Billionaire, real estate mogul and perennial presidential hopeful Donald Trump finally threw his hat in the ring Tuesday, rounding out an already crowded Republican 2016 field with a dash of celebrity spectacle.
For years Trump has made provocative political statements, and delivering bombastic performances has become a hallmark of his public persona. While introducing her father to the podium at the announcement ceremony Tuesday, Ivanka Trump joked that her dad was the exact “opposite of politically correct.”
During his 2016 presidential bid announcement, “The Donald” did not disappoint.
Mexico is sending a bunch of drugs and rapists across the border: In the first of a string of incendiary remarks about foreign policy. Trump condemned economic gains in countries around the world as a sign of the United States’ weakening status as a superpower.
“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best,” Trump said. “They’re sending people that have lots of problems and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.”
“And some I assume are good people,” he added.
But it’s not just Mexico that’s dumping all of it’s problems in the U.S., Trump continued. “It’s coming from all over South and Latin America and it’s coming probably, probably, from the Middle East. We don’t know.”
You “literally” have to be hit by a tractor to get reasonable health care coverage: Calling President Obama’s signature health care law a “disaster” and dubbing it the “big lie,” Trump went after health insurance premiums under so-called “Obamacare.”
“Costs are going for people, up 29, 39, 49 and even 55%,” he said. “And deductibles are through the roof.”
There is a way to avoid sky-high costs, Trump says, but at a stiff price.
“You have to get hit by a tractor, literally, a tractor to use it. Because the deductibles are so high it’s virtually useless. It’s a disaster.”
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It costs $3 to build a website: In going after the botched roll-out to the Affordable Care Act, Trump condemned the wasted tax-payer money spent on the glitch-infested federal website once enrollment opened up to millions of Americans. Such a technical disaster wouldn’t have happened under President Trump.
“I have so many websites, I have them all over the place. I hire people, they do a website, it costs me $3.”
“I beat China all the time”: The global economy is just one big game, Trump says — one that the United States is losing.
“Our country is in serious trouble. We don’t have victories anymore. We used to have victories,” Trump said. “When did we beat Japan at anything?” For anyone questioning his chops or qualifications to seek the Oval Office, Trump has an answer: “I beat China all the time.” ISIS has what America deserves: Trump makes clear that he knew “years ago” that the invasion of Iraq in 2003 was a terrible idea and would destabilize the Middle East. Still, since the U.S. went ahead and invaded the country and tried to build democracy there, it might as well reap the benefits of the conquered country’s natural resources, Trump says. “They took the oil that when we left Iraq I said we should have taken,” Trump said. “Now ISIS has the oil. What they don’t have, Iran has.” The “real” unemployment rate is 18% or 19% or 21% — blame Mexico and China: Welcome to the numbers section of Trump’s address, where he starts throwing out stats left and right to counter status updates of the U.S.’s economic health. Don’t believe what the government is telling you, Trump warns. “Our real unemployment is anywhere from 18- 20% don’t believe the 5.6% Don’t believe it,” he said. But why is unemployment so high? “There are no jobs because China has our jobs, Mexico has our jobs. They all have our jobs,” Trump said. “The real number is anywhere from 18- to 19- and maybe even 21%. An nobody talks about it. Because it’s a statistic that’s full of nonsense.” Welcome to the 2016 campaign Mr. Trump.
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