Donald Trump was back in brash form at a Connecticut campaign event Saturday, discounting advice to "be more presidential" and accusing protesters of engaging in a "con job."
Speaking to a cheering crowd in Waterbury, Conn., ahead of its primary vote Tuesday, Trump focused much of a more-than hour-long speech on bringing jobs back to the hard-hit region.
"We're going to bring our jobs back," he vowed to voters in a region that he said supports 60 percent of its manufacturing jobs. "We have to tell them there's gonna be consequences if you leave."
But during one early interruption to his speech, he also called demonstrations a "con job."
"I saw last week they had some protesters, they interviewed him," Trump said, relaying that the protester admitted "actually I like him very much," and was only holding the anti-Trump sign because it was given to him.
"It's a whole big con job," he told the crowd.
Trump also assured the crowd that despite reports of him toning down his
rhetoric and being different in private meetings than in public, he wasn't about to change a winning strategy.
"I sorta don't like toning it down," he said. "Yesterday I was hearing about how I was going to be more presidential. Presidential is easy," he said, demonstrating a mock somber greeting to the crowd.
But he said he believes his supporters like him just the way he is.
"If I acted presidential, I guarantee you, I wouldn't be here," he declared.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.