(CN) - President Donald Trump was in full campaign mode Thursday night in West Virginia, defiantly continuing to insist "the Russia story is a complete fabrication" just hours after the public learned that special prosecutor Robert Mueller has impaneled a grand jury to delve into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
During an extended riff in a speech that also focused on economic development and West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice's decision to switch party affiliations from Democrat to Republican, Trump dismissed talk of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign "an excuse for the greatest loss in the history of American politics."
"That's all it is," the president said.
"Most people know there we no Russian in our campaign, there never were," Trump continued, raising a straw dog that is not part of the ongoing, separate investigations being carried out by Mueller and two congressional committees.
"We didn't win because of Russia, we won because of you. Are there any Russians here tonight? Any Russians?"
Trump said the focus on Russian meddling continues because Democrats "can't beat us at the voting booths so they are trying to cheat you out of the ... future that you want.
"They are trying to cheat you out of the leadership you want with a fake story that is demeaning to all of us and most importantly demeaning to our country and demeaning to our Constitution," he added.
Referring to Mueller's investigation, Trump said, "I just hope that final determination is a truly honest one which is what the millions of people who gave us our big win in November deserve and what all American who want a better future want and deserve."
The president's remarks came just four hours after a trio of stories broke, in The Wall Street Journal, on the Reuters' wire and on CNN, revealing that the grand jury had been impaneled and that the scope of Mueller's investigation had expanded to include looking at the potential financial ties between Trump, his family and associates, and Russia.
But those stories weren't the only thing on Trump's mind as he addressed the boisterous crowd attending his campaign-style rally.
Trump overwhelmingly won the state in the November election, besting Democrat Hillary Clinton by a 42-point margin, partly due to his promises to revive a slumping coal industry.
On Thursday night, Trump portrayed himself as a job creator and vowed to cut taxes, crack down on immigrants, and rebuild the country’s infrastructure.
“During the campaign,” Trump said, “I made you a promise that I would be putting coal miners back to work and I’ve kept that promise. As President, we are putting our coal miners back to work. We have stopped the EPA intrusion and our coal exports are already up more than 60 percent this year.”