dishonest.”

In a May 24 letter to Kim, Trump said he needed to call off the summit “based on the tremendous anger and open hostility displayed in your most recent statement.”

A North Korean leader had called Vice President Mike Pence a “political dummy” in the days preceding the president's letter.

Trump in Nashville: Marsha Blackburn joins Donald Trump on stage President Donald Trump brings Marsha Blackburn on stage at Municipal Auditorium during a fundraising rally for Blackburn's Senate campaign on Tuesday.

As usual, Trump also criticized the media, who he passingly referred to a "maniacs", including the New York Times, network television stations and CNN, while peppering in some praise.

"Fox has been great," he said. "Local media has been fantastic."

Turning to the November midterm elections, Trump asked if Tennessee Republicans had "any catastrophes" on their hands this election cycle.

Closing out his remarks, Trump underlined the need to motivate Republicans and the importance of Blackburn's presence in the U.S. Senate.

"I do want to tell you get out there and make sure everybody that you know votes for Marsha because it's going to be a tough election. It's going to be very close," he said. "We have to have her and we have to have her vote and we have to have her vote every single time."

Trump added that he planned to be in Tennessee "a lot" in the future.

Reach Joel Ebert at jebert@tennessean.com or 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29. Reach Dave Boucher at 615-259-8892, dboucher@tennessean.com and on Twitter @Dave_Boucher1.