When Donald Trump rips up his prepared remarks at the outset of an event like he did on Thursday at a tax reform roundtable in White Sulphur Springs, WV, look out—he's about to rain down unfettered ignorance on everyone in sight. Trump is reportedly feeling more confident than ever these days in his abilities as pr*sident and so, buoyed by his own counsel, he just lets it rip whenever there's a mic in front of him.
Here's the lowlights from Trump’s remarks, taken from an AP report and Toronto Star Washington correspondent Daniel Dale.
- Insulting West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, who's tall and heavy: "He's definitely the biggest governor."
- Taking credit for passing the first tax cuts in 40 years while unceremoniously ignoring cuts passed by Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama.
- Railing against the "almost $500 billion" trade deficit with China last year that was actually closer to $375 billion.
- Touting his conspiracy theory that millions of people cast fraudulent votes in California, which Trump lost by more than 4.3 million votes: “In many places, like California, the same person votes many times. You probably heard about that,” Trump said. “They always like to say, ‘Oh, that’s a conspiracy theory.’ Not a conspiracy theory, folks. Millions and millions of people. And it’s very hard because the state guards their records. They don’t want us” to see them.
- Pushing the completely unsubstantiated notion that the caravan is besieged by violence: “Remember my opening remarks at Trump Tower when I opened? Everybody said, ‘Oh, he was so tough,’ and I used the word rape,” he said. “And yesterday it came out where this journey coming up, women are raped at levels that nobody has ever seen before. They don’t want to mention that.” (In actuality, the caravan families from Central and South America travel together in order to avoid being raped by smugglers, drug cartel members, and Mexican law enforcement officials.)
- Revisiting his administration's "war" with MS-13 and his jag about how the gang members cut people up with knives, like innocent young girls: "Their parents never see 'em again. They're cut up."
And there you have it, folks, a dispatch straight from Trump's dark and diseased mind. There's nothing quite like bringing hope to the people… at a roundtable billed as being about tax reform.