PENSACOLA, Fla. — Campaigning in this critical battleground state just six days before Election Day, Donald Trump acknowledged that the key to victory might be his ability to stay on message, stick to the teleprompter and ignore the siren call of the tangents that have spurred headlines throughout the campaign and often sabotaged even his most potent lines of attack on his opponent.
“We are going to win the White House,” he assured his supporters at a rally that capped off a full day of events in the Sunshine State. “Just — we’ve gotta be nice and cool, nice and cool. Right? Stay on point, Donald, stay on point.”
Giving himself a pep talk after he assumed the podium with pyrotechnic flares lining the stage, Trump said “no sidetracks, Donald. Nice and easy, nice — cause I’ve been watching Hillary the last few days. She’s totally unhinged. We don’t want any of that. She has become unhinged.”
The reminders to stay on topic come as Trump rounds out a week of favorable news cycles that focused on Clinton's use of a private email server as secretary of state and the further review of that issue by the FBI. Trump has pounced on the news, invigorating his base while giving fellow Republicans a battle cry to rally around as the finals days of 2016 wind down.
And Trump has renewed his attacks on Obamacare, another issue that animates Republican voters. The GOP criticism of the president’s signature healthcare law was given new life with the announcement of premium hikes across the country. And Trump has more than picked up the mantle, integrating Obamacare attack lines into his stump speech and even doing a speech on his alternative to the healthcare law with running mate, Mike Pence, earlier in the week. Again on Wednesday, Trump vowed with new energy to “repeal and replace Obamacare!”
Trump entered his third rally of the day sporting the latest iteration of his campaign’s classic "Make America Great Again" hat — the camouflage edition. He got on stage and pumped his fists, half-punching an invisible bag and part dancing along to his walk on music as he ducked under an American flag that provided part of his backdrop. Sparklers shot up from the stage to celebrate his arrival and fireworks punctuated his exit.
Trump will start his campaign events Thursday in Florida before heading to another key battleground state, North Carolina.
