Donald Trump hosted supporters and the press at his Mar-A-Lago residence for an event billed as a “press conference.”
The hitch? He didn’t take any questions from the press.
Flanked by his closest aides and a couple of family members, Trump delivered a relatively brief 16-minute victory speech after racking up key victories Tuesday night before promptly leaving the stage — leaving the assembled press in the back rows of the room scrambling.
As he then made his way out of the ballroom, reporters shouted “Mr. Trump, Mr. Trump,” trying to get the Republican front-runner’s attention.
The billionaire briefly turned around to face reporters before waving off questions and leaving the ballroom.
Trump’s refusal to take questions came after a night of big victories in Florida, North Carolina and Illinois. Trump faltered, though, in Ohio to home state Gov. John Kasich.
The real estate mogul’s decision not to take questions from the press also came hours after Politico published a report sharply criticizing Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.
Trump decided not to take questions from the press after he railed against the hurdles of the campaign trail, including what he called the “lies, deceit, viciousness” and the “disgusting reporters.”
“Some really disgusting people back there,” Trump said of the press, which was restricted to the back two rows while the first 16 were filled with Trump supporters.
Reached later Tuesday night for comment, Trump campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks confirmed Trump would not take any questions.
Asked why Trump did not take questions during an event billed as a “press conference,” Hicks responded: “Is that what it said?”
A media advisory sent by the campaign regarding the event described it as a “press conference.”
Donald Trump finally shared the name of someone he consults on foreign policy: himself. Asked on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” who he talks with consistently about foreign policy, Trump responded:
“I’m speaking with myself, number one, because I have a very good brain and I’ve said a lot of things.”
“I know what I’m doing and I listen to a lot of people, I talk to a lot of people and at the appropriate time I’ll tell you who the people are,” Trump said. “But my primary consultant is myself and I have a good instinct for this stuff.”
The New York real estate mogul has kept mum on his foreign policy team, despite promising in early February to release a list of his advisers in “about two weeks.”
Trump was also asked on Wednesday morning if his foreign policy was “neoisolationist,” to which he responded “I wouldn’t say that at all.”
Reality
As evidence, Trump claimed he had predicted the rise of Osama bin Laden, a statement which was a total absolute lie.
With thousands of people already packed into stands and music blaring to warm up the crowd, Donald J. Trump’s campaign abruptly canceled his rally here on Friday night over security concerns as protesters clashed with his supporters inside an arena where he was to speak.
Minutes after Mr. Trump was to have taken to a podium on the campus of a large, diverse public university just west of downtown, an announcer suddenly pronounced the event over before it had begun. Hundreds of protesters, who had promised to be a visible presence here and filled several sections of the arena, let out an elated, unstopping cheer. Mr. Trump’s supporters, many of whom had waited hours to see the Republican front-runner, seemed stunned and slowly filed out in anger.
The canceled rally came on a day that Mr. Trump sought to move past the primary fight, saying that the party needed to come together behind him.
Elsewhere, Mr. Trump’s security has tried to identify and exclude potential demonstrators before they enter his events, but large groups of protesters had waited in line for seats here, and engaged in tense disputes with Trump supporters even as the University of Illinois at Chicago Pavilion was still filling up. For more than an hour before the event was to begin, security teams led protesters out, one by one, but many more remained, sparring with Trump supporters.
In a statement, Mr. Trump’s campaign said:
“Mr. Trump just arrived in Chicago, and after meeting law enforcement, has determined that for the safety of all the tens of thousands of people that have gathered in and around the arena tonight’s rally will be postponed until another date,” the man said from a podium. “Thank you very much for your attendance, and please go in peace.”
Several fistfights between Trump supporters and protesters could be seen after the announcement, as a large contingent of Chicago police officers moved in to restore order.
Supporters of Trump still inside chanted “We want Trump” after the event was canceled. Protesters, meanwhile, shouted “We shut shit down” and “We stumped Trump.” Others chanted “Bernie” as supporters whipped out Bernie Sanders campaign signs.
