The former president was introduced at the Charlotte rally by NASCAR great Richard Childress, whom he praised from the podium and then veered off into a reverie about Indianapolis 500 legend Roger Penske that led him to propose racing team owners and football coaches as advisers to military commanders.

"How you do it is amazing, it's so amazing," Trump told Childress from the stage. "We should send you into " I've always said, we should get some of those guys. I have a lot of friends in that world. I don't know, I think, isn't Roger Penske, like, a great guy, too? Guy won, he won 20 Indianapolis 500s. This guy wins all the time."

"I mean, we appreciate talent, I said, let me use these guys to guide our military a little bit," Trump told his rally supporters. "When you can win so many races, that's okay, you know, you guide. Same thing with coaches, you take some of the great football coaches, you put them at the table. 'What do you like, coach?' Because, in its own way, it's not so much really different."