Trump tells his fans he could say the stupidest things and they would cheer for him. They agree.

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President Donald Trump told a crowd of his most loyal MAGA supporters in Tennessee that he could “say the stupidest things” and they would still applaud – as Republicans step up their campaign ahead of the midterm elections.

The 80-year-old president appeared Saturday at a rally in Clarksville, about 50 miles northwest of Nashville, to “energize” his loyal supporters, according to the Republican National Committee.

Trump’s MAGA base didn’t seem fazed by his blunt remarks, or even questioning why he was campaigning in the state since Sen. Bill Hagerty and state gubernatorial candidate Sen. Marsha Blackburn are both leading the polls in their respective races.

“What am I doing in Tennessee?” Trump asked the crowd. “I don’t need to campaign here. I won your state by a lot of points. A ridiculous number. All the time.”

He continued: “So three times I won the election, the big election three times. I got screwed the second time because they cheated. They cheated. We can’t let that happen again.”

“But I said, ‘You know, sometimes it’s nice to go to a place where you don’t have to be, but you’re there to say thank you to the great people who elected you three times,’ he said to loud applause.

Trump then told the story of a “friend” who had stage fright and asked him how he did rallies in front of thousands of people.

“I said, ‘You know, for me it’s easy because there’s so much love in these plays,'” Trump said to cheers and applause, before adding, “It’s true.”

The crowd then began chanting “Trump, Trump, Trump!” »

“No, it’s true. No, there is such love,” he said, as MAGA faithful shouted, “We love you!”

“It’s like, I mean, it’s amazing. When you stand here, it’s like love,” Trump continued. “I could say the stupidest things and you would clap. ‘Oh, I love you so much, I do.’

“But we don’t say the stupidest things; we say common sense things,” Trump said. “We say things that make sense, and are probably mostly conservative. But it’s not really conservative; it’s common sense things.

“We want to have a border, we want to have low taxes, we want to have a big army. We want to have, you know, all the different things. It’s like seven, eight, 10, five, four – these are just common sense things,” he rambled.

At the end of his speech, delivered Saturday afternoon at F&M Bank Arena, Trump welcomed Republicans on the ballot to the stage and urged attendees to go to the polls and vote for them.

“I’m on the ballot — act like I’m on the ballot,” he said, repeating a desperate plea he’s made repeatedly during his campaign, including in several key states last week.

Even though Trump may not be on the ballot this Election Day, some Americans are turning away from him and the candidates he has supported on issues such as the war in Iran, high gas prices and inflation.

A recent Politico poll found that 26% of 2024 Trump voters think Republican candidates in their district have a better chance of winning their midterm elections if they break with the president. Meanwhile, 62 percent of MAGAs think Republican candidates in their district have a better chance of winning if they align with Trump.