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Donald Trump In Alabama: Bring It On

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — Republican front-runner Donald Trump on Friday joked, “I know how Billy Graham felt” as he addressed the largest crowd yet of his thriving presidential campaign.

“I would like to have the election tomorrow,” Trump crowed. “I don’t want to wait.”

Thousands of Alabama voters came out to hear the New Yorker bring his message to the Deep South. The 40,000-seat Ladd-Peebles Stadium was about half-full when Trump began his speech.

Still plenty of seats in the stadium moments before Trump arrives pic.twitter.com/xPxmElGad0

— daveweigel (@daveweigel) August 22, 2015

This is not 35,000 people. pic.twitter.com/RP1C4beZls

— Philip Bump (@pbump) August 22, 2015

Stadium is about half filled. Closer to 20,000 rather than the 40,000 campaign had hoped. Still largest Republican rally yet by far. #trump

— Katy Tur (@KatyTurNBC) August 22, 2015

Trump was welcomed by an array of Alabama politicians, including Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions, who praised him for the attention he’s drawn to immigration issues. And Trump led off his speech with more criticism of immigrants living in the country illegally, drawing loud cheers when he repeated his promise to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Hahahhahaha “Mexico is the new China,” Trump proclaims.

— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) August 22, 2015

Senator and Mrs. Sessions on Trump Force One pic.twitter.com/C27de7GnI1

— Cliff Sims (@Cliff_Sims) August 22, 2015

He reiterated his intention to end “birthright citizenship” for children of immigrants here illegally.

Trump also attacked the Obama administration’s deal with Iran to restrict that country’s nuclear program, calling it “so sad.”

Speaking in Alabama, @realDonaldTrump says competency is more important than kindness when it comes to 2016 https://t.co/nJrIOiMkMB

— CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) August 22, 2015

And he promised to “repeal and replace Obamacare” — the health care law that’s President Barack Obama’s singular domestic achievement.

Before Trump arrived, his fans — some carrying signs, others wearing T-shirts supporting the billionaire businessman — spoke of his outsider status in a crowded field dominated by former and current elected officials as the song “Sweet Home Alabama” blared from loudspeakers.

“Donald Trump is telling the truth and people don’t always like that,” said Donald Kidd, a 73-year-old retired pipe welder from Mobile. “He is like George Wallace, he told the truth. It is the same thing.”

Wallace, a fierce opponent of civil rights, served as governor of Alabama and sought the presidency multiple times.

Kidd said Trump is a “breath of fresh air,” and praised him as a businessman with common sense.

Savannah Zimmerman, a 27-year-old registered nurse from Mobile, agreed. “I think he appeals to us Southerners because he tells it like it is and he has strong opinions. That is the way we are here in the South,” she said.

Mary Anne Bousenitz, 59, a retired psychiatrist from Tuscaloosa, said she isn’t offended by the insults Trump has directed at women, like “dog” and “bimbo.”

“I’m not married to the man and it’s not like I’m going to have to sit across a turkey at the table with him,” she said.

Interest in the candidate forced organizers to move a planned rally from the Mobile Civic Center, which holds about 2,000 people, to Ladd-Peebles Stadium, a 40,000-seat football stadium.

Before the rally, Trump tweeted: “We are going to have a wild time in Alabama tonight! Finally, the silent majority is back!”

During the height of the Vietnam War, Richard Nixon sought the backing of the “silent majority,” widely considered to be Americans who stood behind the Republican president and weren’t getting the attention that protesters attracted. Trump has derided elected officials and cast his candidacy as an outsider’s bid.

The Bush campaign on Friday night e-mailed thousands of supporters in Alabama, denouncing Trump as a Republican presidential candidate. The campaign statement said that Trump favors partial-birth abortions, supports restrictions on gun rights and backs laws that infringe on states’ land rights.

Trump, as ever, leaves stage on this sweaty night to “We’re Not Gonna Take It” by Twisted Sister.

— Robert Costa (@costareports) August 22, 2015

“Trump’s positions are deeply out of step with the Alabama way of life,” the campaign said in the email. “We know Alabama cherishes life, especially the life of the unborn.”

Right to Rise USA, the super PAC supporting Bush, tweeted photos of a plane, with a banner ad bashing Trump and promoting Bush, flying over the stadium, before Trump’s rally.

Our @Rene_MarshCNN reporting that the FAA did not give @realDonaldTrump any special permission for his flight over Alabama stadium

— Maeve Reston (@MaeveReston) August 21, 2015

Trump pulls a Macy’s on Nabisco for moving plant to Mexico: “I love Oreo’s. I’ll never eat them again!”

— Philip Rucker (@PhilipRucker) August 22, 2015

Trump in AL: “We’re live on Fox, we’re live on CNN, we’re live on MSNBC. Every time I speak, it has to be live. It’s ridiculous.”

— Roger Simon (@politicoroger) August 22, 2015

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