Five things to watch at Trump’s post-debate rally

President Trump on Thursday night will hold a campaign rally in Cincinnati, the first such event since his supporters caused widespread backlash for chanting “send her back” about Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.).

{mosads}The rally comes one night after the second round of Democratic presidential debates, providing Trump additional fodder for his base in what will be a key battleground state for the 2020 election.

Here are five things to watch when Trump takes the stage at U.S. Bank Arena.

Will there be a repeat of ‘send her back’ chants, and how will Trump respond?

The president initially distanced himself last month after his supporters at a Greenville, N.C., rally chanted “send her back” about Omar, who came to the country as a Somali refugee and is a U.S. citizen.

The president claimed he “started speaking very quickly” to cut off the chants. In fact, he stepped away from the podium as the crowd grew louder and did not speak again for nearly 15 seconds.

Democrats decried the chants as racist. Numerous Republicans expressed unease with the crowd’s behavior and have indicated they hope Trump would step in should it happen again.

But Trump has done little to discourage the chants from breaking out again. He praised his supporters as “patriots” after initially speaking critically of the chant, and he continued his barrage of attacks on the congresswoman in the days after the rally.

As recently as last week, Trump tweeted that he felt he would win Minnesota in 2020 in part “because of America hating anti-Semite Rep. Omar.”

Will Trump make his attacks on Cummings and Baltimore a focus?

Omar and the other three progressive women in “the squad,” Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) and Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), were Trump’s initial targets for criticism, but he has recently turned his attention to Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) and the city of Baltimore.

The president has denigrated the city as a “very dangerous & filthy place” where “no human being would want to live,” and claimed Cummings, who represents parts of the city, is a racist.

Trump’s focus on Cummings and his majority-black district have renewed allegations of racism.

But Trump has deflected those allegations, accusing the media of a double standard and insisting allegations of racism are overblown.

“The word is so overused. It’s such a disgrace,” Trump told C-SPAN this week. “And I can tell you I’m the least racist person there is in the world, as far as I’m concerned.”

Trump’s attacks on urban America could be risky given Thursday night’s setting. Cincinnati has struggled with many of the same problems like opioid addiction and blight that places like Baltimore have dealt with.

How does Trump talk about the Russia investigation after Mueller’s testimony?

Thursday will mark Trump’s first campaign rally since former special counsel Robert Mueller testified to two House panels last week.

Mueller’s testimony, while uneven, produced some potentially damaging moments for Trump. The former special counsel told lawmakers that he did not exonerate the president and that Trump could be charged with obstruction of justice upon leaving office.

The president originally planned his North Carolina rally the night of Mueller’s testimony before the former special counsel rescheduled, but Trump has taken ample shots at Mueller in the time since.

“That was a fiasco,” Trump said Tuesday. “I think probably nobody in the history of Capitol Hill has embarrassed themselves like what Mueller did to himself and to the Democrats.”

With Democrats still mulling whether to launch impeachment proceedings, it’s unlikely Trump’s rally diatribes against the investigations into his administration will dissipate.

Will Trump seize on Biden’s “Joe 30330” gaffe?

Trump rarely misses an opportunity to knock, mock and criticize former Vice President Joe Biden, the leader in most polls of the Democratic primary field.

{mossecondads}Most of the candidates on Wednesday night finished their closing statements with a web address for supporters to visit. But the former vice president stumbled when he appeared to try and give out a number to text, telling viewers to “go to Joe 30330.”

Recent polls from Fox News and NBC/The Wall Street Journal show Biden beating Trump in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup.

But Wednesday’s gaffe is the type of viral moment Trump could seize on as he seeks to paint Biden as a candidate who has lost a step.

Does Trump target any presidential candidates other than Biden?

Trump has generally fixated on Biden and predicted Tuesday that the former vice president would eventually become the Democratic nominee.

But following this week’s debates, Trump may see reason to go after some of the other prominent candidates who have gained traction with the electorate.

The president occasionally swipes at Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), two of the most progressive and highest-polling candidates in the primary race.

Trump has also chided South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) at past rallies over his youth and difficult to pronounce name. 

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), another front-runner in the polls, has largely escaped scrutiny from Trump, but that could change as she entrenches herself among the top tier of candidates.

Trump is unlikely to acknowledge that any of them pose a formidable threat, however, and he tweeted in the hours after the second round of debates that he was unimpressed.

“The people on the stage tonight, and last, were not those that will either Make America Great Again or Keep America Great!” Trump tweeted.