On MSNBC, Mr. Trump said that after meeting with the law enforcement authorities, “I felt it was just safer. I don’t want to see anybody get hurt.” and again during an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity after the event cancellation, Trump stood by his campaign’s statement that they chose to cancel a Chicago rally Friday night at the recommendation of the Chicago Police Department:
We met with security and the law enforcement, who I think did a terrific job, and they told me it’d be best not to go in and do the speech.
Reality
Unfortunately for Trump the Chicago police spokesperson says there were no meetings between police and the Trump campaign about security:
CPD spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told the Associated Press that police never told the Trump campaign there was a security threat at the venue. He said the department had sufficient manpower on the scene to handle any situation. Guglielmi said the university’s police department also did not recommend that Trump call off the event. The decision was made “independently” by the campaign, according to Guglielmi.
Trump also accused Bernie Sanders’ supporters of sowing unrest at the event. Fox News and other right-wing media jumped on this and blamed Sanders for the protest. Watching the video it is obvious there was a handful of protesters on the first floor that started chanting “Bernie” but there is zero evidence Sanders orchestrated the protest. The more likely scenario was the racist and xenophobic Trump had his first rally at a liberally leaning city which resulted in a semi-organized pushback.
In an article in Breibart, reporter Michelle Fields explains how Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski grabbed her by the arm and threw her towards the ground.
When [Trump] approached me, I asked him about his view on an aspect of affirmative action.
Trump acknowledged the question, but before he could answer I was jolted backwards. Someone had grabbed me tightly by the arm and yanked me down. I almost fell to the ground, but was able to maintain my balance. Nonetheless, I was shaken.
The event was corroborated by eye-witness and fellow journalist Ben Terris in his Washington Post article. Not surprising, Trump’s campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks claimed the accusation is “entirely false” and said:
As one of dozens of individuals present as Mr. Trump exited the press conference, I did not witness any encounter. In addition to our staff, which had no knowledge of said situation, not a single camera or reporter of more than 100 in attendance capture the alleged incident.
When asked about the incident directly, Donald Trump claimed Fields “made it up.” Then, in a strange twist, the right-wing rage-factory breitbart.com, publicly threw their own reporter under the bus and published an article “debunking” Fields’ claims, going so far to show video just before the incident occurring as evidence that nothing happened. What was most interesting was in the same day Politico published the audio recording of the event.
Fields: “Mr. Trump, you went after the late Scalia for affirmative action, do you — are you still against affirmative action?”
This is so strange. After rightfully being attacked by Mitt Romney on his failed business, The Donald took the opportunity during his victory speech for his projected primary win in Michigan and Mississippi to sell products that no longer exist.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has never been shy about claiming a flair for moneymaking.
But his tax returns, which he has refused to release, may tell a different story.
Crain’s New York reports that the New York real estate developer and self-described deca-billionaire claimed a a New York state property-tax benefit reserved for individuals and couples earning $500,000 a year or less. The New York State School Tax Relief program, otherwise known as STAR, was first instituted in 1997, and offers a mere $300 annual tax break to those who qualify.
According to Crain’s, records filed with New York City’s Department of Finance indicate that Trump received a $302 STAR benefit on his latest property-tax bill for his penthouse unit at Trump Tower. “That means whatever his annual income is, it’s less than $500,000,” Crain’s reported. “And Trump would have to have declared his New York apartment as his primary residence and sent the state a copy of his federal income-tax return in order to quality for the $302 tax break.”
Trump’s campaign claims the benefit was “an error on the party of the city of New York,” and that the candidate has been receiving the benefit since 2012, even though he hadn’t filed for it since 2009. The Department of Finance denies this, saying it confirms recipients’ income with New York state tax authorities every year to ensure STAR applicants continue to qualify.
After former head of the KKK David Duke had detailed his support for Trump in a Facebook post, Trump was asked by CNN’s Jake Tapper whether he would disavow Duke and other white supremacist groups that are supporting his campaign.
Just so you understand, I don’t know anything about David Duke, OK?
Trump was pressed three times on whether he’d distance himself from the Ku Klux Klan — but never mentioned the group in his answers.
I don’t know anything about what you’re even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists,” he said. “So I don’t know. I don’t know — did he endorse me, or what’s going on? Because I know nothing about David Duke; I know nothing about white supremacists.
