Trump makes the election of the Governor of South Carolina about it, too

President Donald Trump campaigned Monday for the GOP governor of the state, who is in a run-off election – but made the vote all by himself, too.

Speaking of Governor Henry McMaster, Trump told a crowd of overflow crowd, "If a horrible thing happened and we did not have a chance to win Henry … they will say that Donald Trump suffered a major defeat in the great state of South Carolina, a humiliating defeat for Donald Trump. "

"So please, get your asses out tomorrow and vote," he said.

Trump admitted that his reputation was not the only reason to support McMaster: "You have to go to vote and, honestly, not for that reason. And while Trump suggested that he was joking, he put his own credibility on the line by tipping for McMaster.

The president also took advantage of the rally to discuss his tough trade negotiations with his American allies, his ongoing fight against the Democrats in immigration, his election in 2016 and a long-running feud with talk show hosts. televised late evening.

Trump arrived an hour late after the storms forced Air Force One to encircle the capital of South Carolina.

"I've never made a longer trip to South Carolina," he joked later, before quickly imploring Republicans to support McMaster in Tuesday's match against the United States. businessman John Warren, a newcomer.

In a torrid high school gym where supporters fanned themselves with the red "McMaster Governor" signs, Trump caused boos at his mention of Democratic Representative Maxine Waters of California.

Trump said earlier Monday on Twitter that Waters should "be careful" after urging the public to make Trump administration officials unwelcome everywhere they go in public. Waters spoke in response to Trump's immigration policy of separating families on the US-Mexican border and after the owner of a Virginia restaurant asked Sarah Huckabee Sanders to leave the house. establishment because she works for Trump.

Trump again accused the Democrats of wanting to open the borders and presented himself as the defender of the nation.

"If you do not have borders, you do not have a country," he said. "Democrats want open borders and that does not bother them."

Trump also turned on late-night comedians Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert, suggesting that they lack talent.

"Johnny Carson was talented, this guy on CBS has no talent," he said, referring to Colbert. Trump said that Kimmel admired him when he appeared in Kimmel 's show and that he was recently to tell Fallon "to be a man" and not to apologize for it. having disturbed Trump's hair during an appearance in 2016.

The three comics are Trump's critics to varying degrees. Fallon recently told The Hollywood Reporter that he had "made a mistake" when he married Trump's hair in the September 15, 2016 episode and said that he would do it differently. Trump tweeted to Fallon to stop "moaning" about it, and Fallon tweeted that he was donating on behalf of Trump to a non-profit group that provides legal assistance to immigrant children, families and refugees in Texas.

The rally, in a state where Trump triumphed in a key Republican primary and easily defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016, also brought songs of "Lock it!" when he mentioned his vanquished rival, and "Build this wall!" when he plunged into the debate about immigration.

Hearing the chants, the president issued a correction: "This is no longer 'build this wall', it is" continue to build this wall ". He pointed to a $ 1.6 billion down payment that he got last year, well under the $ 25 billion he asked Congress.

The president insisted that he had received a "bad hand" on a number of trade agreements and recounted his recent dealings with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He said Trudeau did not know that "Air Force One had 22 TVs" so he watched Trudeau criticize Trump for hitting Canada with tariffs.

McMaster, a former lieutenant governor, became the first elected representative of the nation to support Trump in January 2016. He became governor after Trump had chosen South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley as ambassador to the United Nations.

The winner of the second round of Tuesday will face the Democratic representative James Smith in November. The Republican-backed state has not elected a Democratic governor since Jim Hodges in 1998.

Superville reported from Washington.