Donald Trump's West Chester rally: 4 takeaways

Donald Trump on Sunday rallied supporters at the Savannah Center in West Chester, his presidential campaign's sole stop in the Cincinnati area thus far this election year.

The billionaire businessman, who arrived on stage about an hour late, emphasized his love for Cincinnati and Kentucky and railed against Ohio Gov. John Kasich, his top opponent in Ohio's winner-take-all Republican primary on Tuesday.

Trump needs a victory in Ohio to put away Kasich and boost his shot of arriving at the GOP convention in Cleveland this July with a majority of the campaign delegates. Recent polls in Ohio have variously indicated Trump and Kasich tied or either with a small lead.

Here are four takeaways from Trump's stop:

Trump threw plenty at Kasich: Trump unleashed a string of attacks against Kasich, but the crowd didn't seem to bite very hard – appearing to be more excited about Trump than angry at Kasich. Trump described Kasich as an "absentee governor" and mocked him for saying earlier Sunday he didn't watch any TV other than the Golf Channel. "He's not ready to do the job," he said, to scattered boos and some applause.

Kasich has pitched himself as the positive candidate in the race, but Trump reminded rally-goers of the governor's performance in early debates. "He does his nice routine, but he didn't start out that way. He came at me viciously, I'm telling you," Trump said. Ohio's not doing as well as Kasich claims, Trump said, citing foreign trade deals supported by Kasich that Trump says have devastated Ohio's economy. "Your governor? Remember NAFTA," he said.

After the event, Northern Kentuckian Gary Stivers said Trump's reasons for opposing NAFTA rang true for him. “When he talks about the trade act, I was an inventory manager for a multibillion-dollar company when all that was happening," he said. "There were changes when Clinton signed that act. Trump is right on. You saw the goods change from American goods to foreign goods. Our companies couldn’t compete."

But Mack Mariani, a political science professor at Xavier University, said Kasich's popularity is insulating him. "Kasich is far enough removed from Washington at this point that voters, even here in Ohio, don’t associate him with Washington. They associate him with Columbus, and voters by and large are happy with him," he said. "He’s not a ridiculously unpopular governor."

Dodging a tough question about John McCain: Trump took some audience questions, but none were tougher than that posed by Keith Maupin. The Marine Corps veteran's son Matt, a U.S. Army sergeant, was killed in Iraq after he was taken prisoner. In July, Trump said Sen. John McCain of Arizona was considered a war hero only because he was captured in the Vietnam War. "I like people who weren't captured," he said then.

Maupin's question: "You made a comment to John McCain that you don't think that captured soldiers are heroes. What I'd like you to do is just clarify that, because I think it's important for all these people here, and for a lot of veterans in Ohio." Trump denied he'd said what Maupin claimed and added, "They are heroes. Just so you understand. They're real heroes." He then quickly moved on to another questioner.

Lines on Hillary Clinton and Pete Rose generate most applause: Trump swung from a critique of The New York Times and the media in general to a guaranteed Southwest Ohio crowd-pleaser: "And by the way, Pete Rose. Let him in, right?" The audience erupted in cheers. But the biggest applause came later, when a questioner asked Trump: "What day in office will you put Hillary (Clinton) in prison?" After the clapping died down, Trump indicated such a move, to arrest the former secretary of state and current Democratic candidate for president, deserved attention. "We'll have to look into it, and we'll have to look into it very strongly," he said.

Trump goes for crowd-pleaser in Pete Rose

The only punches thrown were verbal: Protesters routinely interrupt Trump's rallies, but only two did in West Chester for about 30 seconds before they were escorted out by law enforcement. One carried a sign supporting Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders, and both left unmolested by rally attendees. Outside, hundreds of protesters chanted and faced off with Trump supporters, but warred only with words. Protester Robert Coyle rejected some supporters' jeers that protesters were freeloaders. "I'm a veteran and I don't want things for free. I earned my education," he said. Just then, protesters began chanting, "small minds, tiny fingers."

The West Chester rally proved a sedate exception to some recent Trump campaign events. A rally in Chicago on Friday was canceled over security concerns as Trump supporters and protesters clashed outside the venue. At a Kansas City rally Saturday night, a string of protesters interrupted Trump and police pepper-sprayed protesters outside. Anti-protester violence by supporters at Trump rallies, and Trump's incendiary rhetoric, have become a campaign issue. His opponents – both Republicans and Democrats – have decried the violence and called on Trump to dial things down. Kasich on Saturday said Trump had created a "toxic environment" that was encouraging supporters to violence. In West Chester, Trump's rally was enthusiastic but peaceful.

Enquirer reporters Jason Williams and Cameron Knight and The Associated Press contributed to this report.