Former President Donald Trump campaigned for J.D. Vance in Ohio on Saturday, pursuing to shore up his reputation among Republicans with the primary season over and a slew of candidates vying for the centre ahead of the November midterm elections.

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After lauding Vance as an “incredible patriot who will fight Biden and the radical left media every day,” the former president went on the offensive over reports Saturday that Republican Senate candidates were attempting to keep the former president at arm’s length.

Trump said Vance was “kissing my ass,” before praising his own support in the state he won by 8 points over Joe Biden in 2020. In April, Trump held a rally for Vance in Delaware County, Ohio.

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Trump was intense and measured in his delivery as he spoke for nearly two hours in Youngstown’s Covelli Centre, attacking transgender students in sports and asking for the death penalty for drug dealers and human traffickers while comparing his vision of America with Democrats’ on immigration, crime, and abortion.

Trump also went on a praising spree of all his aides and associates who were present at the rally – Bill Johnson, Jim Jordan, Max Miller, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Geno DiFabio.

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Who is Geno DiFabio? 

Republican Geno DiFabio is a long-time Donald Trump supporter who is also running for the position of Mahoning County commissioner in Ohio.

“I’m a working man, this is a working man’s valley. I’m a working man. I’m passionate for this area, I always have been, and that’s what I’m going to bring to the government,” DiFabio says.

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DiFabio was unopposed in the May Republican primary, as was Democrat incumbent Carol Righetti. 

The two will square off in the general election in November.