Gingrich joins Trump for rally near Cincinnati

July 7, 2016 at 12:09a.m.

SHARONVILLE

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump used a stop in southwestern Ohio Wednesday night to call Democrat Hillary Clinton “crooked.”

But Trump had nice things to say about his grandchildren, Republican U.S. Sen. Rob Portman and golf legend [and Ohio native] Jack Nicklaus.

He touted his policy proposals to boost U.S. trade, bolster the military and set the stage for job creation.

And he reiterated his plans to clamp down on immigration, particularly from countries that harbor terrorists, and to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.

“And every time they fight us on that wall, it gets 10 feet higher,” the billionaire businessman said to cheers from the hundreds of supporters who packed a suburban Cincinnati convention center. He added later, “I’m going to keep our country safe.”

Trump didn’t break much new ground. His comments were similar to speeches he’s offered elsewhere in Ohio — “We have a rigged system,” he said. “We have a crooked system. ... The politicians aren’t listening.”

A group of protesters and Hillary Clinton supporters also held signs and spoke to reporters across the street of the venue before the doors opened, calling Trump a “Job Creator in Mexico, China, India [and] Singapore.”

Trump’s visit came about a week after Clinton and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a potential running mate, spoke in Cincinnati.

Trump arrived in southwestern Ohio Wednesday with former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, whose name has been mentioned as a possible vice president on the Republican ticket.

“Newt has been my friend for a long time,” Trump said. “And I’m not saying anything ... but I can tell you, in one form or another, Newt Gingrich is going to be involved with our government.”

And both slammed Clinton, a day after the head of the FBI recommended no criminal charges against the former secretary of state for her use of a separate server to send governmental emails, some of which were confidential.

“Say lie, lie, lie, lie, lie — dirty rotten liar,” Trump said, recounting comments Clinton made in the past compared with the FBI’s findings. “When you look at her decisions, when you look at the fact that she has gotten such bad decision-making ability. ... She has got bad judgment.”