Trump Wisconsin crowd chants 'Nobel Peace Prize'

President Donald Trump stepped up his rhetoric Thursday on cultural issues, aiming to boost enthusiasm among rural Wisconsin voters as he tries to repeat his path to victory four years ago.

Making his fifth visit to the pivotal battleground state this year, Trump views success in the state’s less-populated counties as critical to another term. He held a rally Thursday evening in Mosinee, in central Wisconsin, an area of the state that shifted dramatically toward Republicans in 2016, enabling Trump to overcome even greater deficits in urban and suburban parts of the state.

Trump has increasingly used his public appearances to elevate cultural issues important to his generally whiter and older base, as he hinges his campaign on turning out his core supporters rather than focusing on winning over a narrow slice of undecided voters. In Mosinee, he called for a statute to ban burning the American flag in protest - a freedom protected by the Supreme Court - and criticized sports players and leagues for allowing demonstrations against racial inequality.

“We have enough politics, right," he said, joking that sometimes, “I can’t watch me.”

Trump praised his decision to pull the United States out of the Iran nuclear deal, commenting about Iran "they don't have too much money for terror anymore. It's actually amazing."

Trump also took another victory lap two days after he presided over Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates recognizing Israel in a White House ceremony. His supporters chanted “Nobel Peace Prize” in response.

Trump praised the creation of Space Force as a new branch of the military under his administration. He said it was necessary to keep up with the Russian and Chinese militaries.

Trump's event took place largely outside an aircraft hangar at the Mosinee airport, his campaign's preferred format for mass rallies amid the coronavirus, though Trump has been willing to host large events indoors as well, sometimes in violation of state and federal distancing guidelines.