With only a dozen days left before votes are counted in the presidential race, Republican candidate Donald Trump spent the day in battleground Ohio, a state he counts as a must for his path to the presidency. Polling indicates the Buckeye State could still swing either way. But, in citing a new Remington Research poll that shows him four points up in Ohio, Trump told thousands at the Champions Center Expo in Springfield this afternoon, he’s more confident than ever. Watch his full speech. “In 12 days, we are going to win Ohio and we are going to win back the White House,” he said to deafening cheers. His loyal base seemed to lap up every syllable of his slogans and themes that they could probably recite in their sleep by now. They cheered with unrestrained glee when he spoke about repealing and replacing Obamacare. They broke into chants of “Lock her up,” in reference to his opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton. And they roared their approval of his pledge to “Drain the swamp,” meaning an end to what he sees as corruption in the political establishment inside the beltway. As for foreign affairs, Trump was emphatic. “If I’m elected president, I am going to keep radical Islamic terrorists the hell out of our country,” Trump said. Observing his first Trump rally in Ohio, German journalist Oliver Sallet, of Deutsche Welle News and Current Affairs, said his country is watching this election with keen interest. “You would actually be surprised how close they’re following it,” said Sallet. “Every day it’s on the headlines and it’s probably one of the most discussed topics right now at this point. Probably not even inside Germany, but all across Europe.” When asked why the Germans are watching so intently, Sallet cited the close ties and mutual friendship between the two countries. “They would like those countries to continue that path,” he said. Sallet said his country is concerned about how a Trump presidency would influence that relationship. Trump used all his big applause lines today: “Repeal and replace Obamacare,” “Drain the Swamp” and he called Clinton “the most corrupt to ever seek the presidency.” His words resonated with passionate supporters like Rachel Fredericks, of Mount Sterling, Kentucky. “More than anything, I do not want a criminal in the White House,” she said with heavy emphasis. “That woman is a criminal.” Despite the attacks on Trump over that 2005 video and the ugly accusations of unwanted sexual advances, there were many women in the crowd of at least 7,000 Thursday holding campaign-readied "Women for Trump" placards. “He’s a man,” said Fredericks when we asked her about the allegations and the women who have stepped forward to accuse him. “He’s a human being. You know, we all make mistakes. I know I sure have.” Supporters don’t buy the national polls showing Trump behind and likely to lose the battlegrounds. They speak of neighbors hesitant to say out loud what they will do in the solitude of the voting booth. Mike O’Brien, a Marine veteran who served in Vietnam, said, “In the deep dark booth, they’re gonna hit that button and Trump’s gonna be our next president.” O’Brien believes there’s a hidden vote that will benefit Trump. If there is one thing Trump has tapped into with his core supporters, it is the profound belief that he is different than the usual and predictable politicians who have been running the show in Washington. Over and over again, his supporters state how he can’t be bought, how he is beholden to no special interest, how he cannot be influenced by lobbyists. He promised to end the reign of terror from the drug cartels and mused once again about repairing relations with Russia to go after ISIS together. The crowd cheered the possibility. Sallet took notes for his own reporting, fascinated as someone from outside the country to watch the way this election is unfolding. “It’s a strong rhetoric. For somebody who’s coming from Germany, I have to tell you it’s quite disturbing, in a way," Sallet said. "Like, he always puts out topics that you cannot really prove that are not factual.” Trump ended with his signature line to “Make America Great Again,” and moved on to Toledo for another rally there. He is hitting all of the battlegrounds in the remaining 12 days in an effort to defy the mainstream polls and capture the White House.