The Latest: At rally, Trump revels in terror leader’s death
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump campaigning in Mississippi (all times local):
8:05 p.m.
President Donald Trump is reveling in the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as he campaigns for Republicans in Mississippi.
U.S. special operations forces concluded a successful operation Saturday that ended with al-Baghdadi blowing himself up.
Trump said Thursday: “He was a savage and soulless monster, but his reign of terror is over.”
Trump says America’s special forces executed a masterful raid and ended his wretched life, adding, “They punched out his ticket now, I guess you could say.”
Trump was in Mississippi to shore up Republican support for Lt Gov. Tate Reeves, who is locked in a tight race to replace term-limited Republican Gov. Phil Bryant in next week’s off-year election.
Democratic attorney general Jim Hood is one of the most conservative elected Democrats in the country and is making it a competitive race.
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6:30 p.m.
President Donald Trump is too busy campaigning for GOP gubernatorial candidates to attend a pair of Asia summits this weekend in suburban Bangkok.
That’s according to a senior administration official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The president is instead dispatching National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit and the East Asia summit.
The U.S. official says, “The president and the vice president these next few days are going to be very engaged in campaigning.”
Trump was travelling to Mississippi Friday evening to campaign for GOP gubernatorial candidate Tate Reeves.
Trump is scheduled to travel to Kentucky on Monday to campaign for incumbent GOP Gov. Matt Bevin. He heads to Louisiana on Wednesday to headline a rally for Republican gubernatorial candidate Eddie Rispone.
— By Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani
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4:25 p.m.
Hundreds of people are waiting to see President Donald Trump at an arena in north Mississippi.
He is traveling to the state Friday to try to shore up Republican support ahead of the state’s toughest governor’s race in nearly a generation, with two established politicians competing for the open seat.
Republican Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves’ opponent in Tuesday’s race is Democrat Jim Hood, who is serving his fourth term as attorney general.
Trump will hold an evening rally in the northern Mississippi city of Tupelo to support Reeves.
