Last Updated May 10, 2018 8:00 PM EDT
With the heated GOP Senate primary over in Indiana, Republicans are launching into general election mode. On Thursday night, President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence are speaking in Pence’s home state to talk up the benefits of tax reform and the president’s policies.
Mr. Trump highlighted recent actions to move his agenda forward, including bringing home the hostages from North Korea overnight and building a small portion of his border wall.
“Our new slogan for 2020, you know what it is? ‘Keep America Great!'” Mr. Trump said.
The GOP is hoping to tap into Mr. Trump’s popularity in many parts of the state — and that Pence is from there — as it looks to scoop up the seat from Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly in November. Mike Braun, a businessman and former state representative who cast himself as an outsider in the GOP primaries, will face Donnelly in November, after winning Tuesday’s primary. Mr. Trump welcomed Braun to the stage well into his speech, congratulating him on his victory.
“We need Mike Braun in the Senate,” Mr. Trump said, calling him a “winner” and Donnelly “sleeping Joe.”
When Pence took the stage, he said it’s the greatest honor of his life to serve as the vice president to Mr. Trump.
“He’s a man of his word. He’s a man of action. And how ’bout all the action this week?” Pence said.
The event was officially billed as a tax reform event, but at other such recent events Mr. Trump has addressed everything from the need to build a border wall to a trade war with China, at one such event literally tossing his “boring” remarks over his shoulder.
Elkhart, Indiana, where Mr. Trump and Pence will be visiting, is Trump country. Nearly two-thirds of votes in the county, 64 percent, went to Mr. Trump over Hillary Clinton in 2016. It also heavily relies on manufacturing — a sector Mr. Trump often praises says the U.S. is bringing back to life.
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