Trump eventually did disavow David Duke and clarified his comments on NBC’s Today show later in the day blaming a bad earpiece:
I was sitting in a house in Florida, with a bad earpiece. I could hardly hear what he’s saying. I hear various groups. I don’t mind disavowing anyone. I disavowed Duke the day before at a major conference.
Reality
Isn’t it funny that Trump “could hardly hear what [Tapper] was saying” but in the interview with Tapper heard that Duke endorsed him and enough to claim he knew nothing about David Duke and white supremacists?
Also despite what he said, Trump apparently did know Duke in 2000 — citing him, as well as Pat Buchanan and Lenora Fulani — in a statement that year explaining why he had decided to end his brief flirtation with a Reform Party presidential campaign.
“The Reform Party now includes a Klansman, Mr. Duke, a neo-Nazi, Mr. Buchanan, and a communist, Ms. Fulani. This is not company I wish to keep,” Trump said in a statement reported then by The New York Times.
A large group of black students attending a Donald Trump rally at Valdosta State University Monday were escorted out by law enforcement before the event started.
The young people said they had planned to sit in silent protest, but were escorted out by security officials before the presidential candidate began speaking. The incident was recorded on video by several attendees. (Some of the footage can be found here, here and here.)
“We didn’t plan to do anything,” Tahjila Davis, a 19-year-old mass media major, told The Des Moines Register. “They said, ‘This is Trump’s property; it’s a private event.’ But I paid my tuition to be here.”
Brooke Gladney, a 22-year-old marketing and business management major, said: “The only reason we were given was that Mr. Trump did not want us there.”
News reports placed the number of students escorted out at about 30.
Kicking out anticipated protestors isn’t an uncommon practice for Trump events, but this was one of the largest groups so far in his campaign. It occurred hours after a Secret Service agent choke-slammed a Time magazine photographer attempted to capture images of #BlackLivesMatter protesters at an event in Virginia.
Though at least one outlet reported the students were kicked out based on a request by the Trump campaign, the campaign denies that was the case.
“There is absolutely zero truth to that,” says campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks.
Reality
MSNBC‘s Chris Hayes did some digging and no only were the kids there not to protest:
But Capt. Stryde Jones from the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Dept. went on record and told MSNBC:
“A member of the [Trump] event staff approached a member of our agency and requested that the group be asked to leave.”
Furthermore, the Valdosta Police Chief Brian Childress’ went on record and made a statement backing up Captain Jones’ account:
“I spoke to a Trump staffer, whose name I do not have, she told us that they needed to leave. Not only did I talk to a Trump staffer, so did the University police, and we were told over the radio by the Sheriff’s office that Trump staff wanted them out.”
Now a Trump supporter could easily dismiss this out of hand, call the students “thugs” or “potential thugs”, but think about this: Trump and his supporters constantly paint the African-Americans and the Black Lives Matter movement with disdain and contempt and usually counter with a call to support law enforcement and “police lives matter.” So how can they logically reconcile this belief when law enforcement publicly backs up African-Americans over their Trump??
Media
Video from inside Trump rally of students led out from bleachers. Courtesy Kiebbler Carter, 22, who wasn't removed. pic.twitter.com/Ubmjq492DL
Trump told radio host Michael Savage that Obama refuses to say the magic words “radical Islamic terrorism” because maybehe doesn’t want to stop the terrorists.
We have a president that won’t even use the words and if you don’t use the words, you’re never going to get rid of the problem. We have a — maybe he doesn’t want to get rid of the problem. I don’t know exactly what’s going on.
Savage seemed to know exactly what Trump meant.
“Ah ha. Now you’re going as close to the board as a hockey player can go without hitting the puck into the stands. I get it,” he said.
Sending a dog whistle to the GOP’s anti-Obama base, Donald Trump has taken to saying that “there’s something we don’t know about” the president when it comes to issues like terrorism and the resettlement of Syrian refugees.
While Trump has never come out and said what that he thinks that “something” is, the GOP presidential frontrunner told conservative radio host Michael Savage that he believes Obama may actually be a terrorist sympathizer.
