Trump draws about 20,000 in Ala.

Associated Press

MOBILE, Ala.

Republican front-runner Donald Trump on Friday joked, “I know how Billy Graham felt” as he addressed the largest crowd yet of his thriving presidential campaign.

“I would like to have the election tomorrow,” Trump crowed. “I don’t want to wait.”

Thousands of Alabama voters came out to hear the New Yorker bring his message to the Deep South. The 40,000-seat Ladd-Peebles Stadium was about half-full when Trump began his speech.

Trump was welcomed by an array of Alabama politicians, including Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions, who praised him for the attention he’s drawn to immigration issues. And Trump led off his speech with more criticism of immigrants living in the country illegally, drawing loud cheers when he repeated his promise to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

He reiterated his intention to end “birthright citizenship” for children of immigrants here illegally.

Trump also attacked the Obama administration’s deal with Iran to restrict that country’s nuclear program, calling it “so sad.”

And he promised to “repeal and replace Obamacare” – the health care law that’s President Barack Obama’s singular domestic achievement.

Before Trump arrived, his fans – some carrying signs, others wearing T-shirts supporting the billionaire businessman – spoke of his outsider status in a crowded field dominated by former and current elected officials as the song “Sweet Home Alabama” blared from loudspeakers.

“Donald Trump is telling the truth, and people don’t always like that,” said Donald Kidd, a 73-year-old retired pipe welder from Mobile. “He is like George Wallace; he told the truth. It is the same thing.”

Wallace, a fierce opponent of civil rights, served as governor of Alabama and sought the presidency multiple times.

Kidd said Trump is a “breath of fresh air,” and praised him as a businessman with common sense.

Interest in the candidate forced organizers to move a planned rally from the Mobile Civic Center, which holds about 2,000 people, to Ladd-Peebles Stadium, a 40,000-seat football stadium.

Before the rally, Trump tweeted: “We are going to have a wild time in Alabama tonight! Finally, the silent majority is back!”