Donald Trump unleashes bravado for enthusiastic Kentucky crowd

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump unleashed his bravado and swagger on Kentucky Tuesday, promising a large, enthusiastic crowd that “we are going to take our country back and make it great again.”

After being introduced by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the New York businessman made a series of promises to the crowd of several thousand at the International Convention Center in downtown Louisville.

They ranged from “we are going to kick the hell out of ISIS” to “we will build that wall,” a reference to his plan to keep out illegal immigrants from Mexico.

Most of the crowd loved the remarks but Trump had to stop his 35-minute speech at least four times to deal with protesters.

Each time, he shouted “get them out of here” as Louisville police escorted them from the room.

Trump said he would be tougher on the protesters but the press, “the most dishonest human beings in the world,” would criticize him.

Trump’s campaign visit to Louisville was his second of three stops on Super Tuesday, in which nearly half of the delegates to this year’s GOP presidential convention were up for grabs in primary elections and caucuses in 11 states.

Kentucky will hold its first Republican presidential caucus on Saturday, along with Kansas, Louisiana, Maine and Nebraska.

In addition to Trump, Kentucky’s caucus attracted retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson to Lexington Monday. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida is to hold a rally at the Lexington Center at 10:15 a.m. Friday (registration is on Eventbrite.com).

Rubio’s campaign co-chairwoman in Kentucky, former U.S. Rep. Anne Northup of Louisville, said a few hours before Trump’s arrival in Kentucky that the state’s voters should reject him Saturday.

She said in a news release that Trump’s hesitancy to denounce the Ku Klux Klan and former KKK leader David Duke “make him toxic and unelectable.”

“Marco Rubio is the only choice for Republicans who want to grow the party and win in November,” Northup said.

During his speech in Louisville, Trump dismissed Rubio as “a total lightweight.”

He also dismissed challenger Ted Cruz, a U.S. senator from Texas, as a person who can’t make right decisions, and said Carson was “a nice guy” who could not win.

He said Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton lacked the strength and stamina to be president and claimed President Obama has led America down the wrong path. The crowd roared with delight.

Trump touched on a variety of issues during his speech but provided few specifics.

He said he will take care of American veterans, defend the Second Amendment right to bear arms, get rid of Common Core standards in public education, improve health care, and support water-boarding of terrorists to gather information.

He said he wants Kentuckians to know that “Donald Trump loves clean coal.”

Coal “will make a comeback” in his administration, Trump predicted.

“Our country is being laughed at by everybody in this world,” said Trump

In introducing Trump, Christie, who recently dropped out of the GOP presidential race, said Trump will make “a great president.”

The campaign did not immediately offer a crowd-size estimate, but Trump said from the stage that it looked like “20,000” to him.

Before the rally, a group of University of Kentucky students posed in photos with a “Don’t Tread On Me” flag that one of the students, freshman Adam Bruening, brought from his room.

Bruening said he supported Sen. Ted Cruz before the last debate before throwing his support to Trump.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve had someone support our rights and not try to take them away from us,” Bruening said.

Rick Raub, from Owingsville, took a photo of Bruening’s group.

Raub, a veteran who moved to Kentucky three years ago from New Jersey because he wanted to live in “a free state,” said he was proud to see young people there.

“This is the generation that’s going to make America great,” Raub said.

Among those protesting Trump were Gerrit Keller and his wife, Zoe, who wore shirts and carried signs with Trump quotes.

The Eastern Kentucky University students said they were nervous to be in a sea of Trump supporters before the rally. Zoe said she felt scared as a “brown girl.” They did not plan to disrupt the speech.

“I do want to hear what he has to say, even if I disagree,” Gerrit said. “Because I think there’s a benefit to hearing everybody’s side.”

Tasha Oldham, 44, of Louisville, said she came to see Trump after seeing him at an earlier rally in Pensacola, Fla.

“What I really like about him is that he speaks his mind,” Oldham said, adding Trump wasn’t a politician like Rubio and Cruz.

Oldham, who is black, said she feels people sometimes misinterpret what Trump says and that he is not racist.

“He likes Muslims, he just doesn’t like bad people, that’s all he’s trying to say,” Oldham said.

This story was originally published March 1, 2016 at 5:32 PM with the headline "Donald Trump unleashes bravado for enthusiastic Kentucky crowd."