In a rare display of humility just days before the Indiana primaries, presidential candidate Donald Trump took the stage at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum to introduce Indiana University basketball legend and three-time national champion coach, Bobby Knight.
Knight grazed the podium to chants of “Hoosiers” and “I-U.” Knight’s talking points included an emphasis on Trump’s abilities to make American communities safer, protect American jobs and make the Mexican border secure. He spoke to Trump’s ability to ensure quality benefits for members of American armed forces while poking fun about “kicking Navy’s ass” during Knight’s tenure as the head coach of United States Military Academy from 1965–71. Knight concluded his endorsement by stating,
“There has never been a more honest and prepared candidate for president,” Knight said at the conclusion of his endorsement, before turning the podium over to Trump once again.
When Trump returned to the stage, he spoke to Coach Knight’s strength and resilience as a Coach. “I don’t know what it is, but all the tough guys endorse me,” he said.
Trump supporters took kindly to the endorsement, believing that Knight's resilience and style of coaching resembles the action that Trump would take with the presidency. Aaron, 32, an alumnus of Indiana University, said, “Knight’s endorsement means a lot to me and I would love to see Knight’s coaching mentality adopted in the White House.”
Upon returning to the stage, Trump wasted no time with firing numerous attacks against the Republican establishment’s attempts to derail his campaign. He continuously refered to Ted Cruz and John Kasich as “two stragglers” and said to the Cruz-Kasich alliance that was allegedly created to take down Trump and give Cruz a better chance of winning the Indiana primary was a “failed marriage” and a “coulter."
Trump also spoke about Cruz’s decision to choose running mate Carly Fiorina despite Cruz's mathematical improbability to secure the nomination. He consistently attacked Cruz’s voting record in support of exporting manufacturing jobs to China, as well as Fiorina’s decisions at Hewlitt-Packard that led to outsourcing of hundreds of American jobs. He referred to the Cruz-Fiorina ticket as the “outsourcing ticket” and Fiorina as the “outsourcer-in-chief” on multiple occasions. He also spoke to Cruz’s record of filibustering, saying, “he hasn’t done one thing in Washington but filibuster."
Trump continued the rally with his regular talking points, including his plan to build a wall along the Mexican border, restrict free trade in order to balance the American deficit, build a stricter foreign policy and modernize the military. He ended the rally by imploring Indiana voters to make a historic decision and “show the country your vote matters.”
“We’re just about to put it away,” he said, adding that Indiana is a the final step in his campaign.