Reporting from Vandalia, Ohio — His reputation precedes him, along with his attitude and anecdotes and, now, the images of a near-riot that forced cancellation of a campaign stop just the night before.
So when Donald Trump appeared Saturday at a rally outside Dayton, it had the feeling of one of those boisterous homecoming events, with plenty of yelling, sneering and enough swagger and bravado to fill an entire airport hangar.
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When his custom Boeing 757 pulled up outside, the soundtrack from the movie “Air Force One†booming so loud it rattled bones, the crowd cheered.
When he stepped from the aircraft and flashed two big thumbs up, the crowd cheered.
When he belittled his rivals, “Little Marco†Rubio and “Lyin’ Ted†Cruz, the crowd cheered.
They knew his repertoire, like a concert audience come to hear their favorite hits.
Build a wall along America’s southern border and who will pay for it? “Mexico,†the audience shouted.
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Donald Trump supporter Birgitt Peterson, center, of Yorkville, argues with protesters on March 11, 2016, outside the UIC Pavilion after the rally for the Republican presidential candidate was canceled.
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Donald Trump supporters and protesters clash March 11, 2016, outside the UIC Pavilion after the rally for the Republican presidential candidate was canceled.
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Donald Trump supporters and protesters clash March 11, 2016, outside the UIC Pavilion after the rally for the Republican presidential candidate was canceled.
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Protesters and Donald Trump supporters struggle outside the UIC Pavilion in Chicago after it was announced that the rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was canceled March 11, 2016.
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Protesters mock Donald Trump supporters who appeared stuck in the venue’s parking garage after the Republican presidential candidate’s campaign rally March 11, 2016, at UIC Pavilion was canceled because of security concerns.
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Protesters line up above the Eisenhower Expressway after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign stop at the UIC Pavilion was canceled because of security concerns March 11, 2016, in Chicago.
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Police remove an activist after it was announced that a rally with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at the University of Illinois at Chicago was canceled.
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Police restrain a man after confrontations broke out between anti-Trump protesters and police in Chicago.
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Police try to control the crowd on the street after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign stop at University of Illinois-Chicago was canceled due to security concerns.
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The podium is empty after a rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was cancelled.
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Protesters against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump chant after it was announced that a rally for Trump was canceled.
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Chicago police start to clear the crowd after a rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was canceled on the campus of the University of Illinois-Chicago.
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Supporters of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, left, face off with protesters after a rally on the campus of the University of Illinois-Chicago was canceled.
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Supporters of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, left, face off with protesters .
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Protestors shout down a rally scheduled by Businessman and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump forcing it’s cancellation out of concern for public safety at the University of Illinois at Chicago Pavilion.
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A protester holds up a ripped Donald Trump sign before the start of a rally for the Republican presidential candidate at the UIC Pavilion on March 11, 2016, in Chicago.
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Protesters wearing shirts reading “Muslims United Against Trump†are escorted out the UIC Pavilion in Chicago prior to the start of a rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on March 11, 2016.
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A demonstrator is removed by Chicago police during a rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at the UIC Pavilion on March 11, 2016, in Chicago.
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People wait for the start of a rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at the UIC Pavilion on March 11, 2016, in Chicago.
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People gather at the UIC Pavilion for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s rally March 11, 2016, in Chicago.
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A Donald Trump supporter moves a jacket upon getting settled in at the UIC Pavilion for a rally for the Republican presidential candidate March 11, 2016, in Chicago.
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Ed Landmichl, of Chicago’s South Side, waits for the start of a rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at the UIC Pavilion on March 11, 2016, in Chicago.
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Donald Trump supporter Valerie Schmitt, of Naperville, gets settled before Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a rally at the UIC Pavilion on March 11, 2016, in Chicago.
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People wear socks adorned with the U.S. flag while attending a rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at the UIC Pavilion on March 11, 2016, in Chicago.
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People wait for the start of a rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at the UIC Pavilion on March 11, 2016, in Chicago.
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Marco Maltbia, of Chicago’s South Side, waits for the beginning of a rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at the UIC Pavilion on March 11, 2016, in Chicago.
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People arrive for a campaign rally at the UIC Pavilion on March 11, 2016, to support Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
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Protestors march in Chicago on Friday, March 11, 2016, before a rally with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at the University of Illinois-Chicago. (AP Photo/Matt Marton) (Matt Marton / AP)
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Brian Wilkinson, 35, holds an American flag while Donald Trump supporters enter the UIC Pavilion on March 11, 2016, prior to the Republican presidential candidate’s rally.
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Donald Trump supporters line up March 11, 2016, at the UIC Pavilion in advance of a political rally.
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Button vendors Lorie Levi, left, and Deanne Golembiewski sell Donald Trump for President buttons outside the UIC Pavilion on March 11, 2016, in Chicago.
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Jack Righeima, 15, left, and Andrew Alessia, 18, students from Aurora Central Catholic High School, play Trump the Game on March 11, 2016, outside the UIC Pavilion in Chicago.
