During his campaign rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Thursday, President Donald Trump railed against "radical socialism," ridiculed a man’s weight, praised a lawmaker who previously called for shooting Hillary Clinton and told supporters they have "no choice" but to vote for him or the stock market will plummet.
In a week when bond markets flashed warning signs of a recession and the stock market had its worst day of the year, Trump stopped by New Hampshire, which he lost in 2016 by less 3,000 votes, to defend policies that are rattling many business investors and insist his Democratic rivals are "socialists" who would slow the country's decade-long economic expansion.
"You have the best unemployment. You have the most successful state in the history of your state and the history of our country," Trump said. "And then you're going to vote for somebody else? Oh great. Let's vote for Elizabeth 'Pocahontas' Warren. We have the best numbers we've ever had — let's vote for someone else."
Even as he assailed Warren, a senator from Massachusetts and Democratic presidential hopeful, with a racial slur, Trump warned voters they had to support his re-election bid — or suffer the consequences.
"You have no choice but to vote for me, because your 401(k) — everything — is going down the tubes," he said. "Whether you love me or hate me, you've got to vote for me."
He then mocked the weight of someone he assumed to be a protester interrupting his "Make America Great Again" event. The Washington Post later reported that the man was actually a Trump supporter.
"That guy's got a serious weight problem," Trump said, seemingly referring to a protester being escorted from the venue by security. "Go home. Start exercising."
As the crowd laughed, Trump continued, "Get him out of here please. Got a bigger problem than I do. Got a bigger problem than all of us."
Seconds later, he claimed that his campaign was part of a movement "built on love."
The president then lavished praise on his former campaign manager, who is rumored to be exploring a Senate bid, praising Corey Lewandowski as a "tough" and "smart" guy who would be "fantastic" and "tough to beat."
"People ask if I'll support him, and I say, 'I don't know if he's running.'" Trump continued. "Corey, let us know, please."
Lewandowski, who was fired as Trump's campaign manager but remains close to the president, is widely believed to be mulling to challenge incumbent Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., next year, but it remains unclear when — and if — he plans to announce a Senate run.
He also gave a shoutout to state Rep. Al Baldasaro, who had previously called for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to face a firing squad.
Trump applauded Baldasaro, who served as an informal adviser during his 2016 campaign, for making it to "every rally I ever gave in New Hampshire."
"Right from the beginning," Trump added. "I got so tired of looking at him. He'd always be there."
Baldasaro had been diagnosed with cancer, Trump said during the event, but he added that his successful treatment was a result of the changes he made to the Veterans Choice Program that Trump signed into law last year.
The president received his largest applause of the night when he vowed to "always uphold the Second Amendment," even though he said he is considering new measures to tighten gun restrictions following a recent police shooting in Pennsylvania and two back-to-back mass shootings in Ohio and Texas earlier this month.
"It's not the gun that pulls the trigger. It's the person holding the gun," Trump said, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd when he called gun violence a mental health problem. "We can't make it hard for good, solid, law-abiding citizens to protect themselves."
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