Greenville, Ohio\u00a0\u2014\u00a0\n <\/p>\n
\n A day after President Donald Trump offered his latest appraisal of Ohio Sen. Jon Husted\u2019s muscular physique, it had already become a running joke \u2014 if not an explicitly stated one \u2014 during a GOP gathering in rural western Ohio.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cI know the president\u2019s been talking about me as a football player and a few other things these days,\u201d Husted said to knowing laughs at the Darke County GOP hog roast, where a crowd of about 300 dined on cuts of pig barbecued just outside.\n <\/p>\n
\n Trump most recently praised the physical appearance of Husted, a former college football player, during a rally Saturday in northern Kentucky, which borders Ohio.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cI examined his ass, and then I looked at his shoulders. I looked at his feet. I looked at his hand. I looked at his jawline,\u201d Trump said. \u201cI then patted him on the shoulder, and it was like a piece of steel. I\u2019m still recovering.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Trump has long remarked on the appearances of the people around him in politics, praising those who impress him as \u201ccentral casting<\/a>.\u201d But his commentary has ramped up in recent days<\/a> and been most effusive around Husted, who played football for the University of Dayton when the team won the Division III national title in 1989.\n <\/p>\n \n During an earlier rally in Youngstown, Ohio, Trump said he recently learned of Husted\u2019s history with football and looked him \u201cup and down,\u201d including at his \u201cass\u201d and hands. Trump said Husted does not talk about his athleticism much, but the president added: \u201cCongratulations. Now they finally know.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Husted leaned on his football background to rally Republicans in attendance for the \u201cfourth quarter\u201d of the election against Democrat Sherrod Brown in one of the country\u2019s most competitive races<\/a>. Ohio\u2019s other GOP senator, Bernie Moreno, who beat the then-incumbent Brown two years ago, made the most direct reference to Trump\u2019s comments on Husted.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cUnlike the president of the United States, I will not comment on his anatomy, but I will tell you that he\u2019s a really, really good senator,\u201d Moreno told the crowd Sunday, \u201cand I need him there as my partner to make sure that we finish the job that all of you wanted.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Ohio State Auditor Keith Faber, who\u2019s running for attorney general, also alluded to Trump\u2019s commentary.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cYou heard the president talk about his football prowess,\u201d he said, bringing up his shared time with Husted in the Ohio Legislature. \u201cYeah, he was a darn good athlete, but he was an even better legislator.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Trump\u2019s recent riffing on politicians\u2019 looks has not been contained to the Ohio Senate race. During a rally Friday in Georgia, the president compared the appearances of Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff and his Republican challenger, Mike Collins.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cSomebody said, \u2018[Ossoff]\u2019s a good-looking man.\u2019 I don\u2019t think he\u2019s a good-looking man,\u201d Trump said. \u201cI actually think Mike Collins is a good-looking man, and he\u2019s all man.\u201d\n <\/p>\n