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Donald Trump reflects on his bid: ‘They say it’s the single greatest movement in the history of this country’

Posted at 7:38 PM, Nov 07, 2016
and last updated 2016-11-07 21:38:29-05

By Jeremy Diamond

CNN

SARASOTA, Florida (CNN) — Donald Trump reflected Monday on the movement that has propelled his candidacy, and let loose on the stump as during his last full day of campaigning ahead of Election Day.

The Republican presidential nominee also reminisced on his successes and called attention to the lasting impact he believes his campaign will have on the country, even if he doesn’t win the presidency Tuesday.

“It’s been some campaign. It’s been some campaign,” Trump said after taking the stage here to a rousing reception. “They say it’s the single greatest movement in the history of this country … that’s quite an honor.”

“We’ll get a tremendous amount of credit if we win or lose,” he said, adding that his campaign has made the public more aware than ever of the “rigged system.” He even said he “worked very hard” to get the government to publish data on Obamacare premium hikes, a disclosure he, in fact, did not influence.

Still, Trump stressed that he’s “not looking for credit” should voters deal a death knell to his presidential aspirations.

Even as he contemplated the possibility of defeat, Trump expressed hope that his campaign would triumph Tuesday, predicting with characteristic bravado victories in blue states like Michigan, Minnesota and Pennsylvania, where he is hoping white working class voters will turn out in droves.

“You watch what’s going to happen in Pennsylvania, the miners are going to come out, the workers are going to come out, the steel workers who lost their jobs are coming out,” he said.

The Republican nominee also predicted women, too, would turn out in droves to support him Tuesday, despite a candidacy marred by sexual assault allegations and a 2005 tape in which he bragged about sexually assaulting women.

Trump also appeared to relish in his final political rallies, raucous spectacles that have defined his campaign from the start. After a week during which he strove to closely stick to the prepared remarks scrolling on the teleprompters before him, Trump veered off script several times as he relived his political victories and his decision more than 500 days ago to run for president.

“It was time. It was time. I had to join the other side, which is you,” Trump said of his switch from insider to establishment-bashing outsider. “We are going to do things so special.”

After spotting a costume mask of his own face in the crowd, Trump had the mask brought up and held it up, side-by-side with his own face before tossing it into the crowd. Minutes later, he spotted a fireman’s helmet and held that up on stage as well, touting his support among firemen.

Trump also marked his last day of campaigning by serving up some of the vintage, crowd-pleasing riffs that have long been staples of his off-the-cuff campaigning, like his idealistic and humorous vision of a Trump-run country.

“We will start winning again and winning like you’ve never seen before. I’ll tell you, we’re gonna win again. In fact, the people of Florida may get tired of it. You may say, ‘Oh, this guy, he wins too much, we can’t take it. He wins too much.’ You’ll send your emissary, ‘Please Mr. President, the people of Florida just don’t want to win this much. It’s true. You’re winning on trade, you’re bringing back jobs, you’re winning at the border, the military is unbelievable, it’s too much,’ ” And I’ll say, ‘sorry folks, we’re gonna keep on winning’ right?” he said.

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