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June Pitts, center, of Oak Forest, waits in line outside the UIC Pavilion on March 11, 2016.
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Linda Slabaugh, of Romeoville, a nurse and attorney, attends a rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on March 11, 2016, at the UIC Pavilion.
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epa05207005 Protestors shout down a rally scheduled by Businessman and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump forcing it’s cancellation out of concern for public safety at the University of Illinois at Chicago Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois, USA, 11 March 2016. Residents go to the polls to cast their votes in the Illinois primary on 15 March. EPA/TANNEN MAURY ** Usable by LA, CT and MoD ONLY ** (TANNEN MAURY / EPA)
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Robert Maricle, of Peoria, stands in line outside the UIC Pavilion on March 11, 2016, for a rally with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
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Donald Trump supporter John Gora, of Chicago, proudly shows his T-shirt that reads “Friends Don’t Let Friends Vote Democrat†as he stands in line outside the UIC Pavilion on March 11, 2016, in Chicago for a rally with the Republican presidential candidate.
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Julie Contreras, from left; her daughter Ariana Aprim, 18; Salvador Contreras; and Gilberto Melchor-Sanchez hold a prayer vigil March 11, 2016, across the street from the UIC Pavilion in Chicago. The group, representing the League of United Latin American Citizens, is holding the vigil in anticipation of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign stop.
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Ariana Aprim, 18, with the League of United Latin American Citizens, shuts off electric lights at the site of a prayer vigil March 11, 2016, near the UIC Pavilion in Chicago.
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A small shrine is placed at the site of a prayer vigil across the street from the UIC Pavilion on March 11, 2016, in Chicago.
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Julie Contreras, with the League of United Latin American Citizens, sets up a sign near a prayer vigil across the street from the UIC Pavilion on March 11, 2016, in Chicago. Activists assembled in anticipation of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign stop in the evening.
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Kayla Utley, left, of Center Point, Iowa, holds a photograph of herself with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump from a campaign stop as she stands in line outside the UIC Pavilion on March 11, 2016, in Chicago. With Utley are Trump supporters Giovanni Montalbano, center, of Park Ridge, and Travis Klinefelter, of Dubuque, Iowa.
(Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune) Water-boarding is too good for the terrorists threatening the United States. “Drown ‘em,†one man hollered.
The Republican presidential hopeful asked the audience of 2,000 or so if they wanted to hear a story — one he maybe shouldn’t tell, he suggested — and they knew which one even before he started. Yes, they screamed, tell it.
The story was the apocryphal account of Army Gen. John J. Pershing killing Muslim terrorist in the Philippines with bullets dipped in pig’s blood. When Trump finished, the crowd shouted its approval.
The rally was the first following the mayhem Friday night in Chicago, so Trump offered his account of what happened. The protests and violence that spilled into the streets was the work of professional agitators, he said, many associated with the communistic Bernie Sanders, the candidate running for president on the Democratic side.
“Frankly, it would have been easier to go,†Trump said, “but I didn’t want to see anybody get hurt.â€
His sacrifice, he concluded, was an excellent example of leadership and command under pressure. No one in the audience disagreed.
For some, though, the explanation was wholly unnecessary.
David Rife, one of those who came to see Trump on Saturday, said, yes, he knew all about the upheaval in Chicago.
“Supporters are hyped up and then here comes along some punk or somebody confronting ‘em and they don’t want to hear it,†said Rife, 62, who sells construction equipment for a living and dates a steep decline in sales to the instant President Obama took office. It is only just turning around, he said.
No, Rife went on, he didn’t think Trump’s incendiary comments at previous rallies — about punching people, and wanting to see protesters carried out on stretchers — was in any way responsible.
“When he says, ‘Hit that guy, hit that guy,’ hit him!,†Rife said. “Because he’s right. He’s watching it from up there and seeing what’s going on. “
Typical of a Trump rally there were intermittent catcalls and protesters interrupting the candidate. A handful of college-age demonstrators in the far back of the hangar chanted, “Stop the hate!â€
At one point Secret Service agents swarmed a startled Trump after a man hurdled a barrier and attempted to take the stage. He was swiftly detained and soon Trump regained his composure.
“I was ready for him, but it’s much easier when the cops do the job, don’t we agree?†Trump said.
He was interrupted several more times when demonstrators popped up throughout the audience. Trump responded with a characteristic mix of machismo and sarcasm. The protesters were quickly expelled — one pushing a walker — as the crowd took up the chant, “Trump! Trump! “ and “USA! USA!â€
“Get him out of here!†he directed security officers as they marched off one demonstrator.
“Go back home to mommy!†he scoffed. “Lock him in his bedroom!â€
The crowd roared.
“By the way,†Trump said a few moments later. “Is there anything more fun than a Trump rally?â€
The crowd cheered.
Follow @markzbarabak for national & California politics.
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