Indiana basketball head coach Bobby Knight showered praise on businessman Donald Trump at a packed house in Evansville Indiana on Thursday.
Coach Knight made a non-partisan appeal to the gathered crowd saying, “I don’t give a damn about the Republicans and I don’t give a damn about the Democrats either.” He also called Trump the greatest job creator in history, comparing him to Harry Truman. Knight also said that “I was very selective with my players here at Indiana and let me tell you something that son of a bitch could play for me.”
Both of the Republicans campaigning in Indiana have tried to appeal to basketball fans in the Hoosier state. Senator Cruz botched one of the iconic lines in the movie Hoosiers when he called the basketball hoop a basketball ring.
Trump invoked the basketball coach throughout his speech, saying “Isn’t he great folks?” Trump also started to make arguments tailored for the general election. The business mogul explained to the crowd how he expects to win New York, Michigan, and other states that Republicans have long conceded to Democrats in the general election. He railed against bad trade deals like NAFTA and said that Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) would make NAFTA look small by comparison.