said of Saudi Arabia, “I get along great with all of them…”?

At an Alabama rally during his campaign, Trump said,

Saudi Arabia, I get along with all of them. They buy apartments from me. They spend $40 million, $50 million. Am I supposed to dislike them? I like them very much.

Trump created 8 businesses during his campaign that were linked to hotel interests in Saudi Arabia, 4 of which were registered the day of the rally in which he made his comments about Saudi Arabia.

Trump’s financial ties to Saudi Arabia go back further, still. In 1991, as he was scrambling to raise money to avoid bankruptcy, he sold his 282-foot Trump yacht “Princess” to Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin-Talal for $20 million, reportedly a third what he had originally paid. Four years later, bin-Talal joined other investors in a $325 million deal for Trump’s Plaza Hotel. In 2001, Saudi officials purchased the entire 45th floor of the Trump world Tower, which stands across from the United Nations building in New York, for $12 million.

Trump has since denied any conflicts of interest in his dealings with Saudi Arabia, particularly in the wake of journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s assassination and ongoing involvement in Yemen’s civil war, contributing to a growing humanitarian disaster.

CNN – Trump in 2015: Saudis buy apartments from me
The Washington Post – A scramble to assess the dangers of President elect Donald Trump’s global business empire
The Hill – Trump registered eight companies in Saudi Arabia during campaign: report
AP News – Trump’s business ties to kingdom run long and deep

said, “I love the poorly educated”?

After his victory in the Nevada Republican primary, Trump boasted about the demographics that voted for him.

We won the evangelicals. We won with young. We won with old. We won with highly educated. We won with poorly educated. I love the poorly educated.

While Trump garnered 57% of the vote by those with only a high school education, he had 42% votes by college graduates, and only 37% by those with a postgraduate degree.

USA Today – Donald Trump loves the ‘poorly educated’ — and they love him
Vox – The strangest line from Donald Trump’s victory speech: “I love the poorly educated”

said, “I support the Great Lakes. Always have. They’re beautiful. They’re big. Very deep. Record deepness”?

Trump made the remarks at a rally in Michigan to explain why he backed funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. His 2020 budget planned to cut funding for the initiative by 90 percent.

The Hill – Trump contradicts his own budget proposal, tells rally crowd he’ll give more money for Great Lakes restoration
Associated Press – Trump backtracks on call to gut $300M Great Lakes program

praised Greg Gianforte for body-slamming a reporter?

Greg Gianforte, candidate for Montana’s US House of Representatives seat, had assaulted a reporter from The Guardian. The reported had asked about his healthcare policy at his campaign headquarters on the eve of the election. Gianforte then body slammed the reporter to the ground, which was caught on audio recording.

Gianforte later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault. He was sentenced to 40 hours of community service, 20 hours of anger management and a $300 fine along with a $85 court fee.

At a subsequent rally, Trump praised Gianforte, describing him as “my kind of guy.”

ABC News – Trump: No regrets for praising Greg Gianforte for body-slamming reporter
CNN – pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault Monday morning.
The Guardian – Greg Gianforte misled police after assault of Guardian journalist, incident report shows

said he had broken more records than Elton John with only a mouth and “the brain attached to the mouth”?

The full statement was,

“I have broken more Elton John records. He seems to have a lot of records. And I, by the way, I don’t have a musical instrument. I don’t have a guitar or an organ. No organ. Elton has an organ. And lots of other people helping. No, we’ve broken a lot of records. We’ve broken virtually every record. Because you know, look, I only need this space.

 

They need much more room. For basketball, for hockey and all of the sports, they need a lot of room. We don’t need it. We have people in that space. So we break all of these records. Really, we do it without, like, the musical instruments. This is the only musical – the mouth. And hopefully the brain attached to the mouth, right? The brain. More important than the mouth is the brain. The brain is much more important.”

As awkward as Trump’s phrasing was, he has in fact drawn larger audiences than Elton John. Trump has been a longtime fan of the artist, despite Elton John having turned down an offer to perform at Trump’s inauguration.

The New York Times – Despite Turning Down Inauguration Gig, Elton John Has a Recurring Role in Trump’s Presidency
CNN – Trump’s Elton John crowd size boast is actually true

claimed he tried to stop chants of “send her back” directed at a Congresswoman, when he did no such thing?

