DONALD TRUMP TOLD SUPPORTERS AT A RALLY TUESDAY THAT HE IS ‘A PERSON THAT WANTS TO TELL THE TRUTH.’ HERE ARE SIX OF HIS MORE OUTRAGEOUS CLAIMS IN PHOENIX, AS HIS TALL TALE TALLY SOARS PAST 1,000.
At his first rally since the violence of Charlottesville, U.S. President Donald Trump Tuesday night declared NAFTA all but terminated, tore into the media and threatened to shut down the government unless Congress funds his Mexico wall. The Phoenix rally began as a love-in with his base, but it ended in a haze of pepper spray after protesters and police clashed outside the convention centre. Here’s a recap of some of his most outrageous statements:
ON NAFTA:
“Personally, I don’t think we can make a deal because we have been so badly taken advantage of ... So I think we’ll end up probably terminating NAFTA at some point, OK? Probably.”
Trump’s threat to tear up NAFTA less than a week into its renegotiation was the kind of “red meat” rhetoric that gets his supporters happy and excited, says Carleton University’s Ian Lee, who said Trump is attempting to “reach in, virtually speaking” to the NAFTA negotiation room. “He’s playing mind games with the negotiators,” said Lee, an associate professor in the Sprott School of Business. “He’s trying to intimidate at a distance.”
ON THE CRITICISM TO HIS RESPONSE TO THE RALLY IN CHARLOTTESVILLE:
speaking. ‘We condemn in the strongest, possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence.’ That’s me speaking on Saturday."
All good, except Trump skipped three crucial words — “on many sides.” At a prescheduled press conference after the racially charged violence at Charlottesville, Trump said “many sides” were to blame for the death of Heather Heyer. Democrats and many Republicans denounced Trump for not unmistakably calling out white supremacists and other hate groups.
ON TRUTH TELLING:
“I’m a person that wants to tell the truth. I’m an honest person, and what I’m saying, you know is exactly right.”
According to the Washington Post, which has been tracking Trump’s false or misleading claims, “Somewhere around Aug. 4 or Aug. 5, he broke 1,000 claims, and the tally now stands at 1,057.” NYU School of Medicine ethicist Arthur Caplan said Trump is “beyond question dishonest, willing to ignore his own history much less the facts of history and the worst role model imaginable for orienting young people toward respect for the truth. His dishonesty is so great that it has emasculated the moral authority he needs to serve as a leader,” Caplan said in an email. “Otherwise he is just great — good golfer.”
ON HIS PLEDGE TO BUILD A “BIG, BEAUTIFUL WALL” BETWEEN THE BORDER WITH MEXICO:
“But believe me, if we have to close down our government, we’re building that wall.”
The wall was one of Trump’s most popular campaign vows, telling supporters it would go up so fast “your head will spin.” Trump promised Mexico would pay for the wall. Mexico has so far refused a single peso. Lee says it’s all bombast and braggadocio. “I can’t see him shutting down the government it was deadly the last time the Republicans did it, remember?” The last shutdown was in 1995-96, under Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s leadership. Voters blamed the GOP for the crisis and rewarded Bill Clinton with re-election. Trump “doesn’t have a lot of support right now in his own party,” Lee added. “He’s been publicly insulting Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell,’’ and has a cool relationship with other senators.
ON ARIZONA REPUBLICAN SENATOR JEFF FLAKE, ONE OF TRUMP’S MOST VOCAL CRITICS:
“And nobody wants me to talk about your other senator, who’s weak on borders, weak on crime, so I won’t talk about him. Nobody wants me to talk about him. Nobody knows who the hell he is. And now — see, I haven’t mentioned any names — so now everybody’s happy.”
See above. Flake, who is facing a GOP primary challenge, recently released a book criticizing Trump and his fellow Republicans for straying from conservative values.
ON KIM JONG UN:
"But Kim Jong Un, I respect the fact that I believe he is starting to respect us. I respect that fact very much. Respect that fact."
With the launch of Hwasong-14 this month, North Korea proved itself capable of launching a nuclear-capable missile that could reach most of the continental United States. A poll released this week by Abacus Data Inc. found most Canadians (84 per cent) think Trump has made the risk of a conflict worse; only seven per cent have a great deal of confidence in the U.S. president to handle the situation.