For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis, the election, and more, subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter.





On Saturday, just one month into his presidency, President Donald Trump held the first rally of his 2020 presidential campaign.

Trump was introduced by several Florida congressmen before making a dramatic entrance. To the soundtrack of the movie Air Force One, the presidential aircraft pulled into the airplane hangar where the rally was being held. Earlier this week, the White House said in a statement that they would not use the plane in the background as a prop, something Trump did often during the campaign with his own airplane.

LIVE: Pres. Donald Trump holds campaign-style rally at the Orlando-Melbourne Airport https://t.co/03fmvuYY4l pic.twitter.com/BHZgQYBYKj — ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 18, 2017

After Melania Trump recited the “Our Father” and said a few words, Donald Trump opened his rally with an attack on the media. “I also want to speak to you without the filter of the fake news,” he said, accusing news outlets of writing false stories about him using made-up sources. “When the media lies to people, I will never, ever let them get away with it.” For the next 45 minutes he returned to his familiar themes of the wall on the US-Mexico border, keeping out unvetted immigrants, the unreliable judiciary, and America’s return to greatness.

In one particularly odd moment, Trump forced the Secret Service to let a man who had complimented his presidency during a pre-rally interview join him on stage. Trump instructed the man to climb over a fence to get to the stage and then briefly gave him the microphone to address the crowd. Trump acknowledged that the Secret Service was probably not pleased with this, but “we know our people,” he said.

Trump also lashed out at the Ninth Circuit appeals court that overturned his executive order banning immigrants from seven Muslim nations, saying that thousands of immigrants have been allowed into the country with no vetting. “There was no way to vet those people. There was no documentation. Nothing,” he said. In fact, the immigration process for refugees and other immigrants requires extensive vetting and documentation. Trump also said he’s ordered the Department of Justice to protect police and sheriffs “from crimes of violence,” and reiterated his plans to cut taxes, while also promising to implement a trillion dollar infrastructure program around the country.

You can watch the full speech here: