7 notable things about Donald Trump’s Henderson rally

Donald Trump campaigned in Henderson on Wednesday, speaking to an overflow crowd at the Henderson Pavilion in a speech that hit all the classics and received several standing ovations.

But beyond the headlines and the usual quotes, there were some things that Trump said that stood out. Here’s the Seven Most Notable Things From Trump’s Rally:

1. Trump said vice-presidential candidate Mike Pence won the Tuesday veep face-off, which clearly demonstrated … that Trump himself chose brilliantly when he named Pence as his running mate!

Not only is that very similar to Trump taking credit for “brilliantly” using the tax laws to avoid liability — an assertion that his former account disputed — but it’s also a reminder that while Trump may insist he’s campaigning for the people, there’s always one person at the center of his effort.

More proof? Trump said that a “liberal pundit” told Trump that his successful, largely self-funded primary campaign had made history, regardless of the general-election outcome, Trump begged to differ. “If I don’t win this will be the greatest waste of time, money and energy in my lifetime, by a factor of 100,” Trump said.

2. When are big, multinational corporations, banks and super-wealthy people bad? When they given money to Hillary Clinton, of course! Trump denounced the special interests that have donated to Clinton, adding “She’s merely the vessel for the global special interests who are bleeding our country dry.”

But if someone such as Trump was in charge of a company that had business interests all over the globe, well, that’s just good, old-fashioned American business, right?

3. Trump does not love Vladmir Putin! Although Democrats have been seeking to link Trump to the Russian strongman — whom Trump says is more of a leader than President Barack Obama — Trump says no. “I don’t love [Putin]. I don’t hate. We’ll see how it works,” Trump said to applause and laughter.

The approach to Russia has become a contentious point between Trump and the Democratic ticket, which insists that Clinton would be a better and more experienced person to confront Putin.

4. The change candidate in the change election. Pollsters are clear about how close the race is nationally between Clinton and Trump, and one of the reasons is that voters want change. Trump has capitalized on that sentiment, repeatedly calling for change and identifying himself as the candidate who will bring that change. (And, given that Clinton has been in or around government for decades, it’s an easy sell.)

“America needs a change, and that’s why I’m running,” Trump said. Later, he added, “I’m working the hardest I’ve ever worked in my life, doing this.”

And even later, he added, “I’m an outsider fighting for you. That’s what I’m doing this for,” he said.

5. No letup on immigration. Trump repeated his promise to build a wall, end illegal immigration and deport criminals who entered the country illegally. He told the stories of Americans killed in homicides perpetrated by people in the country illegally. And he even brought up some of those people to talk about their experiences.

“No more, folks,” he said. “No more.

6. Vote for yourself. Although Trump clearly possesses one of America’s biggest egos, and is unrepentant about it, he’s smart enough to sell his campaign as a movement of the people who have rallied to his cause. “It’s not me, it’s you,” Trump said at one point. “This is a movement like never before.” As he departed the stage, he left the audience with this: “A vote for me is really a vote for you. You’re voting for you, believe me. It’s the way I look at it.”

7. Um, what? Trump did bust out a new line on the crowd toward the end of his remarks, one that should have raised eyebrows but instead raised cheers. “I am going to fight for every last citizen in this land, and I’m going to fight to bring us all together as American,” Trump said. “Imagine what our country could accomplish if we started working together as one people, under one God, saluting one American flag.”

It’s not entirely clear which of the myriad gods that humans have conceived and worshipped over recorded history that Trump had in mind, but it’s likely the Presbyterian candidate was envisioning the Judeo-Christian God claimed by an overwhelming majority of Americans. But how can one work to bring “every last citizen” together when they certainly would not agree on the particular “one God” Trump mentioned, not to mention the wisdom of involving the deity in American government in the first place?