After a delay that lasted more than an hour, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump made his case to a crowd of supporters in Little Rock on Wednesday, inserting a number of Arkansas references as he spoke.
"Our country doesn't win anymore," he said. "We don't win in trade. We don't win with our military. Look at ISIS, I mean they're laughing at us."
Trump's speech Wednesday at Barton Coliseum touched largely on economic policy, including trade with China. He also spoke on his plan for a border fence to control immigration, his proposal to repeal the Affordable Care Act and ways to improve the treatment of veterans.
One of his remarks on Arkansas included saying that Bill and Hillary Clinton "left you folks."
"Whether you like it or not, they left you," he said.
Addressing remarks he made earlier in the day on Twitter, Trump reiterated his claim that Republican challenger Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas committed "fraud" in the Iowa caucuses.
"Oh, that voter fraud. You know, these politicians are brutal," he said. "They are a bunch of dishonest cookies, I tell you. That's one of the reasons I'm doing this."
Some left the venue before Trump made his arrival, while others were escorted out of the building for remarks made prior to the candidate's speech.
Several protesters were also removed from the building as Trump spoke with at least one shouting an undistinguishable remark as she left.
Trump paused from speaking as one group of protesters was escorted out.
"I didn't think we'd see that in Little Rock," he said.
Protesters had also assembled along Roosevelt Road outside the venue before Trump's speech.
Little information regarding the reason for Trump's delayed arrival was announced to the crowd before he arrived.
"[It] was not easy with all the traffic and all the problems, mechanical and everything else," he said, adding that he refused a proposal to return to New York.
Trump told the crowd that his appearance had broken attendance records at Barton Coliseum, citing information from a facility official. The number of attendees was not clear, though several seats were noticeably empty.
Read Thursday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.