GREEN BAY, Wis. -- President Donald Trump boasted of a strong economy and criticized his Democratic presidential opponents Saturday night as he rallied supporters using familiar themes.
Trump pointed to the economy's 3.2% growth in the first quarter before drawing even more applause by citing gains in employment and reductions in family poverty in Wisconsin. The state helped propel Trump to victory in 2016, and Democrats are focused on reclaiming its electoral votes in 2020.
Turning to presidential politics, the president had a suggestion for members of the Democratic Party.
"They should change that to the Radical Left Democrat Party," he told a crowd that nearly filled the 10,500-seat Risch Center in Green Bay. "It's crazy what's going on with them. Oh, do I look forward to running against them."
It was a signal that what the president and Republicans have been saying about Democrats for months could be an enduring part of his re-election campaign story. Trump pointed to the Green New Deal, abortion-rights policy and the self-described socialism of prominent Democrats to paint the whole party as radical.
In contrast, he said, "The Republican Party is the party of all Americans. And common sense," he said, eliciting cheers and chants of "USA!"
Trump also referred to his nicknames for two of the leading Democratic presidential contenders -- "Sleepy Joe" Biden and "Crazy Bernie" Sanders -- and predicted that Elizabeth Warren's candidacy is already over.
Turning to his nickname for Warren, a critic of Trump and a frequent target of the president, Trump said: "I think Pocahontas, she's finished, she's out."
Trump warned his supporters that Democrats would take away their guns, promised anew to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico and pledged to come up with a plan for health care after the next election.
Earlier Saturday, Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shared their love of golf with a quick round on the president's course in northern Virginia. No announcement of concrete advances in U.S.-Japan trade relations followed the meeting, though Trump told his rally audience that Japan was investing $40 billion in the American auto industry.
Trump scheduled the mid-evening rally at the same time members of the White House Correspondents' Association gathered for their annual dinner. He refused for the third-straight year the association's invitation to attend, a break from past presidential practices.
"Is there any place that's more fun than a Trump rally?" he asked, having assured the crowd there was no one he'd rather be with.
In Washington, Olivier Knox, the association's president, voiced concerns about Trump's attacks on the media. He said he has received death threats, including one last week, and that he has had to warn his family not to touch packages on the stoop.
"It shouldn't need to be said in a room full of people who understand the power of words that 'fake news' and 'enemies of the people' are not pet names, punchlines or presidential," Knox said.
Historian Ron Chernow, the dinner's featured speaker, said the Founding Fathers had severe differences with the press and came under vicious criticism on occasion. He said President George Washington felt maligned and misunderstood by the press but never generalized that into a vendetta.
"Relations between presidents and the press are inevitably tough, almost always adversarial, but they don't need to be steeped in venom," Chernow said.
Also skipping the correspondents' dinner to attend the rally was press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. In rare public praise for his chief spokeswoman, Trump called Sanders to the stage to say a few words.
"I'm so proud to work for the president," Sanders said, and noted that she received a very different reception during the event she attended last year -- the correspondents' dinner in which the evening's comedian lampooned her.
Trump joked that Sanders "is becoming too popular," then riffed on his signature reality TV line. "I'm telling you, Sarah, you're fired!" The crowd chuckled.
The president opened the rally on a somber note, offering his condolences for the victims of a synagogue shooting Saturday near San Diego. He said America stands with the victims, denounced anti-Semitism and praised the law enforcement response.
"Our entire nation mourns the loss of life, prays for the wounded and stands in solidarity with the Jewish community," he said.
Trump singled out an off-duty Border Patrol agent who fired back at the shooting suspect. The agent, who was not identified, was working as a security guard at the synagogue. He fired as the suspect fled but his bullets hit only the gunman's car.
The agent "helped disrupt the attack and saved so many lives," Trump said.
Information for this article was contributed by Kevin Freking of The Associated Press.
A Section on 04/28/2019