Trump rallies supporters in Minneapolis in first event since impeachment inquiry

President Donald Trump was defiant in the face of an impeachment probe Thursday during a rally in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The event was his first since Democrats began proceedings two weeks ago to remove him from office.

The latest:

9:15 p.m.

President Donald Trump is criticizing Minnesota for accepting large numbers of refugees from Somalia, and he is boasting about his own efforts to cut the flow of refugees into the United States.

Trump rallied with political supports Thursday in Minneapolis, a city home to the largest population of Somalis in the United States. He says the city and state allowed refugees in without considering the impact on schools, the community and taxpayers.

Trump says he has cut refugee resettlement by 85 percent, and says Democrats will throw open the nation’s borders if they regain power.

The remarks were reminiscent of Trump’s campaign appearance in Minneapolis shortly before the 2016 election, when he described Somali resettlement as “the disaster taking place in Minnesota.”

__

9 p.m.

President Donald Trump has brought the head of the Minneapolis police union onstage to thank him for a high-profile fight over whether the city’s officers could wear their uniforms while backing the president.

Lt. Bob Kroll sparred with the city’s Democratic mayor this week over a policy that prohibits officers from wearing uniforms at political events or in political advertisements. Mayor Jacob Frey said the policy wasn’t new and said the police force must be nonpartisan.

Trump calls Frey a “very weak mayor” and Kroll a “great man.” Kroll and several other people, all wearing bright red “Cops for Trump” T-shirts, came onstage during Trump’s rally Thursday night in Minneapolis.

Kroll asks, “How can you thank this guy for everything he’s done for law enforcement?” He calls Trump a “wonderful president.”

__

8:45 p.m.

President Donald Trump is attacking Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar in a rally on her home turf.

Trump is calling Omar “a disgrace to our country,” reminding thousands of supporters in a Minneapolis arena of remarks she made on Israel that some people saw as anti-Semitic. Omar denied any anti-Semitic intent but apologized for them.

Trump is also again raising allegations by some conservatives that Omar married her brother to commit immigration fraud — a claim Omar has called “disgusting lies.”

Trump has sought to portray the Somali-American lawmaker as a symbol of the liberal shift in her party, and earlier this year tweeted she should “go back” to her home country rather than criticize the United States. He didn’t repeat that rhetoric Thursday night.

__

8:30 p.m.

President Donald Trump is lashing out at potential Democratic presidential rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter.

Trump says at a rally Thursday in Minneapolis that Biden became Barack Obama’s vice president because he knew how to curry favor with Obama.

The Republican president is also targeting Hunter Biden, suggesting a T-shirt that says “Where’s Hunter?”

Trump has been spreading groundless claims that the Bidens used their family name to get China and Ukraine to pay them millions of dollars.

The Democratic-controlled House opened an impeachment inquiry after a whistleblower complained about Trump’s dealings with Ukraine and alleged Trump was abusing his public office for personal political gain. Trump later released a rough transcript of a phone conversation with Ukraine’s president in which he asks for an investigation of Biden.

__

8 p.m.

President Donald Trump is decrying what he says is a “wretched Washington swamp” that is trying to overturn the results of the 2016 election.

Trump is telling thousands at a rally Thursday in Minneapolis that the swamp wants to “erase your vote like it never existed.”

But he says the swamp will fail because “in America, the people rule again.”

It’s Trump’s first campaign rally since the Democratic-controlled House launched an impeachment inquiry over his dealings with Ukraine.

Trump is also predicting that he will win Minnesota in 2020, a state that slipped away from him in the last election.

__

7:30 p.m.

President Donald Trump’s son Eric is proposing a new chant to be directed at Joe Biden: “Lock him up.”

President Trump has been pushing baseless claims that Biden and his son Hunter traded on the family name to earn millions from governments in Ukraine and China.

Eric Trump warmed up a Minneapolis rally crowd for his father Thursday night. He asked the crowd for an assessment of how Hunter Biden is feeling and suggested that the familiar Trump rally chant of “Lock her up” — directed at Hillary Clinton — become “Lock him up.” The crowd then chanted, “Lock him up, lock him up.”

House Democrats have opened an impeachment inquiry over President Trump’s dealings with Ukraine and his request to that country’s president to investigate Joe Biden.

__

6 p.m.

Anti-Trump protesters are converging on the Minneapolis arena where President Donald Trump is holding his first political rally since the House opened its impeachment inquiry.

Protesters are packing streets surrounding the Target Center hours before the Republican president is due to appear at Thursday’s rally.

Many are clutching helium-filled balloons depicting Trump as a baby. Others are blowing whistles, a nod to the whistleblower whose complaint encouraged Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to launch the inquiry.

Lora Torgerson, who says she is a registered Republican from suburban Inver Grove Heights, is among the anti-Trumpers. She says she has “never been more ashamed of our party.” Torgerson says she did not vote for Trump.

Trump supporters are turning out in force and are expected to easily fill the roughly 20,000-seat arena. Some had lined up a day earlier to guarantee a seat.