During a rally, when Trump invoked Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, the crowd began chanting “send her back.” Omar, born in Somalia, America, successfully completed the legal process to become a US citizen where she had lived for two decades.

Trump claimed that he started speaking immediately to cut off the crowd, but video of the event shows that he waited for the chant to end on its own.

Trump had previously said that four Congresswomen of color who opposed him should “go back” from where they came. Of the four, only Ilhan-Omar isn’t US-born.

The New York Times – Trump Disavows ‘Send Her Back’ Chant After Pressure From G.O.P.
USA Today – Outrage, expressions of support for Rep. Ilhan Omar after ‘send her back’ chant at Trump rally
The Guardian – Donald Trump said he tried to stop the ‘send her back’ chants … but did he?

called Democrats “un-American” and “treasonous” for not applauding enough during his State of the Union address?

Trump said of the Democratic reaction to his 2018 State of the Union address,

Even on positive news, really positive news like that, they were like death. and Un-American. Un-American. Somebody said ‘treasonous.’ I mean, yeah, I guess. Why not? Can we call that treason? Why not. They certainly didn’t seem to love our country very much.

USA Today – Trump blasts ‘treasonous’ Democrats for not applauding at his State of the Union address
Time – President Trump Said Democrats Who Didn’t Clap at the State of the Union Were ‘Treasonous’
NPR – Trump: Democrats ‘Un-American,’ ‘Treasonous’ During State Of The Union

claimed that thousands in New Jersey celebrated the September 11 attacks?

Trump claimed at an Alabama rally that he watched thousands cheer on 9/11, ostensibly Muslims.

I watched when the World Trade Center came tumbling down. And I watched in Jersey City, New Jersey, where thousands and thousands of people were cheering as that building was coming down. Thousands of people were cheering.

He later doubled down on his claim when questioned about its validity, citing a 2001 Washington Post story by Serge Kovaleski.

In Jersey City, within hours of two jetliners’ plowing into the World Trade Center, law enforcement authorities detained and questioned a number of people who were allegedly seen celebrating the attacks and holding tailgate-style parties on rooftops while they watched the devastation on the other side of the river.

Serge Kovaleski retorted that his writing of the alleged “number of people” was not the hundreds and thousands Trump claimed, nor would it be possible for Trump to have personally witnessed as much.

At a subsequent rally, Trump launched into an attack on Kovaleski, mocking him so as to seemingly imitate Kovaleski’s disability.

Now, the poor guy, you’ve got to see this guy: “Uhh, I don’t know what I said. Uhh, I don’t remember,” he’s going like “I don’t remember. Maybe that’s what I said.”

Trump repeated the claim about mass celebrations in New Jersey several times, including during an interview with Alex Jones. He also famously bragged about his building being the tallest on 9/11, though his claim was untrue.

The Washington Post – Trump’s outrageous claim that ‘thousands’ of New Jersey Muslims celebrated the 9/11 attacks
The Guardian – Donald Trump: I was ‘100% right’ about Muslims cheering 9/11 attacks
Politifact – Fact-checking Trump’s claim that thousands in New Jersey cheered when World Trade Center tumbled

paid actors to cheer at his campaign announcement?

Trump used an acting firm to source attendees for his presidential campaign announcement, and to clap and cheer. He paid $50 per person.

The campaign delayed payment to the acting firm until legal action was threatened.

Corey Lewandowski, campaign manager at the time, denied the claim during Trump’s presidency:

“There is nobody who believes that when Donald Trump goes somewhere he does not generate the biggest, largest, and most rambunctious crowds on the planet.”

After losing the election, Lewandowski admitted that actors had been hired:

“Michael Cohen decided that he was going to go hire one of his buddies and pay his buddy without getting any campaign approval. You know, $50 for every person to come in, to stand in Trump Tower.”

Michael Cohen, Trump’s personal lawyer, later implicated the President in felony campaign finance violations related to money paid to silence Stormy Daniels, with whom Trump had an affair.

The Hill – Trump paid actors to cheer his 2016 launch: report
The Washington Post – Even the firm that hired actors to cheer Trump’s campaign launch had to wait to be paid
Business Insider – Trump aide says they paid actors to appear at his 2016 presidential campaign announcement

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