Trump Says Tennessee Crowd Would Applaud Anything

At a rally held in Tennessee for Republican candidates, Donald Trump told the crowd they would applaud even if he said "the stupidest things." He then argued that his positions on border security, taxes and the military were matters of common sense. His confidence in his bond with the crowd came amid polling that showed some of his 2024 voters wanted Republican candidates to distance themselves from him. That polling also showed fewer voters described themselves as highly enthusiastic about voting in the midterms. Both the applause remark and the related polling are presented together in the available account without further detail. No contested facts found; single-source record with no competing outlet framing found. No candidate response is included.