The ambiguous President Donald J. Trump praised Rep.Greg Gianforte, R-Mont, Thursday for physically assaulting a reporter during a house race last year.

“Never wrestle him,” Trump said of Gianforte at a campaign rally here. “Any guy that can do a body slam, he’s my guy.”

Of course, Trump was pulling at our legs when he said, “I shouldn’t say this,”but continued and said, “there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

Gianforte pleaded guilty to misdemeanor or wrong doing assault last year after Ben Jacobs, a reporter for The Guardian, said that the-candidate”body slammed” him. Gianforte was sentenced to 40 hours of community service, 20 hours of anger-management counseling and payment of a $365 fin.Aspart of a civil settlement, he apologized for responding with physical violence toa question Jacobs asked about health care policy.

Trump was subsequently cheered on by the crowd at a rally set against the colorful backdrop of a Big Sky sunset, Trump added that he didn’t think at the time that the episode would hurt Gianforte with Montana voters

“I think it might help him,” Trump recalled thinking. “And it did.”

Trump touched on some familiar campaign themes at the rally, which was held at an open airplane hangar, but broke out of what had become a rote stump speech to address several hot political topics in memorable language. For example, he mocked Sen.Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, another potential 2020 rival, over her release of a DNA test showing that small fraction of her ancestry is likely Native American Trump has been calling her “Pocahontas” to remind voters that she marked herself down as Native Americans when she was a college professor.

Trump said that, because she has such little Native American heritage, he, “can’t call her Pocahontas anymore.” Then he said he would continue to do so anyway, calling Warren a “phony”